England have won a football tournament. Repeat, England have won a football tournament, a shock that for many in the country will register as strongly on the Richter scale as the Brexit result or the outcome of last week's general election.
There was a growing feeling in England that, as far as the Three Lions went, winning football competitions had gone the same way as dinosaurs, black and white television and Ukip. But far from being extinct, it appears England's footballers have simply been dormant and on Sunday they erupted to life, beating Venezuela 1-0 in the Under-20 World Cup final in what BBC Sport describes as "their biggest international title since 1966".
There was certainly much jubilation from the great and the good of English football with Wayne Rooney and Gary Lineker both tweeting their congratulations at the result, as did Harry Kane, whose dramatic late goal for the senior side on Saturday rescued a point against Scotland.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Latest Videos FromThe Week
Ironically, Kane was a member of the England U-20 squad who last represented their country at the competition, in 2013, when they failed to win a game and finished bottom of their group.
It was England's first appearance in the final of a global tournament since their World Cup victory 51 years ago, and although the win was very much a squad effort the two players who stood out for their exploits were Everton forward Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who scored the only goal of the game, and Newcastle goalkeeper Freddie Woodman, who saved a penalty in the second-half, denying Adalberto Penaranda after he was fouled by Kyle Walker-Peters.
England had to overcome some strong nations to win the tournament, first topping a group containing Argentina, Guinea and South Korea, before seeing off Costa Rica, Mexico and Italy in the knockout stages.
And not only did England lift the tournament but Liverpool forward Dominic Solanke was awarded the Golden Ball for his outstanding contribution to the championship with the England striker joining the likes of Diego Maradona, Lionel Messi, Paul Pogba and Sergio Aguero in receiving the accolade.
Meanwhile Woodman was the recipient of the Golden Glove, awarded to the tournament's best goalkeeper. But the biggest honour surely went to captain Lewis Cook of Bournemouth, the young man who lifted England's first global trophy since Bobby Moore held aloft the World Cup at Wembley.
"This is the reward for some incredible work, some incredible sacrifices, and I do not think you can get a better feeling than what that felt like at the end of the game when the referee blew that whistle," said Paul Simpson, the England U-20 coach. "We are world champions and we have waited 51 years to able to say that again as an England team. It is an incredible feeling and I do not think it will ever go away if I am honest with you."
And asked what the win meant in the context of the senior squad's future, Simpson replied: "It is part of the development that we are trying to create of football players who are capable of being successful at senior tournaments, and hopefully this will go a long way to achieving that."
England Under-20s make first World Cup final since 1966
8 June
England's Under-20 side have become the first men's team to make a World Cup final since 1966 after coming from behind to beat Italy in the semi-finals in South Korea.
Two goals from Dominic Solanke, either side of a strike from Ademola Lookman, earned them a 3-1 win and the chance to take on Venezuela in the final of the Under-20 World Cup on Sunday.
The win came courtesy of Merseyside, via London - Solanke recently signed for Liverpool from Chelsea, while Lookman joined Everton from Charlton in January.
It was "a rare international victory over the Italians, but more importantly [secures] progress to Sunday's final in South Korea", says Chris Bascombe of the Daily Telegraph.
In addition to the goalscorers, the journalist was also impressed with Liverpool's Sheyo Ojo.
"There was a maturity in all areas of the park which bodes well for the future, and having overcome such a formidable opponent England will now be looking to compete the job on Sunday and - at youth level, at least - match the boys of '66."
The result is bound to prompt talk of a new golden generation and England have bettered their previous best performance of finishing third in 1993, says Jack Skelton of the BBC.
However, should we expect great things of this group of players? Of the 1993 squad, "only four players went on to represent England at senior level", he adds: "But many had successful top-flight careers, including a Premier League and Champions League winner."
That was Nicky Butt of Manchester United. Other notables included Nicky Barmby, Darren Caskey, David Unsworth and Julian Joachim.
But World Cup performance does not always give a clear indication of potential.
"In the 2013 U20 World Cup, England finished bottom of a group containing Iraq, Chile and Egypt, despite a squad featuring subsequent senior internationals Harry Kane, Eric Dier, John Stones, Ross Barkley, Jon Flanagan and James Ward-Prowse," says the journalist.
