England win Euro U19 title as Mason Mount masterminds win over Portugal
Updated 15/07/2017 at 21:10 GMT
England won their first ever European Under-19 Championship courtesy of a 2-1 win over Portugal in Gori, Georgia.
England won the Under-18 tournament in 1993, but their only previous final appearance since the change in format came in 2009 when they lost to Ukraine.
The Young Lions took the lead on 50 minutes when Easah Suliman nodded home after a clever free-kick from Chelsea's Mason Mount had struck the post.
Dujon Sterling scored an unfortunate own goal to pull Portugal level on 56 minutes, miskicking from an attempted cross and blasting the ball home.
But England were back in front 12 minutes later when Lukas Nmecha of Manchester City produced a composed finish, from another Mount assist.
"We showed another side of ourselves today, more of a defensive side - there was some real good defending, individually and as a group," coach Keith Downing told UEFA.
"Every game is tough - the Czech Republic gave us a real tough game [in the semis] and Portugal did so again today, but these boys are real talented youngsters. Six boys are under 18 so it's a young group, but they showed resilience as well as quality."
The triumph caps off a superb summer for the England youth teams, with the Under-20s winning the country's first World Cup at any level since 1966, and England also winning the Toulon Tournament.
The Under-17s also lost in their European Championship final to Spain, on penalties, while the Under-21s lost to Germany in their European Championship semi-final, again on penalties.
"It has created a huge momentum this year," Downing added.
"We have heavily invested in St George's Park in the last five years. What we need to do now is sustain this success and continue working through all the age groups.
"It has been a big year for us and we'll enjoy it, but we'll continue to work."
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