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Hat-trick hero Brewster celebrates 'big dream come true'

Jan Kruger - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images

Rhian Brewster, whose second successive hat-trick took England to their first U-17 World Cup final with a 3-1 win over Brazil, called it a "dream come true" and shifted focus to Saturday's final.

"This is a big dream for me to score hat-tricks in two World Cup games, " Brewster said after the game. "And for it to come in the quarter-finals and semi-finals is an amazing feeling. Yeah, (it's) a dream come true. It was good to get the lead, and I think the boys dug deep and pushed through to the end, and ended up winning 3-1."

"It is an amazing achievement to score a hat-trick in the quarter-finals and the semi-finals; it needs a special mention and he deserves it and the team deserve it," England coach Steve Cooper said about Brewster's hat-trick.

Cooper was also full of praise for the effort put in by a determined England side, saying, "It is not just about Rhian's goals, it is about the effort that he puts in, for the team. We want to win the ball back as quick as we can and we want to press and that starts with the No. 9 and Rhian is a goalscorer but he is more than that.

He is a fantastic character. He will be the first to tell you that he is part of a team. None of us are after individual glory. It's is all about playing for your country, representing your country and doing it together."

The hat-trick made Brewster the first player to have scored two hat-tricks - the first was against USA in the quarter-finals - in the knockout stages of the tournament. Germany's Marcel Witeczek, Florent Sinama Pongolle of France and Cote d'Ivoire's Souleymane Dioubaly also had two hat-tricks, in previous editions, but spread over the competition.

"I dedicate it (the hat-trick) to my mom, my family and also (left-back and former Chelsea teammate) Jonny Panzo because it's his birthday today," Brewster said. He started off at Chelsea in age-group competition and only shifted to Liverpool at 15, and remembers his first hat-trick at any level. "It was for Chelsea and I think it was U-12s, against Tottenham. Scored four, it was quite a long while (back)."

Brewster, who made Juergen Klopp's bench for a game against Crystal Palace in April earlier this year, is now the tournament's top-scorer with seven goals.

"I am very happy to contribute to the team and now let's hope we can be World Cup winners," he concluded.