Just hours after meeting the England players and watching them train at the Etihad Stadium – and posing for a joint team photograph – Lynch and his team earned a 7-0 win over the United States at the neighbouring Manchester Regional Arena, boosting their chances of reaching the final of their competition in the BT Paralympic World Cup.

"Meeting some of their England heroes gave my players a real boost," Lynch told insideworldparasport.

"Roy Hodgson made a point of shaking every member of my squad by the hand and offering them words of encouragement, which was really great of him.

"And it was also great to see the England players in action.

"They looked really impressive – and my keepers in particular were really interested to watch Robert Green and Joe Hart in action, because they have had the opportunity to train with them in the past.

"It was an inspirational visit.

"There was a lot of energy around in the stadium, and when we got back I told my players to try and use that to their advantage.

"Which they did."

Newly appointed England captain Steven Gerrard (pictured above, right) traded stories on the pitch with GB captain Matt Dimbylow (pictured above, left) and said he will be glued to the team's performances in London this summer.


Captain Dimbylow said the seven-a-side team had been buoyed by meeting the England team and he had enjoyed chatting captaincy tactics with Gerrard.

"Football really is the biggest sport in the UK and there is just so much passion within the football community," he said.

"To have the chance to meet Steven and the rest of the England team ahead of European Championships and watch them play has been amazing.

"We first played in the BT Paralympic World Cup two years ago, where we finished third and are aiming to be on top of the podium this week in what is a crucial tournament ahead of the Paralympic Games this summer and meeting the England team and having the opportunity to spend time with some of the most talented players in the world has been such a memorable experience."

Ibrahima Diallo, man-of-the-match from GB's opening 4-2 defeat by Brazil – who defeated the Republic of Ireland 5-0 in yesterday's other game – continued his excellent form, scoring two, with his side's other goals coming from Michael Barker and Alistair-Patrick Heselton.

Jose Guimaraes and Wanderson Oliveira once again got on the score sheet for Brazil, with Mateus Calvo, Emanoel Oliveira and Fabio Bordignon also scoring.

GB now need to beat the Republic of Ireland to earn a place in the final against Brazil.


Great Britain's 17-year-old forward George Fletcher had what he described as "one of the best days of my life" as he followed up his visit to the Etihad with a hat-trick.

"Today I scored a hat-trick for GB and met the England football team," Fletcher said.

"This has definitely been one of my greatest days and on top of everything I shook Leighton Baines' hand so as an Everton fan that was a great opportunity for me.

"When we met the England team we made full advantage of asking them questions and it got us hyped for today's game where we performed well.

"The whole atmosphere today was amazing, the crowd really cheered us on and gave us a boost.

"They kept shouting for us to give them more and that's exactly what we went on to do."

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


Related stories
May 2012: England's cerebral palsy footballers to meet Euro 2012 squad
May 2012: Sinclair gets sevens call for BT Paralympic football World Cup
April 2012: With Rio Ferdinand in role as dream mentor, Alistair Patrick-Heselton hopes to win London 2012 football gold
April 2012: Britain announce Paralympic footballers for London 2012
March 2011: Swansea star Sinclair targets London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic football double alongside brother