England’s stunning 5-2 victory over Spain in the final of the Under-17s World Cup has got football fans and media purring over the Three Lions’ potential future success.
Two down against Spain on Saturday, England roared back with five goals to lift the trophy in front of a 66,684-strong crowd in Kolkata.
A goal from the tournament’s top scorer Rhian Brewster, two from Player of the Tournament Phil Foden, and strikes from Morgan Gibbs-White and Marc Guehi gave England revenge over a Spanish side that beat them in the European Championship final in May.
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The U-17s’ World Cup win comes off the back of a superb summer for English youth football, with the U-20s also winning the World Cup and the U-19s claiming the European Championships crown.
In a nation starved of a major tournament victory since 1966, hopes are rising for this current crop of Young Lions.
So could these youngsters be part of a future World Cup-winning team? Could they claim victory at the 2022 tournament in Qatar?
That’s the question the BBC is asking.
Former England defender Phil Neville points out that the senior-level players who have brought recent success for Spain and Germany had also won youth tournaments.
“I think history maybe tells you that if your youth teams are winning World Cups and European Championships then that group of young players can go on and hopefully win the senior equivalent,” Neville says.
“We have seen it with Germany and Spain in the past decade. That has got to be the plan and the aim for these players from the U-17s through to the U-21s. This group of players have tasted success and they know how to win international tournaments. From that point of view, that group of players in 2022 should be able to go and do it.”
England U-20s manager Paul Simpson confirmed that 2022 is the target for the current crop of players. He said: “The players who won the U-20s this summer, in five years’ time they may be ready to go to a World Cup. It is still the target. We’d be delighted if we get success in 2018 - but we are looking at 2022.
“We have to change people’s perceptions. We want to inspire a nation by being successful. Our country knows that we have good players but the rest of the world doesn’t give us the credit we deserve.
“The U-20s and the U-17s are doing that. You heard people saying that against Brazil [in the U-17s semi-final] it was as if the players had swapped shirts. We want to keep that going so next year is the same, and the year after.”
However, the Bleacher Report’s Alex Dunn says that while the current crop of new stars should enjoy their recent win, fans should avoid getting “carried away”.
He points out that the term “golden generation” has been used before - about teams that included David Beckham, Michael Owen, Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard - but on too many occasions, major tournaments have ended in disappointment for England.
Dunn calls England “an island trapped in a loveless marriage with international football”, adding: “For a great many of us walking sacks of misery old enough to be [Phil] Foden’s father, the golden generation represents a mis-sold dream.
“It’s sporting PPI. If everyone afflicted, circa 2002-2010, put in a claim, the Football Association would be bankrupt by the end of the week. They should make [Frank] Lampard and Steven Gerrard man the phones.”
Lampard himself warned the young players against the hype that the victory over Spain would bring. Speaking on BT Sport after Saturday’s match, Lampard said: “They need to know they have nowhere near made it. Celebrate, enjoy it, go and Instagram it. Do what you have to do, but the real work starts here.”
Meanwhile, The Times reports Chelsea boss Antonio Conte saying that the club’s five players who starred for England’s U-17s World Cup side would get their chance in the Blues’ first team - if they prove they are good enough.
“I am very happy for our five players,” said Conte. “I am very happy for our academy because it means our academy is working very well. Don’t forget that my first appearance in Serie A, I was only 16.
“A big congratulations to the whole team because to win the World Cup with the national team, Under-17s, means they are working really well. It means in England football is growing and improving a lot. I am sure that in the future, the England national team, the first team, will be very difficult to beat.
“I want to give these possibilities - but you have to deserve these possibilities.”
