A fine goal by Ipswich's Connor Wickham earned England their first European Under-17 Championship title as they beat Spain 2-1 in Liechtenstein. Spain took a 22nd-minute lead when a Gerard shot deflected off Liverpool's Andre Wisdom, but Wisdom made amends shortly after by heading home a corner. The highly-rated Wickham then sealed victory early in the second half, with a sweet finish after a powerful run. The sought-after win was England's first age-group title since 1993. That triumph, at the European Under-18 Championship, was earned by a team that included Paul Scholes, Gary Neville, Nicky Butt, Robbie Fowler and Sol Campbell who all went on to play for the senior team. And England U-17 manager John Peacock said that England boss Fabio Capello had been keeping a keen eye on the current crop, asking for DVDs of their matches to be sent to the England training camp in Austria. He also said that some of the senior team had sent a video message to the U-17 team on the morning of the final, but Peacock was keen to highlight the victory as proof of improved standards in English football. "The English game gets criticism sometimes that we don't produce enough good quality players so it is nice to show that things are working well at this level," he told BBC Sport. "There are no guarantees that this group will go and achieve what the likes of Scholes, Neville and Campbell did but they have every chance. We always knew this group had the potential to do very well. "The last time a group came through was in 2003 when we reached the semi-finals only to be beaten by Portugal. That team had Aaron Lennon, James Milner and Tom Huddlestone so recent history shows it can be done." Wickham, who scored six times for Roy Keane's Ipswich team last season and is reportedly attracting the attentions of a number of Premier League clubs, should have put the result beyond doubt not long after his strike. The 6ft 3in striker latched onto a clearance from captain Conor Coady, of Liverpool, before skewing his effort wide with the outside of his right foot after beating the last covering defender. To win the European title is a testament to all the good development work that is going on in the clubs England U-17 boss John Peacock The miss ensured that England endured a tense finish, with Barcelona winger Gerard firing wide and Real Madrid's Jese Rodriguez forcing a fine save from England goalkeeper Jack Butland. Wisdom also breathed a huge sigh of relief when his attempted clearance hit team-mate Luke Garbutt before rebounding off the post for a corner. "I'm absolutely delighted but I'm more happy for the 18 players who have all made a contribution during the tournament," added Peacock. "It is also nice that we beat Spain in the final as they are often seen as the benchmark for football development across the age groups. They win European and World titles on a regular basis. "We have been there or thereabouts with our U17s and U19s - Spain beat us 1-0 in the final three years ago - but it is nice to finally win one. Hopefully it is the start of something and we can win many more." Peacock also praised the much-maligned Premier League and Football League Academies which have been criticised for diluting talent and importing players at a young age from overseas countries. "To win the European title is a testament to all the good development work that is going on in the clubs," he said. "We know there is good work going on in the Academies and all we do is pick up on that good work. The clubs want to go on from where they are and they can feel proud of the victory tonight too."