Steve Cooper: making of a World Cup winner with Liverpool in his sights

When England were pitted against Colombia at the 2018 World Cup, it was time for Steve Cooper to show Gareth Southgate his homework. Cooper, who had led England to the under-17 equivalent of the competition the previous year, was tasked by the Football Association with studying the South American side throughout the tournament and flew to Russia to present his findings to Southgate, the staff and the technical director, Dan Ashworth, in the buildup to the last-16 match in Moscow.

“Dan always used to challenge the coaches: ‘If you were the England manager, how would you set up? What would you do?’” says the England goalkeeping coach, Martyn Margetson, who later worked with Cooper at Swansea. “The tactical detail was incredible. He gave us a full insight into what Colombia were, really. You were looking at Steve and thinking: ‘Yeah, you know your stuff.’ It is a daunting task but Coops did an amazing job.” England ended up winning on penalties.

Now Cooper’s focus is on Nottingham Forest and facing Liverpool, where he spent five years coaching in the academy, in Sunday’s FA Cup quarter-final. His work with England’s under-17s, including with Phil Foden, Conor Gallagher and Jadon Sancho, enhanced an already blossoming reputation. Cooper arrived at the FA from Liverpool, where he became academy manager and coached Raheem Sterling and Trent Alexander-Arnold. Since taking charge at Forest in September, Djed Spence, 21, Brennan Johnson, 20, and James Garner, 21, have thrived.

“Over a long period, Steve will have worked with some of the best young players in the country,” says Ian Foster, the England Under-19s head coach who, with Mike Marsh, assisted Cooper at the Under-17 World Cup. “In terms of his recruitment at Swansea, he