What are the chances for the new U20 World Champion?

(Baonghean.vn) - The future of the "young three lions", including Solanke, is still a big question, will people give these talents a chance? Especially the England team, which was just held to a 2-2 draw by Scotland in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers.

Since England won the World Cup on home soil in 1966, there have been too many disappointing senior players at every level, from the senior team to the youth team. It took 51 years for England to finally have a moment of joy with the “Young Lions” army of coach Paul Simpson and his team. But after winning the championship, what opportunities will there be for the young players?

After 51 years, England U20 won the World Cup again

Despite bringing to Korea many young talents from Premier League clubs such as 5 players from Everton, 3 from Liverpool, 2 from Chelsea, 2 from Tottenham and 1 from Manchester United, the English U20 team has received little expectation from the British press. The last time the "Three Lions" enjoyed the joy of victory on the international stage was at the 1966 World Cup, when the famous player Geoff Hurst scored a hat-trick to help host England defeat West Germany 4-2 in the final. Over the past half century, the British people have hoped and been disappointed countless times.

Furthermore, with the harsh Premier League, most of the "young three lions" present at the U20 England this time are often overshadowed by their seniors. Last season, the total time the U20 England players played in the Premier League was only 1,094 minutes. Captain Lewis Cook played 431 minutes (Bournemouth) and Dominic Calvert-Lewin played 346 minutes (Everton). Especially in the case of the best player of the tournament, Dominic Solanke, who had no chance to play at Chelsea, had to join Liverpool this summer.

In fact, in the U20 World Cup final, Venezuela was the team that played more beautifully, creating more dangerous opportunities. But that did not overshadow Calvert Lewin's equalizer in the 35th minute from a cross from midfield. If the opponent's shot hitting the post was considered lucky, goalkeeper Woodman played extremely well, directly blocking a Penaranda penalty in the 74th minute, helping the "young three lions" step up to the top of the U20 World Cup. Having an early goal gave coach Paul Simpson more tactical and personnel options to avoid being dragged into a physical battle with the Venezuelan players.

England U20 striker Dominic Solanke has won the Ballon d'Or

The “young lions” were ordered to keep the ball more (55% compared to 45%), take advantage of long-range shots and set up multiple layers of defense in front of the goal to protect the fragile 1-0 score. Young stars such as Lewis Cook (Everton), Joshua Onomah, Kyle Walker-Peters (Tottenham) all had an impressive tournament and affirmed their talents.

England U20 striker Dominic Solanke won the Golden Ball after his performances at the 2017 U20 World Cup. This is an award that superstars such as Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero and Paul Pogba have been honored with in the past. Liverpool "got a bargain" when only spending about 3 million pounds to pay Chelsea's training costs.

But the future of the “young three lions”, including Solanke, is still a big question, will people give these talents a chance? Especially the England team, which was just held to a 2-2 draw by Scotland in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers.

AT