Saturday 11 November 2017 16:40, UK
England's U17s are world champions - but how many of them will become first-team regulars in the Premier League?
After winning the most prestigious prize at their age-group level, England's young players will be dreaming of what's to come. And they got a taste of the adulation they could earn in the future when they were presented to the England supporters at half-time during the draw with Germany at Wembley on Friday night.
But the road from youth team success to senior stardom is not a straightforward one. Just look back to England's U17 World Cup quarter-finalists from the 2011 tournament for evidence of that.
While that line-up contained the likes of Raheem Sterling, Jordan Pickford and Nathaniel Chalobah, who have each established themselves in the Premier League, much of the squad now plays at a lower level.
Blair Turgott, Sam Magri and Tyrell Belford spoke to Sky Sports about the challenges, pitfalls and potential obstacles England's U17 World Cup winners will face in the future - and how they can learn from their mistakes to make the most of their potential.
THEIR OWN EXPERIENCES
Turgott: When I came back from the World Cup I thought I'd get an opportunity and be with the first team at West Ham and then I would have pushed on from there and the rest would be history. Onwards and upwards. That's the fairytale you put in your head.
There was definitely a lot of pressure. You almost make a rod for your own back when you have such high standards and do so well. People always expected you to do more. If there was a game and we weren't at the races, I'd be the one people looked at to be the catalyst or the spark to get something going.
Ultimately I'd say I've underachieved. For me to be where I am now in my career. Definitely the way I treated myself growing up through the years and when I got to 17, 18, 19 I didn't see why I couldn't play in the Premier League.
Magri: I was 16 at the time and it was going crazy - everyone wanted interviews. People think you're going to be a wonderkid and you're going to do this and that and when it doesn't happen, you know what football fans are like, they're on your back. So it can be very difficult.
The journey changes you. There are lots of ups and downs and you learn a lot about yourself. No one can go back into the past but you learn a lot and when you think about it and you think 'I wish I could change this or that' - but it's all part of the journey.
Belford: I was at Liverpool for four years and it was a big move from Coventry, a big step at that time in my life to move. I obviously had to change schools at the time, so it was a big move but something I couldn't really turn down at that age.
After that, from a development point of view, some got the wrong development, some didn't get enough. Raheem went and did it in the right way. He got a little taste of first-team football. But a prime example is Jordan Pickford who has done all the levels.
He earned his stripes at every single level. He went to the Conference, League Two, League One, the Championship and now he's playing week in and week out in the Premier League. We're at the same age and he's 200 appearances in, maybe more, I'm 34, 40 league games in. There's a vast difference in our experience because of the way he's developed as a player and he went on and did the right thing at the right time.
ADVICE FOR THIS GENERATION OF U17s
Belford: If you're not playing regular first team football, ask yourself the question why. Can you seek a loan move, can you go and experience first team football and the pressures of it? Go and experience the changing rooms somewhere else, something that's not normal to yourself, put yourself in an uncomfortable position to deal with. That's part and parcel of football.
Turgott: You need to go on loan. You need to learn your trade and study the game. You need to do a lot of research into wherever you're going, whether the manager is right for you, the way they play, players in your position in front of you. There's so much you need to put in place before you make the step - because it's a massive step.
Magri: I was at Palace in the U21s and then I signed for Dover in the Conference. You may look at it as a drop but going into men's football, my first six or seven games I was getting cramp - it's a totally different intensity. If it was me, going back in time, I'd have gone down that line a lot earlier. Just look at the Checkatrade Trophy - the U21 teams, apart from a few of them, are all down the bottom of their groups with no points. That shows what I've been saying, that the step up to senior football is so different.
