England skipper Taylor Harwood-Bellis will head into Saturday’s European Under-21s Championship final convinced his side deserve to emerge with the trophy.
Lee Carsley’s youngsters face Spain at the Batumi Arena in Georgia determined to deny their opponents a record sixth title after sailing into the showdown having won all five of their games – three of them at final venue – to date in the tournament without conceding a goal.
Manchester City defender Harwood-Bellis admits he has been dreaming of getting his hands on the silverware, but knows there is plenty to do before he and his team-mates can celebrate a first success in the competition since 1984.
Speaking at England’s pre-match press conference, he said: “It’s good to visualise yourself lifting the trophy, but there’s a long way to go before that happens. At least 90 minutes.
“It would be massive for us to win. We’ve put in so much work over the last two years, we’ve played at such a high level and I think the squad would deserve to lift the trophy.”
England’s progress in Georgia and Romania has been serene, topping Group C with successive 2-0 victories over Czech Republic, Israel and Germany before edging past Portugal in the last eight and dispatching the Israelis for a second time in the semi-finals.
Spain, who last lifted the trophy in 2019, are likely to provide a much sterner test, although Carsley believes there is more to come from his side.
He said: “We were ranking sixth coming into the tournament, so getting to the final is a big achievement. I felt getting out of the group was a good achievement. But I think this team has another two or three levels to go.
“Since coming into the knockout stages, we know we only have one chance. Someone is going to win tomorrow. I expect us to be under pressure, but the players know that too, and I know they will react in the right way.
“We’ve watched Spain a lot. They’re a great team. My players have played brilliantly this tournament, and now they have a chance to show everyone back home they are potential new senior internationals.”
Spain captain Abel Ruiz, like coach Santi Denia and team-mates Antonio Blanco, Sergio Gomez, Juan Miranda, are looking to complete a treble after winning the Under-17s European Championship in 2017 – they beat an England team including Phil Foden and Jadon Sancho on penalties in the final – and the Under-19s edition two years later.
Ruiz said: “We know England well – there are one or two of them who played against us at Under-17s level.
“We expect a keenly contested game. They have kept plenty of clean sheets. We know we have to do really well to be able to score against them and take the trophy.”
Denia added: “We have to try and play the perfect game. We need to be as near to that as possible to beat England. It’s difficult, but that’s what we need to do.”
Al-Khaleej 0-1 Al-Nassr: Ronaldo misfires on return as Laporte nets winner
Cristiano Ronaldo returned from suspension but failed to find the net as Al-Nassr secured a 1-0 win over Al-Khaleej on Saturday, with Aymeric Laporte coming up with the decisive goal.
Ronaldo was in action for the first time since being sent off for an elbow in a 2-1 Saudi Super Cup loss to Al-Hilal earlier this month, with his initial two-match ban being reduced to one on appeal.
He missed three good chances as Al-Nassr threatened to fall further behind runaway Saudi Pro League leaders Al-Hilal, but former Manchester City defender Laporte spared his blushes by nodding Marcelo Brozovic's deep free-kick into the bottom-left corner with 68 minutes gone.
Al-Nassr remain nine points adrift of Al-Hilal at the summit in spite of their win, with Jorge Jesus' team unbeaten through 28 games this season as they close in on a record-extending 18th title.
Data Debrief: Ronaldo misfires on return
Ronaldo was presented with the Saudi Pro League's Player of the Month award for March ahead of kick-off, having scored four goals in three league appearances last month.
However, his sights were off on Saturday as he failed to net despite three of the visitors' four big chances, as defined by Opta, falling his way. He led all players on the pitch for expected goals (1.27 xG), shots (five), shots on target (three) and touches in the area (nine) without reward.
Huddersfield all but relegated from Championship while League Two play-off spots decided
Huddersfield Town saw their relegation from the Championship all but confirmed after a 1-1 draw with fellow strugglers Birmingham City on Saturday.
The Terriers avoided a defeat that would have seen them relegated on Saturday, but even a win on the final day over promotion hopefuls Ipswich Town will not be enough unless they overcome a huge goal difference of 15 goals with Plymouth Argyle.
Birmingham remain in the other relegation place and now must beat Norwich City to stand a chance of staying up with Sheffield Wednesday, Plymouth and Blackburn Rovers also still in danger.
At the other end of the table, the Canaries dropped points in a 2-2 draw with Swansea City, leaving the door open for Hull City, who face Ipswich Town later today.
Leicester City seal automatic Premier League return
Leicester City are once more a Premier League team, having bounced straight back after relegation last season.
The Foxes secured automatic promotion without kicking a ball, as title rivals Leeds United lost 4-0 away to Queens Park Rangers on Friday.
Marti Cifuentes' Hoops side gave their fans a reason to cheer in their final home game of the season, and the emphatic win means they are now seven points clear of the relegation zone.
The Hoops boss told BBC Sport: "I came here, perhaps I was crazy thinking we could manage the great escape.
"The atmosphere has been unbelievable since I came here. Everybody thought tonight could be a special night to achieve our target.
"Big players deliver big performances and our players all did that tonight."
Defeat ensured only Ipswich Town can now finish above Leicester, meaning the Foxes will be back in the big time.
Ipswich, who have three games left to play, face play-off hopefuls Hull City on Saturday.
Speaking to BBC Sport, Leeds boss Daniel Farke said: "It's not in our hands any more [automatic promotion], we need to be honest.
"The race is not over. If Ipswich win the next two games then I will say congratulations, but if they don’t win them then we will have a lot to play for.
"As long as we have a chance, I’m far away from giving up."
Leicester could be crowned champions if they beat Preston North End on Monday and if Hull beat Ipswich.
The Foxes are looking to break the 100-point barrier, despite a wobble from Enzo Maresca's side in recent months.
After they had been so far ahead and top for all but two of the 176 days between 23 September and 17 March, an untimely dip in form handed Leeds and Ipswich hope.
However, while Leicester celebrate their promotion, they face the daunting prospect of starting next season with a points deduction, after they were charged by the Premier League with alleged breaches of the competition's Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR).
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