England national under-21 football team

England Under-21
Nickname(s) The Young Lions
Association The Football Association
Head coach Gareth Southgate[1]
Most caps James Milner (46)
Top scorer Alan Shearer &
Francis Jeffers (13)
First colours
Second colours
First international
England England U-21 0–0 Wales U-21 Wales
(Molineux, Wolverhampton; 15 December 1976)
Biggest win
England England U-21 9–0 San Marino U-21 San Marino
(New Meadow, Shrewsbury; 19 November 2013)
Biggest defeat
Romania Romania U-21 4–0 England U-21 England
(Ploieşti, Romania; 14 October 1980)
&
England England U-21 0–4 Spain U-21 Spain
(St Andrews, Birmingham; 27 February 2001)
&
Germany Germany U-21 4–0 England U-21 England
(Malmö New Stadium, Malmö; 29 June 2009)
UEFA U-21 Championship
Appearances 13 (First in 1978)
Best result Winners 1982, 1984

England's national Under-21 football team, also known as England Under-21s or England U21(s), is considered to be the feeder team for the England national football team.

This team is for English players aged under 21 at the start of the calendar year in which a two-year European Under-21 Football Championship campaign begins, so some players can remain with the squad until the age of 23. As long as they are eligible, players can play for England at any level, making it possible to play for the U21s, senior side, and again for the U21s, as Jack Butland, Wilfried Zaha and Raheem Sterling have done recently. It is also possible to play for one country at youth level and another at senior level (providing the player is eligible).

The U-21 team came into existence, following the realignment of UEFA's youth competitions, in 1976. A goalless draw in a friendly against Wales at Wolves' Molineux Stadium was England U21s' first result.

England U21s do not have a permanent home. They play in stadia dotted all around England, in an attempt to encourage younger fans in all areas of the country to get behind England. Because of the lower demand compared to the senior national team, smaller grounds can be used. The record attendance for an England U21 match was set on 24 March 2007, when England U21 played Italy U21 in front of a crowd of just under 60,000 at the brand new Wembley Stadium, also a world record attendance for a U21 game.[2] The match was one of the required two "ramp up" events the stadium hosted in order to gain its safety certificate in time for its full-capacity opening for the 2007 FA Cup Final in May.[3][4]

Coaching staff

Head coach

Tenure Head Coach/Manager
1977–1990 England Dave Sexton
1990–1993 England Lawrie McMenemy
1994–1996 England Dave Sexton
1996–1999 England Peter Taylor
1999 England Peter Reid
1999–2001 England Howard Wilkinson
2001–2004 England David Platt
2004–2007 England Peter Taylor
2007–2013 England Stuart Pearce
2013– England Gareth Southgate

The original and most successful coach is Dave Sexton, who led the U21s from 1977 to 1990. In this period he combined his duties with managing the top-flight clubs Manchester United (1977–1981) and Coventry City (1981–1983). After Coventry he took a position within the FA as their first Technical Director, at Lilleshall. He handed over U21 responsibilities to England manager Graham Taylor's assistant Lawrie McMenemy for three years before resuming control from 1994 to 1996.

Peter Taylor took over in 1996 and, although never winning the tournament, his teams had an excellent record. He was controversially removed from the position in early 1999, however, and replaced initially by Peter Reid, who resigned after just one match in charge to dedicate more time to his other job as manager of Sunderland. Howard Wilkinson took over afterwards, yet could only produce four wins in ten competitive matches and quit after a year and a half in charge. David Platt took charge upon his departure from Nottingham Forest. Platt was U21 boss from 2001 to 2004, but had little success before Taylor's return. Taylor left in January 2007, as the senior national manager Steve McClaren wanted the U21s to have a full-time manager. Taylor, at the time, was combining his duties with his role as Crystal Palace boss.

On 1 February 2007, Manchester City manager Stuart Pearce was appointed as head coach on a part-time basis until after the European Championships in the summer of 2007. Nigel Pearson, Newcastle United's assistant manager, agreed to become Pearce's assistant. Their first match in charge was a 2–2 draw against Spain on 6 February 2007 at Derby County's Pride Park Stadium. For the match against Italy Nigel Pearson took charge as Stuart Pearce had club commitments. Steve Wigley assisted Pearson.

