Knowledge Sharing

England’s recent success at youth level has come off the back of the FA’s different approach to coaching, shunning star names and appointing low-key but experienced coaches from the lower-leagues.

- Gavin Willacy

The England squad that won the Under-20s World Cup last month was based on the cream of the Premier League’s Under-23 competition, but was shaped by a system that is allowing low-profile coaches to rise to the top.

Although there were five players from Championship clubs, the seven Premier League clubs who qualified for Europe this season provided two-thirds of the squad. The only player not from a Category One academy – midfielder Lewis Cook, a product of Category Two club Leeds – spent last season playing in the Premier League for Bournemouth. And they did it with a coaching team headed by Paul Simpson, who has been sacked as a manager by Rochdale, Preston, Shrewsbury and Stockport.

England’s route to the final saw them beat hosts South Korea 1-0, squeeze past Costa Rica 2-1 and Mexico 1-0, before the most impressive result, defeating Italy 3-1 in the semis. (What is far more remarkable than England finally winning a global tournament, is Venezuela – the only South American national side yet to qualify for a senior World Cup – reaching a final.)

While the Under-20s were winning their World Cup, a younger England squad triumphed in the annual Toulon Under-20 tournament. They were not up against any world powers – England beat Cuba, Japan and Scotland before needing penalties to overcome

Ivory Coast in the final – but it cannot hinder their development to experience a successful tournament with a squad including players from Brentford, Huddersfield, Hull, Nottingham Forest, Leeds and both Sheffield clubs.