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England vs Spain result, highlights as Trafford heroics seal Euro U21 glory for Young Lions

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Feargal Brennan
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• 11 min read
James Trafford
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England have clinched the UEFA U21 European Championship title with a dramatic 1-0 final win over Spain in Batumi.

The Young Lions maintained their perfect defensive record in the tournament as James Trafford's penalty save from  Abel Ruiz in the ninth minute of stoppage time secured the trophy for England for the first time since 1984.

Curtis Jones deflected home Cole Palmer's freekick to put England in front just before halftime.

However, the second period was a battle for England, as tempers flared and Trafford produced an iconic moment in the dying seconds to deny Ruiz and also brilliantly keep out the follow-up from substitute Aimar Oroz.

Antonio Blanco and Morgan Gibbs-White were then sent off in a fractious finale but Lee Carsley's side were crowned champions after the clock ticked past 112 minutes.

MORE: England U21 squad, manager as 2023 Young Lions chase first Euro title since 1984

England vs Spain final score

  1H 2H Final
England 1 0 1
Spain 0 0 0

Goals:

Jones — ENG — 45+3 Mins

Confirmed lineups:

England (4-4-2, right to left): Trafford (GK) — Garner, Harwood-Bellis, Colwill, Aarons — Palmer (Elliott), Jones, Gomes (Skipp), Smith-Rowe (Madueke) — Gibbs-White (Archer), Gordon (Doyle)

Spain (4-2-3-1, right to left): Tenas (GK) — Gomez (Barrenetxea), Parades, Pacheco, Miranda — Blanco (Camello), Baena (Oroz) — Rodri (Riquelme), Sancet (Veiga), Gomez — Ruiz

England vs Spain as it happened in UEFA U21 Euro Championship final

FULL TIME: ENGLAND 1 SPAIN 0

Trafford is the hero and England are EUROPEAN CHAMPIONS!!

An extraordinary final in Batumi ends in glory for England as Trafford's save from Ruiz secures their first European U21 title since 1984!

90+10: GIBBS-WHITE AND BLANCO ARE SENT OFF!

90+8 Mins: TRAFFORD SAVES FROM RUIZ!!

The Burnley-bound Manchester City keeper guesses the right way and saves from Ruiz!! INCREDIBLE

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90+7 Mins: PENALTY TO SPAIN!

Colwill catches Ruiz and it's a penalty for Spain in the dying seconds!

90+3 Mins: England are camped in their own box and clearing everything Spain can throw at them.

90 Mins: England have a perfect chance to seal the deal but Tenas scrambles back to deny Madueke.

SIX MINUTES ADDED ON!

88 Mins: England are being forced to dig in now with more changes as Tommy Doyle and Harvey Elliott come on. 

80 Mins: Spain patiently build themselves into the England box but Riquelme's strike is well wide.

75 Mins: A MASSIVE final 15 minutes incoming as Carsley on more fresh legs with Oliver Skipp and Cameron Archer on as Gomes and Gibbs-White head off. Trafford is booked for time-wasting.

72 Mins: HUGE CHANCE FOR SPAIN!

Gomez delivers a perfect cross into the box but Ruiz heads wide. Spain needed their main man to hit the target there!

70 Mins: England pour forward again and Jones' long-range effort forces a save from Tenas. Chelsea winger Noni Madueke is on for Smith-Rowe.

66 Mins: England break the Spain press and almost clinch the tie but Gibbs-White cannot get a clean contact on Gordon's cut back.

62 Mins: First changes for Spain as the highly rated Gabri Veiga comes on for Sancet and Aimar Oroz and Rodrigo Riquelme replace Baena and Sanchez.

60 Mins: Spain are pushing hard for an equaliser with Colwill looking to rally the England backline. 

55 Mins: Spain have the ball in the net as Ruiz thumps a header past Trafford but VAR backs up the referee's offside call against the La Roja skipper.

50 Mins: The big debate at half time  — once everyone calmed down  — was over who got the final touch on England's goal.

Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones has now been awarded the goal as Palmer's free kick touched him last.

46 Mins: We're back underway in Batumi.

HALFTIME: ENGLAND 1 SPAIN 0

Jones' didn't know much about his goal but he won't care because England lead at halftime. In the aftermath there was melee on the pitch and on the sidelines with Colwill and Oihan Sancet booked.

The Spain bench were unhappy with Palmer's celebration and the row triggered a shoving match. England coach Ashley Cole has been sent off!

