European Under-19 Championship: England beat Portugal in final

England U19sImage source, UEFA/Sportsfile
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England had lost their previous two European Under-19 finals

England won the European Under-19 Championship with a 2-1 victory over Portugal in the final in Georgia.

Aston Villa's Easah Suliman put the Young Lions ahead before Chelsea youngster Dujon Sterling volleyed into his own net six minutes later.

However, Manchester City striker Lukas Nmecha's goal gave England the victory.

Keith Downing's side played with 10 men for the final nine minutes after Fulham's Tayo Edun was sent off for a second yellow card.

It is the third title for England's youth teams in two months after England won the Under-20 World Cup and the Toulon Tournament in June.

England were also semi-finalists at the European Under-21 Championship in Poland last month, losing on penalties to Germany.

The Under-19s reached the final having topped their group before beating the Czech Republic and Germany in the knockout stages.

Image source, UEFA/SPORTSFILE
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The Young Lions celebrate Lukas Nmecha's winner

Downing praised his side for their character against a "lot of pressure" from Portugal.

"These boys are a talented youngsters. There are six under the age of 18 but they showed their resilience as well as quality," he said.

Captain Jay Dasilva said the win "capped off a great summer for the England youth teams".

"Hopefully this is something we can build on and keep getting better and better," he added.

Downing said the Football Association's investment into St George's Park has created "huge momentum" in youth football.

"What we need to do now is sustain this success and continue working through all the age groups.

"It's been a big year for us and we will enjoy it but there is continued work."

Who are the team?

Aaron Ramsdale (Bournemouth); Dujon Sterling (Chelsea), Easah Suliman (Aston Villa), Darnell Johnson (Leicester City), Jay Dasilva (Chelsea, capt); Tayo Edun (Fulham), Andre Dozzell (Ipswich Town), Mason Mount (Chelsea), Isaac Buckley-Ricketts (Manchester City), Ryan Sessegnon (Fulham); Lukas Nmecha (Manchester City)

Subs: Nathan Trott (West Ham United), Reece James (Chelsea), Jacob Maddox (Chelsea), Josh Dasilva (Arsenal, for Dozzell, 77), Marcus Edwards (Tottenham Hotspur, for Buckley-Ricketts, 84), Ben Brereton (Nottingham Forest, for Nmecha, 72)

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Former England captain Rooney was among the senior players to congratulate the team

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