England’s U20 team made history on the international stage by winning the U20 World Cup in 2017, hosted in Korea Republic. However, since then, many of the players have found it difficult to break onto the senior international stage. With the return of the tournament in Argentina this month, SunSport takes a look at where the squad that beat Venezuela 1-0 in the final are today.
Freddie Woodman, who was the goalkeeper for the U20 team, failed to impress at his parent club of Newcastle and after six different loan spells, he is now the first-choice keeper at Preston North End where he kept 17 clean sheets this season. Dean Henderson, another goalkeeper, has spent the season on loan from Manchester United with Nottingham Forest but picked up a nasty injury which has left him on the sidelines. He has made one senior appearance for the England national team.
Luke Southwood, who was also a goalkeeper, spent the season on loan in League One at Cheltenham but is due to return back to his parent club of Reading in the summer. After being unable to break into the England team, the 25-year-old has switched allegiance to Northern Ireland where he has one senior cap.
Jonjoe Kenny, a defender, pushed hard to get a spot in Everton’s starting 11 but was unable to cement his place despite a fair share of appearances and loan spells and was subsequently sold to Hertha Berlin in the summer. Callum Connolly, another defender/midfielder, struggled to break through to the first team at Everton too, playing just 36 minutes of Premier League football. He now lines up for Blackpool who he signed for back in 2021.
Fikayo Tomori, a defender, has had an impressive career since his time with the U20’s, making a big move from Chelsea to AC Milan where he won the league. He has three caps for England’s senior team under Gareth Southgate. Jake Clarke-Salter, another defender, was at Chelsea but now plays in the Championship with QPR where he featured 16 times in their rocky campaign this season. Kyle Walker-Peters, a defender, was unable to impress at Spurs and made the switch to Southampton where he is now a key feature in their squad. The full-back has been called up to the senior England team twice since.
Dael Fry, a defender, has been with Middlesbrough since the tournament where he has helped them push for the play-offs this season. Ezri Konsa, another defender, is now a vital part of Unai Emery’s overachieving Aston Villa side who have had a spectacular league campaign.
Lewis Cook, a midfielder, captained the England U20’s to victory but has only ever made one senior appearance for the Three Lions. He has been a consistent player for Bournemouth since and featured 26 times in the league for the Cherries this season. Josh Onomah, another midfielder, started this season in the Premier League with Fulham but was loaned out to Preston North End in January where he failed to make a big impact.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles, a midfielder, has spent the season on loan at Southampton after failing to find his place in the Arsenal first team under Mikel Arteta. He has been featured for the England senior team on five occasions. Kieran Dowell, another midfielder, now plays in the Championship with Norwich but looks likely to be a free agent at the end of the season with his deal due to expire.
Sheyi Ojo, a midfielder, left Liverpool for Cardiff City in the summer where he featured 36 times in the Championship this season. Ovie Ejaria, another midfielder, is currently at Reading but has found it difficult to maintain a place in the squad with rumours the club are willing to let him leave.
Adam Armstrong, a forward, was a big money signing for Southampton last season but he has struggled to make an impact at the Saints with a poor goalscoring record. Dominic Solanke, another forward, has been a big part of Bournemouth’s team this season contributing to 13 goals in the league whilst they fight to stay afloat in the league. He featured for England’s senior team for 15 minutes against Brazil in 2017.
Ademola Lookman, another forward, has had a stunning season with Atalanta in Seria A where he moved in the summer and has scored 13 goals and registered 5 assists in the league this season. The 25-year-old was unable to make it into England’s senior team and changed his allegiance to Nigeria where he has made four appearances. Dominic Calvert-Lewin, another forward, has been hampered by injuries during his career at Everton but has still managed to impress when fit. The Toffees striker has amassed 11 caps for the England senior team, the most successful of the young lions. Harrison Chapman, another forward, now plays in League Two for Mark Hughes’ Bradford City side.