England won its maiden FIFA Under-17 World Cup crown in style defeating old rival Spain 5-2 in the final, with a spectacular turnaround in the second half, here on Saturday.
A capacity crowd of 66,684 watched in awe as England pulled off a stunning comeback, scoring four goals in the second session. The match was a battle of two halves, where Spain dominated the first to lead 2-1, but paled after the break when the Englishmen raised their game.
Spain enjoyed the initial exchanges, securing a 2-0 lead before the first 30 minutes with Sergio Gomes scoring a brace. Philip Foden scored twice, while Rhian Brewster, Morgan Gibbs-White and Marc Guehi scored one each for England.
Spain bettered England on pace and precision in the opening half where the English defence searched unsuccessfully for the right tactics.
The Spaniards exploited the sluggishness in the complacent England defence with a fantastic counter-attack in the 10th minute. The goal was the result of the hard work of left-back Juan Miranda, who created the opening playing one-two with captain Abel Ruiz, before Gomes did the finishing.
England conceded the second past the half-hour mark as Spain kept its relentless forays through the wings. Falling back to a more creative role, Ruiz showed an eye for the gaps in the English defence and set up Cesar Gelabert on the edge of the box.
Gomes, by this time, had moved up the left and, as Gelabert turned the ball towards him, fired it in.
Breakthrough
England fought its way back into the game off a Hudson-Odoi effort that came off the upright in the 43rd minute. England continued to push for the breakthrough which came in the next minute when Steven Sessegnon collected a Spanish clearance near the goalmouth and floated it as Brewster nodded home. Doubling its effort after the break England drew level in the 58th minute as Spain looked to preserve the lead.
Foden, one of the most gifted midfielders of the tournament, showed his talent in setting up Sessegnon with a pass through a heavily fortified Spanish defence. Sessegnon fired a low cross that Gibbs-White had no difficulty in tapping home to make it 2-2.
England put one hand on the crown as Foden got in the scoring act himself in the 69th minute to make it 3-2.
The Spaniards tried valiantly for a comeback in the 73rd minute, but Victor Chust’s header off a Ruiz chip was saved on the line by Sessegnon.
Hudson-Odoi had by now become invincible on the left. The English winger fetched the fourth goal from a free-kick in the 84th minute that was controlled by captain Joel Latibeaudiere and finished by Marc Guehi.
Foden completed the scoring process receiving another cross from Hudso-Odoi in the 88th minute as England became the best youth team in the world adding the U-17 crown to the Under-20 World Cup which it had won in May this year.
The result (final): England 5 (Rhian Brewster 44, Morgan Gibbs-White 58, Philip Foden 69, 88, Marc Guehi 84) bt Spain (Sergio Gomes 10, 31).
Individual awards: Golden Ball: 1. Philip Foden (England), 2. Sergio Gomez (Spain), 3. Rhian Brewster (England).
Golden Boot: 1. Rhian Brewster (England) 8 (penalty 1); 2. Lassana Ndiaye (Mali) 6; 3. Abel Ruiz (Spain) 6 (penalty 2).
Golden Glove: Gabriel Brazao (Brazil).
Fair play award: Brazil.
