Lewis Cook added to his growing collection of titles with England at the weekend, leading the Young Lions to victory in the Maurice Revello Tournament.
A 2-1 win over Mexico in Saturday’s final was enough to seal a third straight title in Toulon for England and for Cook, it follows on from winning last year’s U20 World Cup and the U17 Euros in 2014.
And the AFC Bournemouth midfielder, who competed in France after being named as a standby player for Gareth Southgate’s World Cup squad, admits the whole group of players and staff can be proud of their latest achievement.
“I’m very happy with the tournament, the boys have put a lot of work in and it’s always good to win a trophy,” he said.
“I’m proud of the players and proud of the staff, the staff work really hard to help us get to where we are. It’s everyone, it’s a team effort.
“We’ve worked so hard to come to the tournament and win it, which we’ve managed to do – it’s always great to win trophies, it’s why we are in football.”
England knew what they would be up against in the final, having already played Mexico in the group stage when they played out a hard-fought 0-0 draw.
And Aidy Boothroyd’s side had to show their courage too, falling behind after less than 80 seconds of the final.
“Mexico were tough opposition over the two games so we’re very pleased to win,” added Cook.
“I didn’t think we’d lose the game when we went behind. We were in that situation against Scotland and in other games we have scored late to win, so we know we have the fitness and ability to win.
“I feel a good sense of accomplishment, they’re a good team with a lot of strong individuals and really tested us at times with their press and their ability but those are the games you want to be involved in, especially with our qualifying campaign coming up next season.
“When you play international football, there’s lots of different styles and you have to adapt. Some teams sit off us and some teams press.
“It’s great to be in a tournament like this, with countries from all over the world, and take that into our next games coming up on the international stage.”
The U21s are next in action when they return to Euro qualifying action against the Netherlands on Thursday 6 September at Norwich City’s Carrow Road. Tickets are on sale now.
