Spain have won the European Under-17 champions for a record third time as a dramatic 2-2 draw with England was followed by penalties victory on Friday.
Spain were trailing 2-1 until the fifth minute of injury time, when Villarreal forward Nacho Diaz powered a header home, with Marca describing it as “a Ramos” – a reference to the Real Madrid defender’s penchant for a late goal.
With extra-time skipped, a penalty shootout in UEFA’s experimental new format of ‘ABBA’ got under way, and despite England scoring the first, La Roja went on to net all four of theirs without reply.
“The team showed a lot of faith, and that’s a huge plus for the future,” U17 boss and former Atletico Madrid defender Santi Denia said after the game.
“The new penalties rule? Well, it was good for us! We weren’t not so good with penalties because they cost us in the past, but luck was on our side this time.
“Celebrating with the players? We’ll return them to their clubs.”
