Newcastle United youngster Kyran Thompson started England Under-18s’ UEFA Friendship Cup final as Spain ended the Young Lions’ winning run with a 2-0 victory.
Thompson played 69 minutes in Nyon on Saturday before Barcelona’s Ajay Tavares replaced him.
Fellow Newcastle prospects Michael Mills, Sam Alabi and Roman Dowell remained on the bench, with Thompson the only member of the quartet to feature in the final.
According to England’s official match report, Junior opened the scoring late in the first half before Cruz added Spain’s second in stoppage time.
England twice struck the woodwork while chasing an equaliser, but could not add a fourth victory to their wins over Colombia, Egypt and Korea Republic.
Newcastle quartet leave with milestones
The final disappointment followed a productive tournament for Newcastle’s academy contingent.
All four players received their first England Under-18 call-ups, as Newcastle’s international round-up confirms.
Mills scored against Colombia and then came off the bench to hit the winner against Egypt. Alabi opened the scoring against Korea Republic on his first start at this level.
Thompson also contributed to the Colombia opener, with Mills following up after his effort was saved.
For goalkeeper Dowell, the tournament added international experience to his recent progress with Newcastle’s Under-21s. We previously examined Dowell’s rapid rise through the Newcastle academy.
Those contributions give Newcastle supporters more to take from the trip than the final score alone: goals for Mills and Alabi, international experience for Dowell and a place in the final starting XI for Thompson.
