Defence will be our strength against England: Brazil coach

Kolkata, Oct 24 (IANS) Waxing lyrical about England whom they face for a rescheduled semi-final clash here on Wednesday, Brazil coach Carlos Amadeu on Tuesday said their strength lies in the backline which starts from their forwards.

"Our strength is that we have a really strong defensive line and the system starts with our forwards," Amadeu said on the eve of the rescheduled match here.

"We have a concept of our game. When we have the ball we attack and when we don't have the ball all the players have to defend. This is the balance. All players have to be committed with defensive system and offensive system," he added.

"I expect a very difficult game. We have a lot of respect for all opponents. It won't be any different against England. We expect to be strong in our defensive system but we are expecting them to be really aggressive too and their forward line is really good," he said.

Amadeu said both teams have great players in the attacking third and also play well as a unit.

"Both teams are offensive or something like that but yes these are two strong teams with a collective style of play at a high level and individual players with really great skills. It will be a great match," Amadeu said.

The game was scheduled to be held in Guwahati but due to poor ground conditions and incessant rain, it had to be relocated to Kolkata's Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan which will also host the final on Saturday.

"All the England teams are doing very well. They have one of the best squads in youth all around the world. I am sure this will help them in the future. We don't have any advantage. Anyone can win," Amadeu said about the Young Lions.

England beat Venezuela to win the FIFA U-20 World Cup earlier this year while this U-17 side reached the final of the European U-17 Championships, losing to Spain.

England have highly-rated players like Phil Foden, Angel Gomes, Rhian Brewster and Callum Hudson-Odoi.

Like the Steve Cooper-coached side, Brazil are top-heavy too with the likes of Paulinho, Brenner, Alan and Lincoln having dazzling skills and netting a hatful of goals too.

England have been perfect in the four matches here scoring nine goals. Amadeu though said they would not have an extra advantage as Brazil played here too, scripting a superb come-from-behind 2-1 win against Germany riding excellent goals from Paulinho and Weverson.

"It's not an advantage despite the fact that we have such a good field and crowd to play in front of. I would like to have been playing here since the start but it's impossible. So we have one match here, and it can work as our advantage too," the Brazil coach said.

On Weverson not given a start against the Germans, the coach said: "Weverson understood why he got out from the first XI. His reaction was very good. When he got opportunity, as soon as he got the opportunity he showed you and me what he can do. It was a great experience for us and also for me."

Brazil were cheered on by 66,613 spectators at a packed Salt Lake Stadium here against Germany. Asked if they would feel at home again, Amadeu said: "There isn't any advantage or disadvantage when you talk about Brazil and England. I think in recent times, Brazil and England have had balanced results.

"England is the team we faced most in youth tournaments -- U-17, U-20 and U-15. Results were balanced."

This will be the third face-off between the two nations in the tournament history. While England triumphed 2-1 in South Korea, 2007, Brazil won 1-0 in Chile, 2015.