England U19s boss Paul Simpson says he took great pride in seeing his team register their first win at the Euro Finals on Tuesday.
The Young Lions began their defence of last year’s title win with a 3-2 victory over Turkey, thanks to goals from Japhet Tanganga, Ben Brereton and Elliot Embleton.
But they also had to show their resolve after falling behind to an early goal and then coming under late pressure as Turkey chased an equaliser in the searing heat of Seinajoki in Finland.
“This was a really important game for us today,” said Simpson.
“We showed character, we played some great football and showed our quality in the way we passed the ball and closed down the opposition.
“That was as hot as I’ve been in any game of football in my long career, so for those players to keep going for as long as they did, it shows an incredible level of determination and pride in wearing an England shirt.
“And remember that we’re still early in pre-season so this is a group of players who have done a week or ten days of training.
“We showed great fitness levels and we looked strong. I accept we came under a little bit of pressure but I think the conditions played a huge part in that.
“It now gives us something to build on in our second game against Ukraine.”
While Simpson was pleased with his team’s performance with the ball, he also acknowledged that both of Turkey’s goals came through preventable situations.
And he believes that the more his relatively new-look squad play together – there are a number of new faces involved for this trip – the better they will be as the competition goes on.
“I think if you’re going to make a mistake, it’s a good time to do it after a minute and a half because you have plenty of time to recover,” he explained.
“It was an unfortunate goal to concede but I’ve got to say, the players showed tremendous character to come back and play the way that they’ve played and shown the composure to then go in 2-1 at half time.
“It showed great character and I’m absolutely delighted, because it’s about getting the result and we’ve got three points, so we can now get ourselves freshened up and move onto the next one.
“I thought it was a really good advert for UEFA U19 Championship football and I think we deserved to come out on top.
“Elliot Embleton’s goal was a goal worthy of winning any game of football so to do it in a Euro Finals, shows the ability we’ve got in the group.”
The Young Lions will face Ukraine in their next group game on Friday 20 July (4.30pm), with the match being screened live on Sky Sports.
