VICTORY AS KIDS IS HUGE
I WAS gutted for the England Under-21 lads who lost in the Euro semis on penalties. To Germany, obviously.
But they can be proud of representing their country so well and getting so far.
I can understand why they were not there, but I think it was a bit of a shame that Marcus Rashford, Dele Alli and Eric Dier were not in Poland, because those three would have certainly made them even better.
And winning a trophy like that can be massive for the careers of young players.
It gives you experience of tournament football and confidence to play at the top level.
I was part of the England U-18 team that won the Euros back in 1993 and it was huge for my career – and for others in that side.
We had Gary Neville, Paul Scholes, Sol Campbell and Nicky Butt and, for most of us, it was the first real recognition we could do well at international level.
I remember Graham Taylor coming down to speak to us and saying we had the ability to go through to the senior team – and that was a big thing for me as a kid, who was still unsure of making it in the professional game.
Would we have gone on to play for England without that win? Very possibly, but it was still a huge leap in development for me.
We beat a good France team – I scored a 25-yard lob at the end of the game – and thrashed Holland, even though they had Clarence Seedorf, Patrick Kluivert and Giovanni van Bronckhorst.
So I would like to see England treat tournaments with respect – because to give young players the experience of winning at international level is massive.