Brazil U17 1-3 England U17: Rhian Brewster secures World Cup final spot

Rhian Brewster scored a hat-trick to send England Under-17s into the U17 World Cup final with a 3-1 victory over Brazil in Kolkata on Wednesday.

Liverpool’s Brewster took his tally to seven goals for the tournament as he scored twice in the first half and then again in the 76th minute.

Wesley had levelled for Brazil in the 21st minute but England responded well to secure their place in a second major final of the year, where they will face Spain after they beat Mali 3-1 in the other other semi-final.

Revenge will be on the cards on Saturday as well as Spain beat England in the final of the European Championship earlier this year.

But Steve Cooper’s side should go into the match full of confidence after an impressive performance in hot and humid conditions against Brazil, who had not previously conceded a goal from open play at the tournament.

Brazil started the game on the front foot but fell behind in the 10th minute as Callum Hudson-Odoi chipped over the defence for Brewster to fire in at the second attempt.

The lead did not last long as, after both Lincoln and Vitao missed from close range, Wesley finished into the corner after Curtis Anderson could only palm a shot out into the box.

Both teams missed good chances to score next – Joel Latibeaudiere heading wide for England from a corner and Brenner failing to hit the target from a one-on-one opportunity.

But it was England who struck before half-time as Steven Sessegnon made an overlapping run and crossed for Brewster to finish.

England continued to cause Brazil problems in the second half, with Brewster heading over and Phil Foden denied by Brazao.

Unlike the opening 45 minutes, Brazil were largely subdued except for a short burst when Yuri Alberto saw a shot saved and Paulinho fired at Anderson from a good position. But their fate was sealed in the 77th minute as Foden slipped the ball down the line for Emile Smith-Rowe and he played into the middle for Brewster to complete his hat-trick.

Man of the match – Rhian Brewster

Foden and Hudson-Odoi were excellent, but Brewster takes the man-of-the-match honours after scoring all three goals.

The 17-year-old, who is yet to feature for the Liverpool first team, was not heavily involved throughout the game but was at the right place at the right time on three occasions to finish from close range. He has now scored with seven of his 10 shots at the tournament.

(c) Sky News 2017: Brazil U17 1-3 England U17: Rhian Brewster secures World Cup final spot