The class of 1984 finally have some company. There is a strong argument that success for England Under-21s is so often about player development and nurturing talent for their step up to the senior side. But winning tournaments is a moment not to be sniffed at, as any English fan will tell you.
But this is not just about what Lee Carsley and this talented group of players have just achieved. It is how they have achieved it, too – not least the drama that engulfed the final moments of this story.
England and penalties, as we know, do not exactly have a happy relationship. Which is why when Spain’s Abel Ruiz stepped up and placed the ball on the penalty spot in the 96th minute of this final, you feared there was only ever really going to be one outcome. England’s 1-0 lead wiped out at the last possible second, extra time and potential heartache. We have all read this script before.
However, this group clearly do not play to the script. Manchester City’s James Trafford has had a breakthrough season at club level on loan at Bolton but the man who is on his way to Burnley next season has written his name into English footballing folklore throughout this tournament. He was not only equal to Ruiz’s penalty, but a follow-up effort, too, to preserve his incredible record of going the entire tournament without conceding a single goal, the first time in this competition’s history a goalkeeper has kept six successive clean sheets.
“I told everyone this morning I was going to save a pen and when it was a penalty, I knew I was going to save it, so it was pretty easy, to be honest,” the 20-year-old told Channel 4. “I told all my mates back home I was going to save one.”
It meant Curtis Jones’s first-half goal proved to be the difference in delivering a first title for the under-21s in almost 40 years. Among this group are Premier League regulars such as Anthony Gordon, Levi Colwill and Morgan Gibbs-White coupled with bona fide stars of the future who have thrived in the EFL this season such as Trafford and the captain, his City clubmate Taylor Harwood-Bellis. How fitting that Gareth Southgate was in attendance; you suspect some of the stars of this squad will receive senior call-ups sooner rather than later.
Then there is the manager. Two years ago the under-21s finished bottom of their group but Carsley has rejuvenated the squad with the full backing of Southgate and he has created a side that know how to win tough but also how to play some sublime football. It will be just as intriguing to watch his career unfold in the years ahead along with his players, with the former Everton midfielder likely to be in discussion for a first job at club level should he so desire after orchestrating this success.
“The manner in which this England squad has progressed through the tournament has been hugely impressive, and to do it without conceding a goal is simply remarkable,” the FA’s chief executive, Mark Bullingham, said.
The scale of the drama at the end made Jones’s goal an hour earlier feel like a lifetime ago. England had chances to go ahead earlier, with Gordon involved in the pick of them. The Newcastle forward, who was deservedly crowned the player of the tournament, produced a great save from Arnau Tenas before squaring for Gibbs-White, who narrowly missed the chance to put England ahead before Colwill headed against a post.
But they did not spurn their next big chance. After the impressive Cole Palmer won a free-kick on the edge of the penalty area, the Manchester City’s man strike took a huge deflection off Jones, standing in front of the wall, and wrong-footed Tenas to give England the lead. Palmer’s celebrations sparked a melee that led to a member of the Spanish coaching staff and the England assistant Ashley Cole being sent off.
Spain returned after the break with greater purpose and energy. They put England on the back foot and six minutes after the restart they thought they had levelled when Ruiz headed powerfully past Trafford. However, the flag saved England, with VAR confirming Ruiz was offside.
England held their nerve well under increasing pressure, even having the odd chance at the other end to settle the final once and for all, Chelsea’s Noni Madueke having the best of them.
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Six nerve-shredding minutes of stoppage time seemed to last an eternity. Then, just as the result looked safe, Colwill clipped Ruiz. There could be no arguments, with VAR confirming it. Heartbreak all over again for England, surely. It almost felt like an inevitability and the agony of defeat in the 2009 final sprung to the forefront of your mind. But this time, there would be no repeat heartache.
Trafford stepped up not once but twice to spark the most chaotic of celebrations. The substituted Gibbs-White was even sent off amid more post-penalty scuffling but as England lifted the trophy aloft, the smile on his face told you just how immaterial that red card was. The future, it seems, is bright.
