England's forward Dominic Solanke (L) and Venezuela's defender Williams Velasquez compete for the ball during the U-20 World Cup final football match between England and Venezuela in Suwon on June 11, 2017.
Image: Jung Yeon-Je / AFP
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England's newly crowned Under-20 World Cup winners woke up to back-page headlines acclaiming a golden generation yesterday.

But, despite the plaudits from FA president Prince William and Geoff Hurst, a hat-trick scorer in the 1966 World Cup final, a spotlight was shone on the difficulty most players will face in even securing a club match once memories of Sunday's 1-0 win over Venezuela fade.

England's two standout performers - Dominic Solanke, who scored four goals and won the Golden Ball award as the best player, and Freddie Woodman, who made a superb penalty save in the final - are among those struggling to break through.

Solanke, 19, will join Liverpool on July 1 after rejecting a new deal at Chelsea because of lack of first-team opportunities. Ten years at Stamford Bridge, the club where he came through the academy, yielded just one first-team appearance.

But Solanke may also struggle to play under Reds boss Jürgen Klopp, who yesterday was linked with a move for Monaco's striker Kylian Mbappe, 18. At Anfield, Solanke will join up with two other under-20 stars, Ovie Ejara and Sheyi Ojo, who remain on the first-team fringes.

The picture is similar for Woodman, whose face appeared on many English newspaper back pages.

Last season the Newcastle keeper - godson of national manager Gareth Southgate - was loaned out to Scottish club Kilmarnock and admitted he was unsure where he would play after the summer.

"I am not sure what will happen at Newcastle," the 20-year-old said. "I am just waiting for them to tell me when I am back in pre-season. My goal is to play for Newcastle."

Among the clubs most likely to give youth a chance are Everton, who supplied five players to England in South Korea, three of whom - Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Ademola Lookman and Jonjoe Kenny - were in the first-team squad for the final game of last season.

Victorious under-20 manager Paul Simpson said: "Let's see what comes next and hope they continue to develop. We hope [they] get the football they need and they can go on to be successful."

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