Gary Lineker and Premier League stars Wayne Rooney and Harry Kane lead tributes to England’s Under-17 World Cup heroes
Vincent Kompany, Pep Guardiola and Prince William all sing the praises of Steve Cooper's all-conquering youngsters
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SOCCER superstars hailed England’s History Boys for thrashing Spain to lift the Under-17 World Cup.
The Young Lions came back from 2-0 down to record a sensational 5-2 success in front of 60,000 fans in Kolkata.
And that meant England now boasts TWO World Cup winning teams after the Under-20s triumphed just four months ago.
No nation has ever had a World Cup double to celebrate before - you wait 51 years and two come along at once...
Gary Lineker - England’s top scorer in senior World Cup finals - said: “We have a new Golden generation. Well played boys, well played.”
And Wayne Rooney, England’s overall top scorer, tweeted in delight: “Yessss!!! Congratulations to all involved. Been class throughout the tournament #worldchampions.”
Michael Owen, star of the 1998 World Cup, said: “Brilliant achievement and once again, just goes to show we produce top class young talent. Well done lads.”
Current England first-choice striker Harry Kane said: “Congrats to the U17s - a fantastic achievement!”
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Peter Shilton , England’s most-capped player of all time, added: “Congratulations to England U17’s on winning this World Cup fantastic achievement, very proud of them.”
Player of the Tournament Phil Foden of Manchester City scored twice and Liverpool’s Rhian Brewster grabbed the Golden Boot with his eighth goal of the competition. Morgan Gibbs-White of Wolves and Chelsea’s Marc Guehi were also on target.
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Coach Steve Cooper said: “I’m speechless. The feeling is a little bit surreal and it might even feel a bit better tomorrow when we realise what we have done.
“We are worthy winners of the tournament. To be 2-0 down in a World Cup against the run of play and win 5-2 tells you everything about the character of the players.
“This trophy is a dedication to the good work being done back in England. These players have been in the system for four or five years and they are on a journey.
“For me it is recognition of where English football is and where it can go. It’s pretty special.
“The result is amazing but the way we have gone about it has been second to none. Not one long ball - pass, pass, pass and get into good areas. This is the way we are going and we have a plan that can be used in any game.
“We beat Spain playing our game. This is the way we want to play.”
Paul Simpson, who coached the U20s to glory, added: “Outstanding! The second half performance showed such character and I am delighted for everybody. We took Spain to the cleaners in the second half.
“England have been immense, they have shown such resilience and what a comeback this has been. It’s not luck, they deserve it and they still had the energy to make it even more emphatic.”
Prince William, who is FA President as well as the Duke of Cambridge, tweeted: “Congratulations to @England on becoming World Champions in an amazing #U17WorldCupFinal.”
England also received plaudits from former SPAIN star Pep Guardiola, who was delighted to hear Foden had done so well.
Spain won the World Cup and the Euros on the back of a sensational youth programme and the Manchester City boss predicted England to have a real crack at doing the same.
He said: “It is the step they need. It happened in Spain. Spain was always last 16, quarter finals.- they arrived one moment in the semi finals and since then they have won every time.
“That’s why it is so important. Big congratualtions to the manager, all the staff and the players because for English football they need that.”
Midfielder Foden can expect some first team action at the Etihad soon as Guardiola was already a big fan.
The former Barcelona boss said after City’s 3-1 win at West Brom: “What position did he play? When I find out, I will put him in this position if he scores two goals in the final!
“Every day he is in the locker room with our guys. That is the best way to learn, from the experienced guys, about what it means to be at a high level.
“It is so important for Manchester City, for him, for everybody, that he played at a high, high level in that competition. We cannot forget he played at a World Cup.”
While City skipper Vincent Kompany tweeted: “Get yourselves home, we’ve got a game on Wednesday!”
Former England and Manchester City defender Danny Mills hoped all the England team would go on to be stars.
He said: “They have to go on and build on this – make sure this is not the pinnacle of their careers.
“They want to be Premier League and England stars of the future, they have to build on this to get to the top.
“We have two World Cup-winning teams – this is unprecedented! It needs to be celebrated more.
“They have proved they are winners. Hopefully managers will see they can cope with pressure to win matches.”
Trevor Sinclair - who also played for England and City - added: “They scored the most goals, conceded the least and that shows they deserved to win it, which they did in style!”
The match was broadcast live on BBC2 but the Beeb sparked fan outrage after they MISSED the presentation ceremony in favour of a REPEAT of a Gardeners’ World episode.
Furious England fans took to Twitter to brand the Beeb “a disgrace,” “pathetic” and “s****.”
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