On Sunday Lewis Cook became the first England captain in 51 years to lift a World Cup trophy after captaining the Three Lions to the under-20s World Cup title in South Korea.
A tight 1-0 win over Venezuela in the final claimed the silverware for England, with Lewis Cook telling afcb.co.uk how it felt to raise the prestigious trophy.
“It’s hard to put the feeling into words, it was the best day of my life," he said. "It’s been a combination of hard work, relief and I’m immensely proud of all the team, the staff – it was a great feeling; unbelievable.
“I definitely thought it was possible to get really far, we had a good enough team with a lot of ability and togetherness. To win the World Cup is not easy though and some of the games showed how hard it was.
“We got there in the end and it’s a great achievement to be proud of.”
The final win was far from straight forward. After Dominic Calvert-Lewin had given England a deserved first-half lead, the second period required a stunning Freddie Woodman penalty save from Adalberto Penaranda.
“When they came onto us at the end of the game we had to dig in as much as we could,” said Cook on seeing the game out.
“We kept going, everyone was tired and once Freddie made his penalty save it gave us a boost for the last 30 minutes.
“We got over the line eventually, and Freddie’s save was a big part of that.”
The tournament experience gained by the squad was a vital learning element of the trip, and Cook spoke about the coverage he and his team-mates received as the World Cup campaign reached its sharp end.
“Once we got into the quarter-finals and the semi-finals we started getting a lot more coverage at home and we were getting a lot of support,” he said.
“We had a few video messages from some famous players and people and that really helped us, it was really good to see the whole country come together and support us in the final.”
With the trophy secured and lifted at Suwon World Cup Stadium, it was time for the celebrations to start in South Korea, with loved ones on hand to share in the success.
Cook commented: “After the game we all went back to the hotel and invited our families and friends. We had a little party there, which was well deserved.
“It was nice that all of the people who came out to watch us were able to celebrate with us. The staff and everyone worked so hard and collectively it brought together a great trip.”
