England have successfully qualified for the knockout stage of the Homeless World Cup as a Tier 1 side after winning seven of eight Group A matches.
The Three Lions, under the stewardship of Foundation Deputy Head Craig McManus, ranked 35 out of the 36 nations entering the competition based this year in Seoul, South Korea, yet have overcome all expectation in advancing to the second phase as Group A runners-up.
The only defeat of an outstanding group stage campaign came at the hands of four-time winners Mexico, who are statistically the strongest nation in the history of the competition.
Alongside two penalty victories, McManus’ outfit put seven past Switzerland and South Korea, on home turf, before the standout 10-2 landslide over Germany.
Despite the impressive record of six straight wins, England endured a pulsating final clash to secure a spot amongst the top nations with only one of the Three Lions or South Africa able to join Mexico in the top eight.
Fate pitted them against each other for the last round of group stage fixtures, where England fought back from 5-2 down to edge past their African counterparts with a full-time result of 6-5.
Although the Homeless World Cup runs on an annual basis, the Three Lions have not competed at the tournament’s top table since 2008 and their current run has banked a minimum fourth-best finish in the country’s history.
“I’m hugely proud of what they’ve achieved both on the pitch and off the pitch,” said Craig, speaking to BBC Tees after securing England’s qualification to the second phase as a Tier 1 side.
“The character and the togetherness we’ve got in this group is unbelievable. They’ve shown real grit and managed to qualify. We want to go and win it now.
“At this point, it’s looking as if we’ll face the USA in the quarter-finals, but we’ll take it one game at a time and enjoy the experience. This is a life-changing opportunity for these players.”