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The England U21s beat Mexico U21s 2-1 yesterday in the final of the Toulon Tournament. While Mexico dominated much of the first half, a baffling mistake by the Mexico keeper allowed England to snatch a goal late in the first half. The goal seemed to take the wind out of the sails of Mexico, and England soon found a second goal as Nottingham Forest’s Kieran Dowell was unmarked at the top of the box and made no mistake after some good work down the wing by Arsenal’s Eddie Nketiah.
Ronaldo Vieira and Tom Pearce help England to a third successive Toulon Tournament crown - good experience for both on the face of it. #ThreeLions #lufc https://t.co/mVjoUd2UQn
— Joe Urquhart (@JoeUrquhartYEP) June 9, 2018
That would be all England would need to defend their title to give them three straight titles at the U21 Tournament in France that is held every summer. While all of the attention will be paid to the World Cup for the next few weeks, tournaments like these truly do feature the stars of tomorrow.
Very proud photo for #lufc academy pic.twitter.com/VSKgla7cF6
— Lufcyouth (@leedsutdacademy) June 9, 2018
Ronaldo Vieira started the match for England, but was subbed off in the second half. Tom Pearce had played in two matches during the group stage as well.
Oh, and an old friend, Lewis Cook, was the captain.
Hopefully the experience will serve them well for next year.
On to the links.
Leeds United Links
Quality, not quantity, will be the key for this summer’s recruitment. [Yorkshire Evening Post]
England and English Football Links
Oops. Despite many reports saying that the deal was done, Nabil Fekir is staying at Lyon instead of moving to Liverpool. [BBC.com]
Despite some ill-will surrounding a visa issue, Roman Abramovich has no plans to sell Chelsea. [Sky Sports]
West Bromwich Albion has reportedly made a £7 million bid for Bristol City’s Bobby Reid. [Sky Sports]
World Football Links
Notes from the week that was for Club Tijuana. [FMF State of Mind]
Mexico lost 2-0 to Denmark in El Tri’s final warm-up for the World Cup. [ESPN.com]
Houston Dynamo beat the Colorado Rapids 2-0 to snap their losing streak. [Dynamo Theory]
Sweden drew 0-0 with Peru. [ESPN.com]
Los Angeles Football Club scored a goal in the 97th minute as they defeated California rivals San Jose Earthquakes 4-3. [Angels on Parade]