Brazilian Soccer Schools (BSS) graduate Bruno Pilatos played an instrumental role in England U16s 1-0 Sky Sports Victory Shields win over Wales, coming off the bench to create the opening goal.
The 15-year old, who trained at BSS Sunderland under Head of Coach development Steve Nichol, was named in the 18-man squad last week, and his services were called upon after 41 minutes.
In an otherwise drab affair, the Middlesbrough youngster used his skill to beat two players down the right before laying the ball off to George Thorne who in turn found Benik Afobe, and the latter added the finishing touch to hand his side the victory. Such was the nature of several of the individual performances, including Bruno's, manager Kenny Swain tipped many of the highly-rated prospects to make a name for themselves in the professional game. "Whatever the result, it doesn't change the fact that there is a lot of talent in this set of players," Swain said. "It is an exciting year group and hopefully the performances and results will continue to improve alongside their talent."
Bruno follows in the footsteps of another BSS graduate, Micah Richards, in adding to his reputation in the England youth ranks, with the Manchester City man impressing sufficiently in the U16s and upwards before eventually becoming the youngester ever defender to receive a senior cap. Head of BSS Sunderland Nichol said: "We were delighted that Bruno received international recognition in the way of a call up to the England U16 squad, and we're even happier that he was given more than half the game to impress his talents on the coaching staff. "He looked lively as soon as he came on, and he was instrumental in the winning goal five minutes from time, so it was a brilliant display all round.
"He's also level-headed, which means he'll go back to Middlesbrough and continue his rapid progress there too." |