Pearce was dismissed as Manchester City manager on 14 May 2007, before the 2007 European Championships, but on 19 July 2007 he was named full-time U21s coach.[5] He remained in the post until June 2013, when it was announced that his contract would not be renewed.[6] On 31 July, the FA announced that England senior manager Roy Hodgson would take charge of an England U21 friendly match against Scotland at Bramall Lane,[7] the match ended in a 6–0 win for Hodgson's side.[8] Former England international Gareth Southgate was made manager of the under-21 team on 22 August.[9]

Other staff

Coaches England Steve Holland[10]
England Brian Eastick
Goalkeeping Coach Wales Martin Thomas[11]
Physiotherapists England Dave Galley[12]
England Derek Wright[12]
Doctor England Dr. Richard Higgins[13]
Masseur England Stewart Welsh
Exercise Scientist England Craig Boyd
Performance Analyst England Keith Mincher
Video Analyst England Mike Baker
Kit Manager England Neil Jones

Competition History

As a European U21 team, England compete for the European Championship, with the finals every odd-numbered year, formerly even-numbered years. There is no Under-21 World Cup, although there is an Under-20 World Cup. For the first six (1978–1988) European Under-21 Football Championships, England did well, getting knocked out in the semi-finals on four occasions and winning the competition in 1982 and 1984. Then, as one might expect with a rapid turnover of players, followed a lean period.

After losing to France in the 1988 semi final, England then failed to qualify for the last eight for five whole campaigns. In the qualifying stages for the 1998 tournament, England won their group, but fate was not on their side. Because there were nine groups, and only eight places, the two group-winning nations with worst records had to play-off to eliminate one of them. England lost the away leg of this extra qualifying round and were eliminated on away goals to Greece. In effect, England finished ninth in the competition despite losing only one of their ten matches.

England qualified for the 2000 finals comfortably. Under the 1996-appointed Peter Taylor England won every match without conceding a goal. But with 3 matches to play, Taylor was replaced in a controversial manner by Howard Wilkinson, who won the next two matches. The three goals conceded in the 3–1 defeat to group runners-up Poland were the only blemish on the team's qualifying record. England got knocked out in the group stage of the European Championship finals in 2000 under Wilkinson.

After enlisting former international star David Platt as manager, England qualified for the 2002 tournament in Switzerland. Again England did poorly in the group stage. Platt's England failed to qualify for the 2004 tournament and he was replaced by the returning Peter Taylor. Taylor's England qualified from the group but lost to a strong France team in a two-legged playoff and failed to qualify for the 2006 tournament.

The next campaign started shortly after the 2006 finals – the qualification stage of the 2007 competition. UEFA decided to shift the tournament forward to avoid a clash with senior tournaments taking place in even-numbered years. The qualification stage was heavily reduced, being completed in a year's less time. In a 3-team qualification group, England qualified over Switzerland and Moldova, and then won a two-legged play-off with Germany to qualify for the finals to be held in the Netherlands. At the tournament, England progressed through to the semi-finals where they led for the majority of the match against the hosts. However, after a late equaliser and a marathon penalty shootout, England were eliminated.

In 2009, England finished as runners-up, losing 4–0 to Germany in the final.

England finished second in their qualifying group for the 2011 championships in Denmark. They subsequently defeated Romania in the play-offs to qualify for the finals tournament, where they were knocked out in the group stage after a 2-1 defeat to the Czech Republic.

Year Progress
1978 Semi Final
1980 Semi Final
1982 Champions
1984 Champions
1986 Semi Final
1988 Semi Final
1990 Failed to qualify
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000 Group Stage
2002 Group Stage
2004 Failed to qualify
2006
2007 Semi Final
2009 Final
2011 Group Stage
2013 Group Stage
2015 Qualified

Note: The year of the tournament represents the year in which it ends.

