Republic of Ireland Under 17 head coach Tom Mohan believes his side can secure their place in the UEFA U17 Championships quarter-finals with victory against England in Stara Zagora this evening.
Mohan's side will progress from Group D with a 2-0 victory over the English no matter what happens in the other fixture - Netherlands v Italy - but a win for either the Dutch or Italians will see Ireland progress with a win of any sort against England.
The Irish boss knows that John Peacock's England are a top class side but has the belief that the Irish can show their own quality in the final group game.
"We've a few bumps and bruises but nobody else is a doubt outside of the obvious loss of Trevor Clarke with a foot injury sustained against Italy," said Mohan.
"Trevor has been excellent for us all season so is naturally a loss with his goals and work-rate but the door opens now for one of the other boys to come in and perform.
"We've got to keep getting the ball into the right areas and show our threat in front of goal and put the ball in the back of the net. I'd be worried if we weren't creating chances but we showed in the games against the Dutch and Italy that we can create.
"It's essentially knockout football now. We need to win to progress so it's in our own hands."
With many of the Irish players playing with English clubs Mohan knows that this fixture will have a real derby feel for both sides.
"It always is with Ireland-England games, especially with so many of the players being club-mates. It’s a great occasion. Our boys are really looking forward to it and would really love to put one over the old enemy."
FIXTURES
England v Republic of Ireland, 5:00pm
Netherlands v Italy, 5:00pm
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