50,000-plus crowd is unheard of in a development tournament, says England U-17 coach

Despite bowing out of the tournament quite early by losing all their group stage games, India will really take pride in organizing a successful FIFA event for the first time ever. It has started garnering applause from all around and England’s U-17 coach Steve Cooper was one such person.

Heaping praise upon India for their success, the coach expressed his awe at the huge turnout that the crowds have shown in games, stating that it was unheard of in a development tournament. He said, "This environment of 50,000-plus crowd is unheard of in a development tournament. The coverage, the atmosphere... We have not noticed that before in a development tournament back home in Europe in World Cups. It's exciting.”

"The way the tournament is producing and reproducing crowds is unheard of... I'm sure tomorrow will be another day with a fantastic crowd. It's just a fantastic opportunity for players how a top game looks like,” added Cooper

He was also all praise for the Indian side, who put up a great display despite the results not going their way. “I know the results have not gone their way but they must be very proud of their performances. Congratulations to the coach. He has created a really good identity. They should be very proud of what India have done," he said.

England will face Iraq next, who have been a surprise package in the tournament so far registering wins over Chile and Mexico in the group stage. Cooper was quick to acknowledge that he wasn’t taking the Asian champions lightly. “Our game plan tomorrow is to control Iraq's biggest threat. We are very much aware of that. Hope we will deliver. We need to get the result right. We want to finish on top,” said Cooper.

The game will feature some of the best talents of the campaign like Mohammed Dawood, Jadon Sancho and Joel Latibeaudiere and the crowd would expect a quality game.