Connor Wickham netted the winning goal as England beat Spain 2-1 in the final of the European U17 Championships in Liechtenstein. Just after the break, the Town striker beat a couple of players on the edge of the area before firing a low shot across the Spanish keeper and into the net.

The first half had ended 1-1 with Liverpool’s Andre Wisdom first netting an own goal, then powerfully heading an equaliser into the Spanish net.

Wickham, who also scored two goals in the semi-final against France having failed to find the net in the group stages, might have made England’s victory more secure having made it 2-1 two minutes into the second period, but shot narrowly over shortly afterwards and hit the keeper with a tired effort late on with Spain laying siege to the England goal.

The Town striker has drawn praise throughout the competition with former Blue Russell Osman even suggesting he would rather take Wickham to the World Cup than Emile Heskey.

Prior to the match, Sir Trevor Brooking, the Football Association's director of football development, revealed that senior manager Fabio Capello is keeping a close eye on the side’s progress and has asked for DVDs of their matches in Liechtenstein: "This U17 group is probably the best I've seen in my time at the FA.

"If they took off their England shirts, you could not tell which country they come from.

"What is really exciting is that if we win the bid for 2018, this crop will be in their mid-20s and some of them definitely have full cap potential.

"It's really important that Fabio takes such a keen interest in the younger teams. He and we want 10 outfield players who are all comfortable on the ball, who can keep possession and play through all three thirds of the pitch.

"It is fantastic that our teams in all three age groups are playing like that and getting tournament experience."

The competition victory is England’s first at U17 level and their first in any age group since the 1993 U18 Championships.

England: 13 Jack Butland, 2 Bruno Pilatos, 3 Luke Garbutt, 4 Conor Coady (C), 5 Nathaniel Chalobah, 6 Andre Wisdom, 7 Will Keane (8 George Thorne, 67), 9 Benik Afobe (11 Rob Hall, 73), 15 Josh McEachran (14 Tom Thorpe, 79), 16 Ross Barkley, 17 Connor Wickham. Unused 1 Sam Johnstone, 10 Saido Berahino, 12 Ben Gibson, 18 Luke Williams.

Photo: Action Images

tractorboynathan added 22:02 - May 30 Did'nt see the game, but heard about how Wickam looked so mature considering he is only 17. Can anyone send me the link to his goal?
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MarkITFC added 22:38 - May 30 yer , i wanna see the goal ! cant belive its not even headlines on SSN
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Blueknight85 added 22:45 - May 30 His goal does actually remind you of an adult playing football with his kids over the park... him running with the ball and all the little nippers hanging off his arms trying to pull him down or get out of his way
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footyfan182 added 22:48 - May 30 Well done Conner players like you only come through every 5 -6 years you WILL be playing for england in the 2014 world cup and i will look foward to watching.
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Lightningboy added 23:23 - May 30 Well done Connor..well done Jim for bringing him into the first team.
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ChambersM added 23:24 - May 30 link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link link

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Lightningboy added 23:25 - May 30 "well done Keano" indeed..what a bunch of prats we've got on this messageboard...the lad's got talent - do you honestly think Roy "don't know my arse from my elbow" keane's got anything to do with it...wake up!
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naa added 23:43 - May 30 jas: I know you get tired of all the negativity on this site, and that's fair enough - there is a lot of it. But at the same time you don't need to be pro-RK with every post. This is a story about Conner Wickham, not RK. RK did manage his well in the second half of the season (not the first half though, he was thrown into things way too much), but the fact is that the boy's got class and if we can hold onto him for 2 or 3 years we'll have a real talent on our hands worth an awful lot of money (selling now would be a bad, bad idea). Well done to him today. Not seen the goal, but can well imagine the class and how he used his strength (he does that well enough against fully grown men)

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Dogsy40 added 01:33 - May 31 Surely this kid has doubled his asking price following the past few weeks!!! Conner and Chopra upfront...........tingles. I just hope we can hold on to him. Can any club in the championship hold back from a 10 mil plus bid??? I don't think so.
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Manic_Blue added 01:37 - May 31 Lightningboy - the England staff disagree with your assessment of Keane's involvement in Wickham's development. "Connor's a very level-headed young man. I think he's at the right club at Ipswich and Roy Keane has done a really good job with him, steadily developing him." John Peacock, England U17 manager. Now, I can't speak for anyone else, but if I had to choose between you and the manager of the England U17 team,I know whose opinion carries more weight for me.

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superted added 04:08 - May 31 saw the highlights tonight and honestly i think he will go far. after the hype with bowditch and clarke it could be easily to get carried away, but from what ive seen this kid is 3 times as good as both of them combined. if we hold onto him i honestly reckon we could make playoffs next year with the right partner!
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paddypowell added 10:02 - May 31 he b to young to go back 6 years ipswichjon ,well done connor took goal like a real star
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buryblue77 added 10:07 - May 31 Ipswichjon, 2004 world cup? Was a Euro year anyway, but are you suggesting that retrospectively he's good enough to play for England at the age of 11? Sorry, I know what you mean mate, agreed I think he'll pull on the England shirt in full soon. Sadly I doubt when he does he'll still be wearing our shirt. And to think when I first saw him I didn't rate him, well a year on I'll gladly hold my hands up and say that I got that shout wrong, he's the real deal. Hopefully he'll still be at Portman Road next season as he will be our 20 goal striker who will help guide us to promotion.

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blue_dan added 10:22 - May 31 HE IS OUR 1 AND ONLY
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TheCurly added 10:49 - May 31 Well done Connor, well deserved, just hope we can hold onto him so we can see him blossom into the great player that he undoubtedly will become. This lad has the lot, and we have only seen a glimpse of what he will turn into. The main reason I renewed my season ticket, keep hold of him Roy because he will be worth a fortune this time next year and we will need him in the Prem.

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greenkingtone added 16:48 - May 31 Even the Evening Star can't get the man's name spelled correctly, but its ConnOr. Must try harder!
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andipeters added 13:01 - Jun 1
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