City starlet fires England to U19 Euro glory with winning goal
CITY youngster Lukas Nmecha fired England to European success as he scored the winner in the U19 European Championships.
England beat Portugal 2-1 in the final to win the prestigious competition for the first time – with the City midfielder grabbing the winning goal.
City had two representatives in Keith Downing’s side with fellow academy star Issac Buckley-Ricketts joining Nmecha in the starting line-up.
Despite it only being his second start of the tournament, Nmecha scored two vital goals – including the winner against the Czech Republic – to send England to the final.
“It’s a fantastic feeling and the whole team has just been amazing,” said the striker.
“Everyone put a shift in and worked even harder in the last 10 minutes or so after the red card, and all our subs have done well again.
“I was on the bench for the first few games as were some of the other lads who played in the final. Everyone’s been amazing. I didn’t expect Mason [Mount] to pass the ball – he normally puts those away himself.”
In an excitable Instagram live video Buckley-Ricketts started singing Blue Moon as he said: “I’m bringing this trophy back with me to Moss Side.
“We have earned this, it’s not a mistake, we deserve this. It’s not a fluke.
“Thanks for all of the support. I have never won anything like this before and now I’ve won it I’m a bit happy. It’s amazing, it’s madness.”
The European winning duo will now be expected back at the City Football Academy to join up with the rest of the squad, who returned to training last week.