Curtis Jones scores lone goal, James Trafford makes incredible double save on penalty in second-half stoppage time

Michael Dominski

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Trafford the hero as England edge Spain

England have beaten Spain 1-0 in the final of the 2023 European Under-21 Championship, winning the competition for the first time since 1984.

Curtis Jones scored the game's lone goal in first-half stoppage time as Cole Palmer's free kick deflected off of his back.

James Trafford made a pair of remarkable saves on a Spain penalty deep in second-half stoppage time to secure the win as England completed the entire tournament without conceding a single goal.

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Gordon: 'Sometimes you just need a little bit of luck, and it went our way'

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Player of the Tournament Anthony Gordon speaking to UEFA.com: "I'm absolutely delighted. I feel I have had a good tournament, but me with the individual trophy is down to my team-mates and the staff. The squad is really unselfish. Six or seven of us might have won it, that shows how good we've been.

"It was a very intense game, but we knew that coming into it. Spain have a particular style of football that's very difficult to play against. I thought we dug in and stuck together well at times, and sometimes you just need a little bit of luck, and it went our way.

"Trafford could have been Player of the Tournament. He was incredible. I've never seen a goalkeeper perform like that with my own eyes.

"Unselfishness has been key. We have so much individual ability, but it's how you structure that and how we as individuals can put our egos aside and come together as one. Our chemistry off the pitch was second to none. Everyone was together for one goal, and that is what got us to where we got to."

Spain coach: 'We tried until the very last minute'

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Spain coach Santi Denia speaking after the defeat: "I feel extremely proud of everyone, not only the players but everyone who forms part of this family. They've all worked in an extraordinary manner.

"The team have kept growing and we tried until the very last minute. We are strong and we will keep growing with this way of playing."

Updated European Under-21 Championship all-time winners

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• Spain: 5 times (1986, 1998, 2011, 2013, 2019)
• Italy: 5 (1992, 1994, 1996, 2000, 2004)
• England: 3 (1982, 1984, 2023)
• Germany: 3 (2009, 2017, 2021)
• Russia: 2 (1980, 1990)
• Netherlands: 2 (2006, 2007)

Four nations (Serbia, France, Czech Republic and Sweden) have won the competition once.

Harwood-Bellis: 'Everyone has played their part'

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England captain Taylor Harwood-Bellis speaking to UEFA.com: "We've been talking about it a lot, and we felt it was our time to do it. There was a lot of pressure on us to do well as we have a good team. We're like one big family, it's like a club. We'll all celebrate together.

"(Trafford) has to take a lot of the credit, but everyone has played their part. We kept a clean sheet against Germany, they're a top team, it's not easy to do that. All the lads have pushed each other when they've not been playing. That's something we take pride in. We dug in against Portugal, we dug in here again, and having that in our locker is massive.

"The togetherness of the whole group, the intensity in training, everyone wants to be here. You can't buy that. There's not one player I can't sit with, have a chat with, and we have a lot of quality, that goes without saying."

Palmer: 'You create your own luck'

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Asked about his free kick that led to England's goal, Cole Palmer says: "I don't even know to be honest. When I went down and got a free kick, I was just thinking, score. Obviously it was very lucky, but you create your own luck."

After touching on his frustration with Spanish players going to ground and "screaming", Palmers says: "When I scored, the celebration might have been a bit over the top, but just happy."

Palmer adds that England still have enough energy to celebrate.

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Trafford: I knew I was going to save penalty

James Trafford, with a completely straight face, says: "I told everyone this morning I was going to save a pen, and when it was a penalty I knew I was going to save it, so it was pretty easy."

Sergio Gomez is extremely happy

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Manchester City’s Sergio Gomez finished the tournament as the joint-highest scorer with Spain team-mate Abel Ruiz. They each scored three goals.

Gomez, who was excellent tonight, poses with the trophy.

England honour Ramsey

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England’s players pose with Jacob Ramsey’s shirt after lifting the trophy.

Ramsey returned home on Tuesday after breaking his metatarsal in the quarter-final win over Portugal.

Perfect tournament

Six matches, six clean sheets:

Group stage

• England 2-0 Czech Republic
• England 2-0 Israel
• England 2-0 Germany

Quarter-final: England 1-0 Portugal

Semi-final: England 3-0 Israel

Final: England 1-0 Spain

Trophy celebration

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England captain Taylor Harwood-Bellis lifts the trophy!

England's players are singing "Campeones, campeones, ole, ole ole!"

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Moment of the match

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Trafford's penalty save, which was followed by an incredible second save a split second later.

What it means

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Max Aarons and Thomas Doyle.

Gordon is tournament MVP

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Anthony Gordon has been named UEFA’s Player of the Tournament.

UEFA's Technical Panel said: "He played the whole tournament at a high level, scoring two goals and creating an assist."

Jones is final MVP

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Curtis Jones has been named the Player of the Match after being credited with the lone goal.

Bright future for England

England had ‘succeeded’ at the Under-21 level before (developing a style and individuals) but it feels significant that they have won a tournament in this fashion. A perfect defence. They're the first team to win this competition without conceding a single goal since the format was changed in 2000.

From “utterly impossible” two years ago to perfect winners is quite the turnaround. So much to be optimistic about with these England youth squads (and therefore the senior team in the next few tournaments).

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England's celebrations

Let-off for Colwill

Great achievement by England U21s.

Trafford the late hero but a goal from that penalty would have been super harsh on Colwill, who was brilliant.

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