Steele spurred on by unhappy memories

Having come so close two years ago, captain Jason Steele is hoping to finally get his hands on a trophy as he prepares to lead England out against Ukraine in the UEFA European Under-19 Championship final.

Final heartbreak
The Middlesbrough FC goalkeeper is one of six players in Brian Eastick's squad who were involved as England went down 1-0 to Spain in the 2007 U17 final – a seventh, Henri Lansbury, missed that defeat through injury – and that memory serves as a powerful motivation as England seek a first U19 title. "Obviously it's not a nice memory because we lost, and I don't really want to go through that ever again," Steele said. "I tried to block [2007] out but I can remember going up the stairs and picking up my runners-up medal. It wasn't good but you learn from experiences like that."

'Fitter, stronger, sharper'
The finalists shared a 2-2 draw on Matchday 2, although Steele does not necessarily believe either will have gained an advantage from that, adding: "We know how Ukraine are going to play, but they also know how we're going to play. Hopefully we can push on and win it now. We've definitely pushed on from the first game physically – game by game we're getting fitter, stronger, sharper. That's the big change, it's allowing us to move the ball quicker and you're not thinking about tiredness, you're thinking about what your next move is. Overall our performances have improved game by game and from when we conceded that early goal against Ukraine, we've just got better and better."

Long wait
England have not won a European title at any level since claiming the U18 crown on home soil in 1993 – that U17 defeat two years ago is one of three final defeats across the age group levels in the subsequent 16 years, all of which have come in the last five seasons – and Steele acknowledges victory would be a special moment. "Lifting the trophy would definitely be the proudest moment of my life, not just for me but for the whole team and the coaching staff," he said. "It's been a long time since England won a major competition; this team's been together for four years now and, although there have been changes, it would mean a hell of a lot to all of us to win it. There's a lot of self-belief within this group to believe that we can do that and hopefully come Sunday night we can be the ones lifting the trophy."