By Samuel A. July 9, 2023
The class of 1984 finally has some company as England Under 21 class of 2023 team win the European Championship for the first time in 39 years!!! It was an entertaining and feisty game as two of the European heavyweights went head to head against each other, but the main highlight of the game was the last minute penalty save by James Trafford. The Man City goalkeeper who is set for a move to another club this summer, kept out Abel Ruiz’s low spot kick in the 99th minute after a lengthy VAR check. The 20-year-old then produced another brilliant stop on the follow up before his teammates mobbed him up.
The winning goal came with literally the last kick of the first half when Cole Palmer’s free kick deflected off teammate Curtis Jones and wrong footed goalkeeper Arnau Tenas to find the bottom corner. Spain, who had scored 13 goals prior to the final, the highest in the tournament, had a goal by Abel Ruiz ruled out for offside after halftime, before Trafford’s late heroics sealed England’s victory. The win meant Lee Carsley’s talented side are not only the third England team to win the competition after previously picking up the trophy in 1982 and 1984, but are also the first team to record six successive clean sheets in the tournament’s history.
“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 goalie said. “I told all my mates back home I was going to save it”.
Just 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 knows 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. However, they did not spurn their next big chance.
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 leveled 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.
Trafford, who is on the brink of becoming the third most expensive English goalkeeper ever, will rightly take the headlines for his heroic double save in the last minute of added time of the final. However, that moment just capped off what had already been a superb tournament, having been a standout player in this team from the very first game. He has shown he is the very definition of a modern day goalkeeper – comfortable with the ball at his feet, dominant when coming for crosses, and making eye-catching saves when called upon. He also has immense self belief, telling people that he would one day play for England while he was on loan at Accrington Stanley.
During this competition he has spoken about his desire to play at the highest level and he will now get the chance next season when he becomes a Premier League number one at Turf Moor.
