Kolkata: England completed a stunning come-back at the Yuva Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata as they beat Spain 5-2 to lift the Fifa Under-17 World Cup trophy. This was England’s second World Cup trophy this summer after the Under-20’s triumphed in South Korea.
Sergio Gomez had put Spain 2-0 ahead but Rhian Brewster’s first-half goal gave England a glimmer of hope just before half-time. Their superior fitness shone through in the end as England scored through Morgan Gibbs-White, Marc Guehi and Phil Foden to run riot in the second half and win 5-2.
Both coaches named unchanged teams. After a lightning-fast start by England, it was Spain who had the early breakthrough as Juan Miranda’s cross was converted by Barcelona team-mate Gomez. It was 1-0 to Spain and England were under early pressure after 10 minutes. Mohamed Moukhliss was then through on goal and could have made it 2-0 to Spain.
The Spaniards took a 2-0 lead in the 31st minute as Ruiz played it to Cesar Gelabert, who turned and twisted in the box before crossing it to Sergio Gomez. The Barcelona forward took a touch before firing it into the far corner of Curtis Anderson’s net.
Callum Hudson-Odoi and England were then denied by the frame of the goal as the Chelsea winger cut in from the left as his shot hit the right side of the goalpost and went out of play.
And then it was game on in the 44th minute as Steven Sessegnon put in a delightful ball and all Rhian Brewster had to do was get his foot on the end of it, to score his eighth goal in the tournament to ensure his Golden Boot.
The second half was all England, and in the 58th minute Foden passed the ball to Sessegnon, who crossed it for Morgan Gibbs-White. The Wolves midfielder had the easiest of tap-ins to make it 2-2.
And the lead came close to the 70 minute mark as Callum Hudson-Odoi ran to the byline and crossed it in for Foden who put it in with the English bench erupting. With a little over 20 minutes left, England led 3-2.
Marc Guehi then took advantage of the confusion within Spanish box to put it past Fernandez and make it 4-2. Foden, who also took the Golden Ball for the tournament’s best player, scored the final goal. The Manchester City youngster, with an exquisite finish, ended any hopes of a Spain comeback in the 88th minute. Spain players then lost their cool with quite a few of the youngsters surrounding the referee and fracas ensued with England leading 5-2. Steve Cooper’s boys never gave up on the night of the final and scripted an amazing comeback.
