Samba time for England again

After Ronaldinho comes Evandro. Alex Hayes reports on the junior rematch

Following David Seaman's error of judgement in the World Cup quarter-final last month, it should perhaps come as no surprise that all England coaches are now anxious when facing a Brazilian team. Still, putting Michael Jordan in goal is taking the nation's fear of another lob a little far.

At least this particular Michael Jordan tries to keep balls out of the net rather than slam them in. He also happens to be English. The Under-17s first-choice goalkeeper was rested on Thursday evening for England's 2-0 victory over the Czech Republic, but is expected to return for today's tournament decider against the Samba Boys at Oxford United's Kassam Stadium.

Memories of Ronaldinho's freakish free-kick should not trouble Jordan too much, but the youngster, who, ironically, plays for the same club as Seaman, will need to have his wits about him if Brazil's No 8 steps up to strike a dead-ball. Evandro, who has already attracted the attention of Milan, possesses the three most telling signs of a danger man in the current football climate: he has curly hair, goofy teeth and a Brazilian passport. England, beware.

"The Brazilians have very inventive players, who are free-flowing when going forward," said John Peacock, the England head coach. "Although they have scored only two penalties so far, they have had a lot of shots in the last two games and will be tough opponents. Evandro is a very special kid, someone who is mobile and clever – you never know what he's going to do next. But we have exceptional players of our own."

One such talent is Sunderland's Grant Leadbitter, whose floppy blond hair is reminiscent of a younger David Beckham and whose style of play bears more than a passing resemblance to his club manager, Peter Reid. Tough tackling, hard working and, most importantly, blessed with a good footballing brain, the 16-year-old could be one to look out for. "He's a tenacious and bright midfielder," said Peacock after the win that took England to the top of the table in this Nationwide tournament. "He likes to tackle, but is also comfortable with the ball. I like that in a player. He can play quick balls, or slow the tempo down, and his decision-making is first class."

Four years after he introduced his blueprint for the restructuring of coaching in England, Howard Wilkinson is finally starting to see some results. This England team have all the battling qualities one would expect, but they can pass the ball, too. "I think this generation of English players are very different," Peacock said. "So much is always said about the South Americans and their levels of skill, but my lads are just as comfortable as them with the ball at their feet."

Leadbitter marshalled the three-man midfield with great aplomb on Thursday, and the cohesion and understanding between the central trio of Leadbitter, Nathan Doyle and Jamie O'Hara was a feature of England's play.

Early in the second half, Leadbitter then turned provider when he set up Dean Bowditch from the right side of the penalty area for England's opening goal. Bowditch added another late in the game.

"We had identified a weakness in the Czech team at set-pieces," Peacock explained, "and managed to surprise them with the short corner for the first. The second goal was quite simply an excellent finish. In fact, it would be hard to find two better goals at this level." With Luke Moore, the exciting Aston Villa striker, also available for today's match, England have plenty of attacking options.

This tournament is just another step towards the World Championships next year. And, fresh from their third place finish in the European Championships, Peacock's side would seem to be on the right track. Only Brazil stand in England's way... again.