England Under-20s hero Freddie Woodman says their World Cup victory had always been a long-term target for the Young Lions.
The Newcastle United goalkeeper helped Paul Simpson’s side lift the title with victory over Venezuela in Suwon on Sunday, with his second-half penalty save ensuring a clean sheet.
And after Dominic Calvert-Lewin had scored what proved to be the winning goal in the first half, England were crowned as world champions for the first time at any level since the heroes of 1966 won the old Jules Rimey trophy at Wembley.
“To be the champions of the world is amazing, it’s a great achievement for the lads here and for the country and hopefully we’ve done a lot of people proud,” said Woodman, who went on to reveal that the squad had been targeting the World Cup since their qualification was first secured at the U19 Euro Finals last July.
“We set goals at the beginning of the tournament and last year, as soon as we had qualified, which seems like a long time ago, we wanted to come here and win it.
“But it all felt very, very far away from the first game with Argentina to today.
“I thought we put on a good performance and we saw out the result so we’re coming home with the trophy so it’s a brilliant feeling.”
Not only does Woodman head home with a World Cup winners’ medal but he also picked up the tournament’s Golden Glove award after conceding just two goals in his six games in South Korea.
But the former Crawley Town and Kilmarnock loanee, who also made his England Under-21s debut this season, says the award is about more than the goalkeeper as he paid tribute to his team-mates and his father Andy, a goalkeeping coach formerly with Newcastle and Crystal Palace.
“It’s testament to the lads in front of me,” Woodman explained. “I only conceded two goals because of those lads and every single one of them put their body on the line, we communicated well and kept the ball well.
“Everyone looks at me and I’ve come away with the Golden Glove but this trophy is about the defenders and the lads in front of me who have worked so hard to help me achieve that.
“I set goals for myself and I told my dad I was going to win it, so to receive it today was an amazing feeling and for him to be here, I think he was a bit teary when I told him I’d won it.
“I set the goal at the beginning of the tournament that I wanted to achieve it and now it’s here, it’s a great feeling.”
As the Young Lions squad prepare to return home on Monday after a month in Asia, Woodman admits it’s going to take some time for their achievement to sink in.
But he’s already looking forward to next term when he returns to St. James’ Park for pre-season before weighing up his goals for the new campaign.
“I’m just enjoy this moment, have a break and then get back fit in pre-season at Newcastle and see where I can go from there,” he said.
“I’ll speak to the manager, but I just want another good season to keep impressing people."
