Turgott ready for German test

Blair Turgott's England are just three victories from winning the FIFA U-17 World Cup following a thrilling round of 16 win over Argentina.

Having got past the South Americans in a penalty shootout, West Ham United attacking midfielder Turgott and his team-mates are preparing for a quarter-final showdown with Germany on Monday.

Germany have swept into the quarter-finals courtesy of emphatic wins over Ecuador, Burkina Faso, Panama and the United States, but Turgott says England are full of confidence themselves and have 'nothing to fear' from their European opponents.

Speaking exclusively whufc.com from Mexico, the teenager revealed that the Young Lions are in good shape heading into their last-eight tie in Morelia.

Can you sum up the round of 16 game against Argentina? How did you and the team perform individually and collectively?

We were delighted with the victory against Argentina, which I think was a game we fully deserved to win. I think we started off the game very brightly and were unfortunate not to take an early lead, then we had a little setback with them scoring and taking the lead.

I think we did well because we kept our heads, kept playing our football and deservedly equalised. I think we dominated the second half and it looked a bit like the opposition were hanging in there for penalties.

I think personally I put in a decent performance and worked hard. My final ball could have been better at times but hopefully, if given the chance, I will improve in the next game. Overall, I thought it was an honest personal and team performance.

You were replaced with 19 minutes to go and had to watch the remainder of the game and the penalties from the bench. How difficult was that?

Yes, I was substituted and these things happen in games, which as a player you have to deal with and just have faith in your team-mates, which I definitely did

To be fair, I thought we might have nicked a late winner, but we have been doing a lot of penalty practice so we were certainly prepared for it. Of course I was nervous, but secretly was confident that the boys and our goalkeeper Jordan Pickford would win through!

So, you have Germany next. What do you know about them? Are you all confident of victory? Will you have to up your game to another level to beat them?

As you progress through the tournament, every round becomes stiffer, so definitely the levels will be higher.

I don't think we should fear the Germans. It will just be another great experience and a hurdle that we can overcome. We will have to be on our metal but I certainly think we can win. As usual, we will watch a lot on the opposition leading up to the game.

You are three victories from winning the U-17 World Cup! Is it important to maintain your focus and, to use a cliche, to take it one match at a time? You can't afford to be distracted and look past Germany, can you?

Yes, of course it's a big opportunity for us, but I think it would only be wise and professional to take every game as it comes and focus on the game at hand.

At this stage, the gap between the teams is an eye of a needle so we definitely have to tune in to meetings and to all of our preparation to give us the best chance possible at this competition.