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Watch Curtis Jones Freak Goal And Brilliant James Trafford Penalty Save Help England Beat Spain In European Under-21 Championship Final

Watch a Curtis Jones freak goal and a brilliant James Trafford penalty save help England beat Spain 1-0 in the 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship final.

Robert Summerscales

Watch Curtis Jones Freak Goal And Brilliant James Trafford Penalty Save Help England Beat Spain In European Under-21 Championship Final
Watch Curtis Jones Freak Goal And Brilliant James Trafford Penalty Save Help England Beat Spain In European Under-21 Championship Final /

England won the UEFA European Under-21 Championship for the first time since 1984 on Saturday by beating Spain 1-0 in a dramatic final.

The only goal of the game arrived just before half-time and it was more than a little lucky.

A free-kick from Manchester City's Cole Palmer diverted into the net via the back of Liverpool's Curtis Jones, who had been trying to get out of the way.

Spain dominated possession at the Adjarabet Arena in Batumi, Georgia.

But the Spanish goalkeeper, Arnau Tenas, was called upon to make more saves than his English counterpart, James Trafford.

Tenas produced seven saves during an exciting contest, while Trafford made just four.

However, one of Trafford's saves was to keep out an Abel Ruiz penalty kick in the ninth minute of added time.

Trafford, who is set to sign for Burnley from Man City this summer, had not conceded a single goal in his first five appearances during the tournament.

A sixth clean sheet looked unlikely when Levi Colwill fouled Ruiz inside the 18-yard box. But Trafford pulled off a superb stop by diving to his right, before also blocking a follow-up effort from Aimar Oroz.

That was not quite the last action of the game as both teams had a player sent off before the final whistle was blown.

Antonio Blanco and Morgan Gibbs-White each received second yellow cards for dissent.

But Gibbs-White was back on the field soon after to get his hands on the trophy.

Despite his late penalty heroics and his remarkable record of keeping six consecutive clean sheets, Trafford was not voted as the Player of the Tournament.

That award was presented to Newcastle midfielder Anthony Gordon, who scored two goals and provided one assist in 407 minutes of game time for the Young Lions.

England's players pictured celebrating with their trophy after winning the 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
England's players pictured celebrating with their trophy after winning the 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship :: IMAGO/Sebastian Frej
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Robert Summerscales
ROBERT SUMMERSCALES

Robert Summerscales launched FanNation Futbol in February 2022. Rob is a British journalist who previously spent two years on the sports desk at the Daily Mail in London, having earlier served as editor of CaughtOffside.com. He has been to the last two FIFA Men's World Cups, in Russia and Qatar, and is looking forward to completing his hat-trick in North America in 2026.