Drought over as England win U-20 world title

SUWON (South Korea) • After 51 years of hurt, England have won another World Cup, with their Under-20 team beating Venezuela 1-0 yesterday.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored and Freddie Woodman saved a penalty, as England clinched their first U-20 World Cup title and the nation's first world title at any level since 1966, setting off wild celebrations by their supporters.

Everton striker Calvert-Lewin became the third England player to score in a World Cup final after Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters in 1966, slotting home a rebound in the 35th minute after goalkeeper Wuilker Farinez had saved his first effort.

The Young Lions had to withstand a ferocious second-half onslaught, with goalkeeper Woodman saving a penalty from Adalberto Penaranda 16 minutes from the end.

The result in the South Korean city of Suwon will give long-suffering England fans hope that their senior team can win football's biggest prize again.

England were also runners-up at last month's U-17 European Championship in Croatia, where they lost to Spain in the final on penalties.

Venezuela have never qualified for the senior World Cup.

Their U-20 side's build-up to their first final appearance was marred by a mass brawl at their Suwon Ramada Hotel.

On the eve of the title decider, Venezuela and Uruguay players traded insults before the dispute swiftly descended into a free-for-all.

Some 20 Korean police officers rushed to the scene to break up the brawl.

The two South American sides had met on Thursday in the semi-finals, with Venezuela beating Uruguay 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on June 12, 2017, with the headline Drought over as England win U-20 world title. Subscribe