Striker Connor Wickham says he was desperate to score in Thursday’s European U17 Championships semi-final against France having failed to net in the group matches. The frontman is looking to add to those two goals when England face Spain in the final in Liechtenstein on Sunday (Eurosport2 UK, 4.45pm).
Wickham said: "It’s an amazing feeling. The team played well and hopefully we can take that into the final and go all the way. Hopefully we can win it now.
"I played in two [group] games and I hadn’t scored so I was desperate to score [against France]. I got the two goals and my confidence is high now going into the final.”
The Hereford-born youngster says that continuity has been a major factor in England’s success: "We’ve got a solid back four and we’ve got a good goalkeeper as well. We defended really well and managed to see the [France] game out.
"We’ve got a good team. We’ve got the same team that we’ve had all the way through [qualifying] and all the boys know each other and we’ve all got a good relationship. We’ve done well, so hopefully we can go into the final and do what we do.”
Wickham believes he has progressed significantly during the last year in which he has become a regular in the first team and signed a two-year professional contract: "I’ve physically developed and I’ve developed mentally as a player as well.
"I’ve experienced what it’s like to play in the Championship and hopefully I can help the boys. [The last year has been] a bit surreal, but you’ve just got to take it in your stride and not get carried away.”
If Wickham, who has scored seven goals in 11 games at U17 level, helps his side to victory on Sunday it will be England's first European trophy since the 1993 U18 triumph when the likes of Robbie Fowler, Gary Neville and Sol Campbell carried off England's only UEFA honour so far.
Ahead of the final, UEFA has a feature on Wickham on its website.