Coach Steve Cooper praises Young Lions for exhibiting winning show in World Cup

Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], October 29 (ANI): After scoring a stunning victory against Spain in the U-17 World Cup final on Saturday, England football team head coach Steve Cooper said, he is feeling surreal post triumphing the trophy.

Addressing the presspersons here, Cooper said, "Surreal! Will feel a bit better tomorrow after we realise what we have done."

The coach showered all the praise on Young Lions for displaying a fantastic show on the ground and said, "We were 2-0 down in a World Cup final and in my opinion, against the run of play winning the game 5-2 tells you the character of the England players."

The gaffer also called the English team a worthy winner of the tournament because of the way they played.

Asked if England beat Spain at their own game, the former Liverpool academy coach said, "We beat Spain by playing our own game."

England created history at Kolkata's Salt Lake Stadium, making an epic comeback after conceding two goals in the first half, to crush Spain 5-2 in the FIFA U-17 World Cup final.

The team's 17-year-old young World Cup hero, Phil Foden was awarded the Golden Ball for being the player of the tournament, as he scored twice for the Young Lions.

Cooper praised Foden's spectacular game but credited every individual for lifting the World Cup title.

"Foden got the Golden Ball but each of the 21 members have got a gold medal around their neck. I am not the one to talk about individuals. Joel (Latibeaudiere) and Angel (Gomes), the non-playing captain, picked up the trophy together without anyone telling them. This typifies the togetherness in our team. I can give you 21 stories about the 21 players why we won the world cup," the coach stated. (ANI)

This story has not been edited. It has been published as provided by ANI