England's miserable European Under-21 Championships was completed by a 1-0 defeat to hosts Israel in their final group game in Jerusalem.
Following defeats to Italy and Norway the Young Lions were already eliminated from the competition but Ofir Kriaf's 80th minute curling effort from the edge of the penalty area ensured they would finish bottom of Group A.
With nothing but pride to play for boss Stuart Pearce - whose future is also in doubt following the disappointing tournament - opted to make several changes to his starting XI.
Liverpool's Andre Wisdom captained the side while the likes of Jason Steele, Nathaniel Clyne, Tom Lees and Josh McEachran were all handed starts at the Teddi Stadium.
Tournament hosts Israel still held faint hopes of reaching the semi-finals, but needed a convincing win as well as a big victory for Italy against Norway in the other group game to be within a chance of going through.
We had to wait until the 20 minute mark to get the first effort on target, Sintayehu Sallalich's cross shot from a tight angle pushed away by goalkeeper Steele.
The best opening in the first half though went England's way on 33 minutes, Israel goalkeeper Boris Klaiman doing well to save from Tom Ince's shot and Wilfried Zaha's header in quick succession.
Pearce's side began the second half well with Connor Wickham - who had previously seen a number of shots well blocked - bending in an effort that fizzed just wide of the right-hand post.
Nir Biton then got the crowd to their feet with a swerving effort from distance on 57 minutes that beat Steele but thumped off the crossbar and rebounded away from danger.
The game then deteriorated and looked to be meandering to a draw before Kriaf's late intervention, completing what has been a miserable tournament for Pearce's young charges, who failed to score a goal from open play.
The 23-year-old centre back had a transfer request turned down by Swindon but eventually a bid was accepted from the newly-relegated side before terms were agreed and the defender passed a medical.
Flint made 79 appearances since moving to The County Ground from Alfreton in January 2011 and his final game for the club saw him head home a dramatic late equaliser in the play-off semi-final second leg at Brentford.
Flint has signed a four-year contract and Robins head coach Sean O'Driscoll said: "I saw him play for Alfreton a while back, but in the last 18 months he's improved immensely. I've seen him four or five times since then and he's grown on me.
"He's worked under Paolo Di Canio, through a successful period, and then with Kevin MacDonald, who got Swindon into the play-offs.
"He's not the finished article and we're not bringing in an established centre-half, but he's that type who we can bring in and develop.
"I wouldn't want to class him as a 'head it and kick it' type, because he's not afraid to have the ball at his feet and use it sensibly.
"Any lad who's that big can look a bit cumbersome at times, but Aden and Darren Ward were a good partnership at Swindon.
"He's quick enough too and in terms of looking for a young centre-half who you can actually play straight away and you feel there's improvement to come, he fits the bill."