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45+3 Mins: GOAL: 1-0 ENGLAND!

BREAKTHROUGH FOR THE YOUNG LIONS!

Carsley's England take their chance just before the break as Palmer's freekick takes a wicked deflection off the wall and flies past Tenas! The final touch game off Curtis Jones.

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45 Mins: OFF THE POST!!! WHAT A CHANCE FOR ENGLAND!

Levi Colwill gets away from his marker from a free kick and his downward header comes back off the post!

44 Mins: England have looked to sharpen up before the break as Manchester City's Cole Palmer steps inside and tests Tenas from the edge of the box.

40 Mins: Gordon is causing problems for Spain, as Antonio Blanco is booked for a trip on the Newcastle speedster, but he is yet to make a real impact on the game.

35 Mins: Spain cut through England again as Gomez's free kick flashes off target and Rodri Sanchez skids an effort just wide.

Baena picks up a caution for a foul on Gordon.

30 Mins: All square as we hit the half-hour mark in Batumi. Gordon's early chance is the closest England have come to a breakthrough with Spain edging a tight game.

25 Mins: A break in play allows England to regroup after that spell of Spain pressure. But, midfield star Angel Gomes picks up the first booking of the tie as he catches Baena with a late challenge.

20 Mins: A HUGE MISS FOR SPAIN

Gomez arrows in a corner, Aitor Paredes flicks on, but Abel Ruiz cannot stretch enough to stab home at the back post!

15 Mins: A warning for England as Villarreal's Alex Baena curls a superb effort just past James Trafford's post.

10 Mins: Another burst from England as Gordon's low ball across the box almost reaches Morgan Gibbs-White but Jon Pacheco gets back to clear for Spain.

A bright start from England as Spain look to settle into the game.

7 Mins: First chance of the game falls to England as Anthony Gordon's stinging effort forces a smart reaction stop from Barcelona goalkeeper Arnau Tenas.

5 Mins: An even start here at the Adjarabet Arena. England's defensive grit has got them to the final and they will be confident of posing a stubborn test to the La Roja attack.

KICK OFF: We're underway in Batumi.

15 mins to KO: Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard had a rousing pre-final message for Gunners teammate Emile Smith-Rowe

30 mins to KO: Some HUGE names have won the U21 Euro Player of the Tournament Award but no England player has won it since Mark Hateley in 1984!

45 mins to KO: Spain duo Sergio Gomez and Abel Ruiz are the joint top scorers at the 2023 U21 Euros will either make the difference tonight?

1 hr to KO: TEAM NEWS IS IN!

Just one change for England from the semifinal win over Israel as Max Aarons replaces Luke Thomas at left back and Spain are unchanged in Batumi.

1 hr 30 mins to KO: England have scored 10 goals and conceded zero this summer can they produce another winning moment tonight?

England vs Spain confirmed lineups

Carsley has recalled Max Aarons following his suspension for the semifinal win over Israel as Luke Thomas drops to the bench.

England (4-4-2, right to left): Trafford (GK) — Garner, Harwood-Bellis, Colwill, Aarons — Palmer, Jones, Gomes, Smith-Rowe — Gibbs-White, Gordon

Spain U21 boss Santi Denia has stuck with the same starting XI which cruised to a 5-1 semifinal win over Ukraine.

Spain (4-2-3-1, right to left): Tenas (GK) — Gomez, Parades, Pacheco, Miranda — Blanco, Baena — Rodri, Sancet, Gomez — Ruiz

England vs Spain live stream, TV channel

  TV channel Streaming
USA CBS Sports Network Paramount+, Fubo, ViX
UK Channel 4 UEFA  TV, Channel 4 online
Australia — UEFA  TV
Canada — UEFA  TV
Hong Kong — UEFA  TV
India — UEFA  TV
Malaysia — UEFA  TV
New Zealand — UEFA  TV
Singapore — UEFA  TV

USA: The 2023 UEFA European Championship is available to watch via the CBS Sports Network with streaming options on Fubo, Paramount+ and ViX.

Canada/Australia: With no national broadcaster in these nations carrying the tournament, fans can access each match via UEFA TV.

UK: A late agreement means Channel 4 will broadcast the match on free-to-air TV. Fans can stream the final through Channel 4's online offering or via UEFA TV.

Author(s)
Feargal Brennan Photo
Feargal Brennan

Feargal is a content producer for The Sporting News.

Football
UEFA U21 Championship
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England U21 vs Spain U21