Ben Johnson’s summer of European titles continued on Saturday when England lifted their first UEFA European U21 Championship trophy for 39 years.
The Young Lions triumphed in a tetchy, yet dramatic final against Spain in the Georgian city of Batumi.
Curtis Jones’ goal on the stroke of half-time, when the Liverpool midfielder’s touch took Cole Palmer’s free-kick beyond Spain goalkeeper Arnau Tenas, was ultimately enough to secure a 1-0 victory and the trophy for Lee Carsley’s men.
That only told half the story, however, as England needed the heroics from their stopper James Trafford to hold on to their advantage deep in second half stoppage time.
Spain were awarded a last gasp penalty after a VAR intervention, but Trafford dived low to his right to stop Abel Ruiz’s effort, springing up to save the rebound too and preserve his perfect record of not conceding in any of England’s six games in the tournament.
Johnson was an unused substitute in the final, but featured four times en route to glory as he claimed a second winners’ medal in little over a month, following on from West Ham United’s UEFA Europa Conference League triumph in Prague.
The tournament sees Johnson’s time at U21 level come to an end, with ten caps and an international title in his pocket.
