EMBLETON’S SPOT ON!
SUNDERLAND PROSPECT’S DELIGHT AS ENGLAND YOUNGSTERS RETAIN TOULON CROWN
Sunderland prospect Elliot Embleton was spot on as a young England Under-20s side retained their hold on the Toulon Tournament title.
Embleton successfully converted his penalty as Neil Dewsnip’s lads edged out Ivory Coast 5-3 on penalties, after a 1-1 draw at the Stade de Lattre in Aubagne on Saturday.
Ike Ugbo, Harvey Barnes, Callum Slattery and Ronaldo Vieira also netted from 12 yards to seal England’s triumph.
And Leicester starlet Barnes revealed that the squad had been more than ready for a shoot-out. Barnes, the joint top scorer in the tournament, with four goals, said: “We have been practising penalties in every training session, so I think all the boys were confident,.
“They all knew they had to do their own job and put it away, which they did.”
England led from the 14th minute in the final, with Barnes leading a break which was finished off by Sheffield United forward David Brooks, who had earlier shot narrowly wide of the post.
The Three Lions had the chance to double their lead right on half-time, when Brooks was fouled in the box, but Sheffield Wednesday’s George Hirst saw his low strike saved.
Ivory Coast went close through Jean Thiery Lazare Amani early in the second half, but England looked set to hold on until sub Juvenal Junior Agnero was fouled in the box by Chelsea’s Josh Grant and Ake Arnaud Loba coolly slotted home, ensuring a shoot-out to decide the destination pof thr trophy.
Barnes, son of former Burnley, Notts County and Doncaster striker Paul, told thefa.com: “It was heartbreaking to see the ref give the penalty and then see it go in, but as soon as that happens you have to get it out of your mind and regroup as a team, which I think we did really well.
“Everyone was nervous when it went to 1-1, but we picked back up and grafted through the penalties.
“All the boys are delighted with the result and retaining the trophy of course.”
Barnes believes that the squad’s togetherness was crucial in Toulon.
He added: “At the beginning a lot of the boys didn’t know each other.
“There is a group that has been together for a while, but there’s six new caps, so the way we have all come together has been really goodd.
“There wasn’t as much pressure put on us to retain the title by Neil, but we put it on ourselves, which is good, it helped us to perform.
“There’ve been a few hiccups on the way, a cancelled flight and an early-morning fire alarm going off in our hotel, but we can laugh about it now. It brought everyone together.”