Whatever happened to the England Under-20s' class of 1993?
England have reached the finals of the Fifa Under-20 World Cup for the first time in their history, sparking hopes of another golden generation of English football.
Their previous best effort saw them make the 1993 semi-finals, eventually losing 2-1 to Ghana.
Deputy sports editor Derek Bish charts the career of five of the players to feature in that squad in 1993:
1 Nicky Butt
The Manchester United man – part of the Red Devils’ legendary Class of ‘92 – anchored the England midfield in 1993, just like he would nine years later when helping the senior side to the last eight of the 2002 World Cup.
Of course, that would end in heartache when Ronaldinho’s mishit/clever (delete as applicable) free-kick looped over David Seaman’s head into the back of the net, however Butt left the tournament with plenty of new fans, including Brazilian hero Pele, who labelled the defensive midfielder his player of the tournament.
That would be his last appearance at a major tournament though, his 39-cap international career ending in 2004.
2 Nick Barmby
Used off the bench at both Euro 96 and Euro 2000, Barmby was the only other player from 1993 that would earn full England honours (23 in total).
His half-time withdrawal in England’s famous World Cup qualifier with Greece coincided with a David Beckham-inspired comeback and he would never play for his country again.
Was part of the Liverpool squad that won four trophies in one season in 2001 and went on to manage Hull City for a season.
3 Andy Johnson
There was a third full international in that squad, it’s just that Johnson opted to play for Wales, qualifying through his grandmother.
After spells at Norwich City and Nottingham Forest, he joined Albion in 2001 and became a bit of a fans’ favourite, helping the Baggies to two promotions to the Premier League in three seasons.
Earned 15 caps for Wales overall.
4 Julian Joachim
Joachim scored the group-stage winner over Turkey that would take England into the quarter-finals, where they would defeat Mexico on penalties.
Despite playing for England through the age groups – including when winning the European Under-18 Championship in the same year – he would never turn out for the senior side.
Like several players in the 1993 squad, he would go on to sign for Villa – Steve Watson, David Unsworth and Alan Thompson the others.
Also spent time on loan at Walsall.
5 Darren Caskey
Like Joachim, pulled double international duty in 1993, captaining England Under-18s to European glory, and netting the winner against Turkey.
Couldn’t repeat the trick for the under-20s and, after leaving Tottenham in 1995, dropped down through the leagues, spending time as player-assistant manager at Halesowen Town.
Another 1993 squad member who would turn up in the West Midlands non-league scene was Adie Mike at Hednesford Town in the late 90s.
