Just over 10 years have passed since a talented crop of England youth prospects won the 2014 Under-17 European Championships in Malta, beating the Netherlands on penalties in the final.
A decade on, the players from that Young Lions XI are now approaching their prime years at professional level. But how many have made it?
There’s an eclectic mix of players here, from England internationals and Champions League winners to others that are currently unattached or playing in non-league.
We’ve checked in on where the XI that played in that final victory are today.
GK: Freddie Woodman
The Newcastle United academy graduate, son of ex-Brentford ‘keeper Andy Woodman, continued progressing through the England youth ranks up to under-21 level.
But despite boasting Gareth Southgate as his godfather, a senior cap has never arrived. Which makes sense, given he’s never quite established himself at the top level in his club career.
He made just nine appearances for the Magpies and was loaned out to six different clubs in eight years, eventually leaving for Preston North End in 2022.
Woodman might not challenging for England caps anytime soon but he’s a solid Championship ‘keeper, and was named Preston’s Player of the Year in his debut season at Deepdale.
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RB: Jonjoe Kenny
You’ll remember Kenny from his semi-regular appearances (50 in the Premier League) for his hometown club Everton. But he could never quite nail down a regular starting spot amid a series of loans away and was released when his contract expired in 2022.
The right-back joined Hertha Berlin on a free transfer that summer but suffered relegation from the Bundesliga in his debut season and spent last season turning out in the German second tier.
CB: Joe Gomez
A prodigiously talented young defender, Gomez started breaking through at boyhood club Charlton Athletic when he was just 17.
After a year in the Championship in an eclectic Addicks squad that featured the likes of Roger Johnson, Tal Ben Haim, Tony Watt, Nick Pope and Ademola Lookman, Gomez signed for Liverpool for a bargain £3.5million fee.
Gomez remains at Anfield today and has won every trophy going over the course of his 200+ appearances for the Reds. Some injuries saw him reduced to a fringe role at times but he bounced back to feature prominently as a useful utility man last term.
CB: Taylor Moore
Not your usual England youth international story, this one.
Moore grew up in France and was developing his game at the Lens academy when the Under-17s Euros took place. It’s said that Lyon once had a €10million bid rejected, such was his reputation as a youngster.
He made a few appearances in Ligue 2 before returning to England, signing with Bristol City for a reported £1.5million fee in 2016.
The defender spent seven years on the Robins’ books but was frequently loaned away and returned to France, joining beleaguered Ligue 2 struggles Valenciennes, last summer.
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LB: Tafari Moore
Born a stone’s throw from Wembley, Moore developed his skills at Queens Park Rangers and Arsenal’s famous Hale End.
The Gunners loaned him out to FC Utrecht and Wycombe Wanderers for his first taste of senior football and was eventually released in 2018.
He subsequently spent two years with Plymouth Argyle but has since dropped down to non-league and is currently plying his trade for National League North outfit Oxford City.
RW: Patrick Roberts
The winger had already made his Premier League debut for Fulham by the time this tournament came around, while the following season he began to break through in the Championship.
Manchester City’s scouts had seen enough in the youngster for the club to sign him for £12million, but it was a familiar story of frequent loans away and fleeting opportunities at his parent club.
After more loans away than matches for City, Roberts signed for League One Sunderland in January 2o22. He played a major role in their promotion that year, scoring in the play-offs, and now appears fairly settled on Wearside.
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CM: Lewis Cook (Callum Cooke, ’68)
The most talented player to emerge from Leeds United’s academy since Fabian Delph, Cook spent two years toiling away in midtable Championship misery for the Yorkshire club before Bournemouth swooped in for his signature in 2016.
The technically gifted midfielder made his senior England debut in a 1-1 draw with Italy in March 2018 and was named on the standby list for that summer’s World Cup squad.
Cook since suffered two horrendous cruciate ligament injuries, which have put pay to ever receiving a second cap for the Three Lions.
But he’s kicked on admirably since returning and has just enjoyed a great season with Andoni Iraola’s Cherries. Southgate could do worse for that midfield spot alongside Rice and Bellingham.
Near-namesake substitute Cooke, who scored in the shootout, is currently turning out for National League side Hartlepool after a respectable enough career bouncing around the lower reaches of the English football pyramid.
CM: Ryan Ledson
Having come up through the Everton academy alongside Kenny, Ledson never broke through, with a Europa League cameo his one and only appearance for the club.
The midfielder was loaned out to Cambridge as a youngster, but he escaped the perennial loan carousel and has enjoyed a more steady, settled career progression.
After a couple of seasons in League One with Oxford United, Ledson joined Preston in 2018 and remains there today, regularly turning out in the Championship alongside his old Young Lions team-mate Woodman.
LW: Izzy Brown
Jose Mourinho famously tipped Brown, alongside Lewis Baker and a certain striker that features here, to one day play for England.
The attacking midfielder only played 11 minutes of senior football for his boyhood Blues but he showed plenty of promise in his early loans, in particular a promotion-winning stint with Huddersfield in 2017.
Unfortunately he suffered rotten luck with injuries and called it quits at the age of 26 after struggling from two Achilles tendon surgeries.
“As soon as I could walk, I always had a football at my feet. That was me, that was my happy place. I lived a dream that most don’t get the opportunity to live and for that I will always be eternally grateful,” Brown posted in a statement, announcing his retirement last year.
“To get to play the sport I love brought many happy times during my life. It also delivered many challenges that I wouldn’t have been able to get through without the love and support of my family and friends.
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AMC: Josh Onomah
Highly rated during his time at Tottenham, Onomah never quite realised that early potential and was sold to Fulham in 2019.
He twice helped the Cottagers get promoted as they yo-yoed between the Premier League and Championship, but barely featured under Marco Silva in 2022-23 and was released at the end of his contract.
Onomah spent a brief stint alongside Woodman and Ledson at Preston but never extended his contract beyond an initial six months.
He’s spent the past season out of the game entirely, beyond a trial at Stoke City that never went anywhere, and it remains to be seen whether the 27-year-old has a future in football.
ST: Dominic Solanke
Three years after this tournament, Solanke went on to win the Under-20 World Cup in a squad that featured his old Under-17 team-mates Woodman, Kenny, Cook and Onomah.
Such was his glitteringly prolific record at international youth levels, many tipped the young striker to go on and enjoy an exceptional career at the elite level.
But he never broke through at Chelsea and only scored one goal for Liverpool, proving that career progression and development aren’t always linear.
It took a drop down to the Championship for Solanke to really find his feet, but he’s never looked back since then. He fired Bournemouth to promotion with 29 goals in 2021-22 and scored 19 Premier League goals for the Cherries last season.
Brown and Baker never played for England, but Solanke has. There’s one tick in the box for Jose.
Admittedly that came back in 2017 and he’s still awaiting a second cap, but he has every chance of getting a recall. In fact, on his current form he can feel unlucky to have missed out on Southgate’s Euro 2024 squad.
