England’s youth and women teams ready to make amends for last year’s Euro heartbreak

After that penalty shootout defeat to Italy at Wembley last year, England fans expected to wait until 2024 until their next shot at European Championship glory.

But, less than 12 months later, the Three Lions have already been crowned European Champions – and that could happen again this summer.

England’s under-19s scored two extra-time goals to beat Israel 3-1 in their European final, despite going behind in Slovakia.

Goals from Aston Villa starlets Carney Chukwuemeka and Aaron Ramsey secured the victory, which saw the Young Lions (as they’re more affectionately known) win the tournament for the first time since 2017.

The likes of Aaron Ramsdale, Reece James and Mason Mount were involved in that squad – but you can argue this current crop of youngsters looks even more promising.

As well as Chukwuemeka, who is reportedly wanted by the likes of Liverpool, Manchester United, and Bayern Munich, there are plenty of young players who look destined for the top.

Tottenham’s Alfie Devine and Manchester City’s Liam Delap are highly rated, whilst Bristol City’s Alex Scott and Peterborough United’s Ronnie Edwards demonstrate the talent in the EFL.

There are numerous other star players in that England squad, which makes it unsurprising why they were eventually crowned champions of Europe.

You can now list multiple household names in the squad, with Lucy Bronze, Alex Greenwood, Fran Kirby, Leah Williamson, Beth Mead, and Ellen White all in the squad and ready to show what they’ve got.

Wiegman is also still unbeaten as manager of England and a 4-0 win over Switzerland in their final game before the tournament was a warning sign to the other sides.

So it’s easy to see why they’re one of the bookmaker’s favourites to win the tournament, which could mean England’s name is engraved on two European trophies this summer.

Forget last year, 2022 is when it’s really coming home.