How England won the European Under-21 Championships

-

England U21 1 - 0 Spain U21

England won the European Under-21 Championship for the first time in nearly 40 years.

James Trafford's dramatic last-minute penalty save ensured the Young Lions beat Spain. The young goalkeeper, who is set to join Burnley from Manchester City in a deal that could be worth up to £19m, kept out Abel Ruiz's low spot-kick in the 99th minute.

The 20-year-old then produced another brilliant stop on the follow-up before being mobbed by his team-mates.

More England news from every level can be found here.

You can watch the highlights of the match in the video below. England U21 1-0 Spain U21 | Heroic James Trafford Makes Young Lions European Champions! | Highlights - YouTube

England just about had enough to overcome Spain

The winning goal came with virtually the last kick of the first half when a Cole Palmer free-kick deflected off team-mate Curtis Jones and wrong-footed goalkeeper Arnau Tenas to find the bottom corner.

Spain had a Ruiz goal ruled out for offside after half-time before Trafford's late heroics sealed England's victory.

The win meant Lee Carsley's talented side are the third England team to win the competition after winning in 1982 and 1984. England were also the first team to record six successive clean sheets in this tournament's history.

There's an exciting future ahead for the young English players

The Young England side played exciting football in Georgia throughout the tournament. They started the final positively, with Newcastle's Anthony Gordon having the first meaningful chance when his shot was pushed wide by Spain keeper Tenas.

Gordon was then involved again as he looked to tee up Morgan Gibbs-White before an interception from Jon Pacheco prevented the Nottingham Forest player from having a tap-in.

Spain soon came into the match, with Alex Baena curling an effort past Trafford's post. He then scuffed another effort wide after picking up a loose pass by Gibbs-White.

Defender Levi Colwill headed against the crossbar from an excellent delivery from Palmer. The Manchester City man helped give England the lead when his free-kick was deflected in by Liverpool's Jones. After that, England had decent possession but you always suspected that Spain were still in the game. 

It didn't quite happen for Spain but the future is bright for their players

Towards the end of the final, England were under immense pressure, and for the Spanish, it looked to have paid off when Ruiz headed in from a Baena cross, only for the offside flag to go up. Ruiz also had another chance to equalise, but headed wide from inside the six-yard box.

There was then that dramatic ending. How did this no go in? 

How many of the Spanish side will go on to careers like Juan Mata, David Silva and Andrés Iniesta? You stay informed with all the latest news and stories from Spain by clicking here. 

Some of the best reaction

Liam, a Manchester United fan, watched the match on TV. He spoke about the hard work that the players put in across the season: "That is a great way for some of these young players to end what must feel like a never-ending run of football. From the pre-season of 2022-23 that started in July last year through to this match, some of these lads have seriously grafted. However, they've been rewarded with a nice little trinket and some glorious memories to show for it."

Frank spoke about a moment of history that these players will never forget. He added: "It is hard to believe that this is England U21s' first Euros triumph in 39 years. It is the third time they've won the competition, after 1982 and 1984. Regardless of what the players do now (I think they'll all have great careers) they will always have this moment."

More football news from Europe can be found here: European Super Football (eurosuperfootball.blogspot.com)

Popular posts from this blog

EFL: Ipswich promoted to Premier League

-
Image
Ipswich Town 2 - 0 Huddersfield Town Ipswich Town soared back into the Premier League by cruising to a win over Huddersfield at Portman Road. Wes Burns gave the home side a first-half lead. This was then doubled by Omari Hutchinson early in the second with a shot from the edge of the penalty area. Click here to discover more news from the English Football League. Ipswich have finished the Championship season on 96 points. This is just one less than champions Leicester. They have become the first team since Southampton in 2011-12 to go from League One to the Premier League in successive seasons.  McKenna is also only the fifth manager in the club's history to win promotion to the top flight. This follows Alf Ramsey - later Sir Alf - in 1961, Bill McGarry in 1968, John Lyall in 1992 and George Burley in 2000. He is certainly is some great company there. From a Huddersfield perspective, the result also confirmed that they will be playing in League One next season. They were a Pre
Read more

FA Cup: United win on penalties

-
Image
 Manchester United 3 - 3 Coventry City Manchester United won 4-2 on penalties  United somehow progressed to the FA Cup final for the second successive season, following a dramatic semi-final victory over Coventry City. The Reds edged past the Sky Blues on penalties after a crazy and eventful 120 minutes to set up a rematch of last year's final, against Manchester City. Following goals from Scott McTominay, Harry Maguire and Bruno Fernandes, United appeared to be in total and complete control. Despite having a few chances, it did look like this was one match too far for Coventry. However, goals Ellis Simms and O'Hare reduced the deficit and made things very nervy for Ten Hag's side. Then in stoppage time, Haji Wright kept his nerve in stoppage time to score from the spot and send the game into extra time. Many Manchester United fans were furious at this point.  Disgraceful performance from #mufc https://t.co/sibOvrXJB0 pic.twitter.com/dPV06sMrkJ — Jay Dee (@JDESFNews)
Read more

Premier League: Another strange performance from Manchester United

-
Image
Manchester United 1 - 1 Burnley Zeki Amdouni scored a late penalty to grab what could he a priceless point for relegation-threatened Burnley in the Premier League at Old Trafford. Despite another unconvincing display from Manchester United, they did look well set for victory thanks to Antony's well-taken 79th-minute effort. Then Burnley got a penalty  Although the referee John Brooks managed to miss the foul in real time, unlike against Wolves the video assistant referee, Peter Bankes, stepped in. Substitute Amdouni managed to send the keeper the wrong way and earn Burnley this point  This result moved Burnley to within two points of fourth-bottom Nottingham Forest, whom they play at Turf Moor on the final day of the season.  There could still be a dramatic fight for survival with Burnley, Luton and Forest all scrambling to avoid relegation to the Championship.  You can watch the highlights of the match in the video below. The footage from YouTube is from the official Burnley
Read more