England U17s boss John Peacock proud of Young Lions

England U17s head coach John Peacock spoke of his pride at seeing the Young Lions hold their nerve to be crowned as European Champions in Malta.

Peacock's side were held to a 1-1 draw by Holland in the final after 80 minutes, which saw the game decided from the spot.

And England were more than adept in that department too, by scoring all four of their spot-kicks and seeing the Dutch falter in three of their four attempts to land the title.

"In my opinion, we were worthy winners," said Peacock, who collects his second Euro title after leading the squad of 2010 to the same honour. 

"It was always going to be a close encounter and it was certainly that – but over the 80 minutes we were the best team.

"I thought we showed character. We deservedly took the lead in the first half and it was a knock-out blow to concede before half time but the character we showed in the second half was first class.

"I told them at the break they were exceptional for 39 minutes, defended and passed really well and I thought we were in control and frustrating the Dutch. 

"It was a good goal from them, but I just told the boys to remember the other 39 minutes and get back out there and get off to a good start."

After enjoying the better of the open play in the game, it was crucial for Peacock's team to carry that control through into the shoot-out and that's exactly what they did.

But it didn't surprise him at all to see England win on penalties, having seen his side practice in training over the course of the competition.

"We’ve been practising penalties for the last two weeks and we’ve put in a few hours," he revealed. 

"It’s not easy to duplicate that in a game in front of a 9,000 crowd – but the penalties were absolutely fantastic.

"It's never nice to lose on penalties – unfortunately we have been there before – but it’s nice to have our turn to be successful."

The Euro title brings a wonderful campaign to a close for Peacock and his players, who will now move up to the U18s age group after what has been a few weeks that is sure to live long in their memories.

"I’ve just told them all 'well done' and they deserved it," he said.

"They have bought into the whole season and we have had a few knock backs, but we’ve come back from them. 

"Overall, I'm delighted for all the players, and I have to say, all the staff as well. They have been absolutely fantastic and I can’t thank them enough."