Danone Nations Cup World Finals
Thursday 06 October 2011By ESFA Office
Last Updated:
10/02/2021 10:49:14
Pupils from Cardinal Heenan and Lancaster make up the Team England Squad
MADRID, 6 TO 9 OCTOBER 2011
Blog: Thursday 6 October 2011
The England squad, comprising boys from Cardinal Heenan Sports College (Liverpool SFA) and The Lancaster School (Leicester SFA) arrived safely in Madrid after the 2 hour flight from London's Luton Airport. They are taking part in a 40 nation World Cup Under 12 Festival. All 40 teams are based at the Convencion Hotel in the centre of Madrid.
The England team trained under the hot afternoon sun today. Team coach John Scales (ex Liverpool, Spurs and Wimbledon defender) put the 13 players through their paces in temperatures approaching 30 degrees. Unfortunately one player from Cardinal Heenan School has recently broken his arm and will have to be a spectator.
The draw for the competition was made late in the afternoon and is as follows:
- GROUP A
Belgium, Japan, Netherlands, Tunisia and Uruguay - GROUP B
Australia, Italy, Portugal, Russia and Thailand - GROUP C
Argentina, Haiti, Poland, Senegal and Ukraine - GROUP D
Brazil, Guatamala, Romania, Saudi Aradia and Turkey - GROUP E
Belarus, France, Morocco, Switzerland and the USA - GROUP F
Chile, China, Czech Republic, Indonesia and Mexico - GROUP G
ENGLAND, Ireland, New Zealand, South Korea and Spain - GROUP H
Algeria, Bulgaria, Canada, Germany and South Africa
There are "round robin" Group Matches on Friday 7 October 2011 and then new leagues will be formed for Saturday 8 October based on the performance of each country in the "round robin" leagues. On Sunday 9 October all 40 countries get the opportunity to play at the famous Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, home of the famous Real Madrid Football Club.