But it was not to be as England ran out 2-1 winners. Portugal had beaten the Netherlands 1-0 in their semi-final whilst England overcame the Czech Republic by the same score. In an uninspiring first-half it was Isaac Buckley-Ricketts’ (Manchester City) darting runs that caused Portugal the most problems, whilst wingers João Filipe (Benfica) and Mesaque Dju (Benfica) kept the England defence on their toes.
Following the interval, the game sprung to life with England taking the lead after five minutes. Rui Pires (FC Porto) fouled Lukas Nmecha (Manchester City) in a dangerous position. Mason Mount’s (Chelsea) free-kick rebounded off the post and Easah Suliman (Aston Villa) reacted quickest, heading into an open net. Fortunately Portugal did not have to wait long to draw level when Abdu Conté’s (Sporting) cross was turned into his own net by Dujon Sterling (Chelsea) six minutes later.
Midway through the second period England regained the lead. Portugal tried to be too clever in their own half and the Young Lions won possession through Mount. The Chelsea youngster raced forward and displayed great vision by unselfishly squaring to Nmecha who had the simplest of chances.
Portugal coach, Hélio Sousa, summed it up perfectly after the match, saying: “We tried to score, many times, and created some more chances to make it 2-2 but we were not clinical. We were not efficient enough in front of goal today but I am very proud. We were magnificent but we could not get the second goal – England did.” Next year’s UEFA European Under-19 Championship will be held in Finland.