James Trafford saved a penalty in the 98th minute to help England U21 produce one of the narrow football results in the final of the U21 Euros. Abel Ruiz’s penalty shot was saved by the Burnley custodian in what was essentially the game’s final kick, setting up joyous celebrations on the England bench. Curtis Jones’ lucky goal in the last seconds of the first half gave the Young Lions the lead, and they went on to win easily. During the last seconds of the first half, the Liverpool midfielder dove into the wall to redirect Cole Palmer’s free kick. The England celebrations provoked a large altercation between both sets of players and benches, which resulted in the dismissal of assistant manager Ashley Cole from the sidelines and the issuing of a red card.
And even though Ruiz of Spain had one goal disallowed for offside with the assistance of VAR, in addition to seeing La Roja’s greatest chance, a close-range header bounce wide, England remained mostly trouble-free until the sixth minute of second-half injury time. Levi Colwill was found to have fouled Ruiz according to VAR, but Trafford made a last-second save to deny Spain’s striker a goal in the whole tournament. Following the saved penalty, two substitutes, Antonio Blanco and Morgan Gibbs-White, received red cards, which led to 30 fouls, 11 yellow cards, and four red cards being issued to players and coaches on the sidelines.
With Gareth Southgate watching from the sidelines as England competed in their first U21 final in 14 years, they got off to a strong start, with Anthony Gordon at the center of two sizable raids in the first six minutes. Palmer was unable to score on the rebound after the Newcastle winger had a rasping shot well saved. Later, Gordon was unselfishly squared to Morgan Gibbs-White after being freed down the left, but she was unable to get a touch for another easy tap-in.
Although Spain held on to 60 percent of the ball in the first half, despite the two opportunities England had looked quite promising. Prior to Alex Baena and Sergio Gomez missing decent opportunities at Trafford’s far post, Aitor Paredes headed a corner wide at the near post. As the half came to a close, England picked up the pace and struck the woodwork when Colwill’s header from Palmer’s free-kick deflected against the post.
However, another set-piece from the Man City star was what really caused England to score first. Palmer’s free kick sailed through Arnau Tenas’ flailing body and off the ducking Jones in the wall. Palmer joined the England bench to celebrate, but the opposing camp reacted angrily. Before England assistant manager Cole and another member of the Spain coaching staff received their marching orders from the sidelines, a huge altercation resulted in Colwill and Oihan Sancet being booked. When play resumed, both teams had calmed down, and Spain felt they had equalized when Ruiz headed in a free-kick. However, VAR would save England since it enabled the referees to deem it an offside.
Prior to Ruiz missing Spain’s greatest opportunity of the game by nodding wide from inside the area while entirely unmarked, Max Aarons and Jones pushed Tenas into quick stops. When Tenas stopped replacement Noni Madueke on the break with the goal gaping, England kept their cool as the Spanish irritation, through fouls and cards, built up. However, there was further drama when Ruiz was knocked down by Colwill’s charge and referee Espen Esks requested assistance from VAR to give Spain their last-ditch penalty kick.
Ruiz went right, but the new £19 million Burnley custodian made a magnificent double save as Trafford read the penalty. Although Antonio Blanco and Gibbs-White were dismissed for receiving a second yellow card following the missed penalty, it was the England bench who emerged victors at the end of regulation.
“Given our past, there was a lot of expectation on us to do well, and I’m ecstatic for everyone—the guys, the coaching staff, and me. It seems like a club and is like one huge family. Everyone deserves it, and together we’ll rejoice,” England U21 captain Taylor Harwood-Bellis said. “Traff will receive a lot of praise, which he richly deserves, but the entire crew contributed. It’s difficult to preserve a clean sheet against Germany since they are a great team and country, even for the guys who didn’t play for very long.”
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