Results and fixtures

2015 UEFA European Under-21 Championship

Qualification

Group stage
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  England 10 9 1 0 31 2 +29 28 Play-offs
2  Finland 10 4 4 2 17 10 +7 16
3  Moldova 10 5 1 4 12 6 +6 16
4  Wales 10 3 3 4 12 13 −1 12
5  Lithuania 10 2 2 6 6 19 −13 8
6  San Marino 10 1 1 8 2 30 −28 4
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
Play-off

Final tournament

Group stage
Team Pld
 W
 D
 L
 GF
 GA
 GD
 Pts
 England 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
 Italy 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
 Portugal 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
 Sweden 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship

Qualification

Group stage
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  England 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Final tournament — 16 Nov '15 6 Sep '16 11 Oct '16 13 Oct '15
2   Switzerland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Possible Play-offs based on ranking 26 Mar '16 — 12 Oct '15 8 Oct '15 2 Sep '16
3  Norway 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 Sep '15 7 Oct '16 — 13 Jun '15 –
4  Bosnia and Herzegovina 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 Nov '15 6 Sep '16 – — –
5  Kazakhstan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 Oct '16 7 Sep '15 – – —
First match(es) will be played on 13 June 2015. Source: UEFA

Other fixtures

2014 Toulon Tournament

Group stage
Team Pld
 W
 D
 L
 GF
 GA
 GD
 Pts
 Brazil 4 4 0 0 13 2 +11 12
 England 4 1 2 1 6 4 +2 5
 South Korea 4 1 2 1 3 4 −1 5
 Colombia 4 0 2 2 3 5 −2 2
 Qatar 4 0 2 2 2 12 −10 2
  Team qualified for final
  Team qualified for 3rd place match
Third place play-off

Friendly matches

Players

Leading appearances

Rank Player Club(s) U-21 Caps
1 James Milner Leeds United, Newcastle United, Aston Villa 46
2 Tom Huddlestone Derby County, Tottenham Hotspur 33
Fabrice Muamba Birmingham City, Bolton Wanderers 33
4 Michael Mancienne Chelsea, Hamburg 30
5 Scott Carson Leeds United, Liverpool 29
Steven Taylor Newcastle United 29
Danny Rose Tottenham Hotspur 29
8 Jamie Carragher Liverpool 27
Gareth Barry Aston Villa 27
Jordan Henderson Sunderland, Liverpool 27
Jack Butland Birmingham City, Stoke City 27

Note: Club(s) represents the permanent clubs during the player's time in the Under-21s. Those players in bold are still eligible to play for the team at the moment.

Leading goalscorers

Rank Player Club(s) U-21 Goals
1 Alan Shearer Southampton 13
Francis Jeffers Everton, Arsenal 13
3 Saido Berahino West Bromwich Albion 10
4 Darren Bent Ipswich Town, Charlton Athletic 9
Frank Lampard West Ham United 9
James Milner Leeds United, Newcastle United, Aston Villa 9
7 Harry Kane Tottenham Hotspur 8
Mark Hateley Coventry City, Portsmouth 8
Carl Cort Wimbledon 8
10 Mark Robins Manchester United 7
Shola Ameobi Newcastle United 7
Jermain Defoe West Ham United 7

Note: Club(s) represents the permanent clubs during the player's time in the Under-21s. Those players in bold are still eligible to play for the team at the moment.

Current squad

Players born on or after 1 January 1992 are eligible until the end of the 2015 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship.[14] Names in italics denote players who have been capped for the Senior team.

The following players were named in the squad for the friendlies against the Czech Republic and Germany.[15]

Name DOB Club Caps (goals)
Goalkeepers
Jonathan Bond 19 May 1993 England Watford 6 (0)
Marcus Bettinelli 24 May 1992 England Fulham 1 (0)
Defenders
Michael Keane 11 January 1993 England Burnley 19 (3)
Liam Moore 31 January 1993 England Leicester City 12 (1)
Luke Garbutt 21 May 1993 England Everton 11 (0)
Carl Jenkinson 8 February 1992 England West Ham United (on loan from Arsenal) 10 (2)
Ben Gibson 1 March 1993 England Middlesbrough 10 (0)
John Stones 28 May 1994 England Everton 10 (0)
Eric Dier 15 January 1994 England Tottenham Hotspur 9 (0)
Calum Chambers 20 January 1995 England Arsenal 2 (0)
Matt Targett 18 September 1995 England Southampton 1 (0)
Midfielders
Nathan Redmond 6 March 1994 England Norwich City 22 (5)
James Ward-Prowse 1 November 1994 England Southampton 15 (4)
Tom Carroll 28 May 1992 Wales Swansea City (on loan from Tottenham Hotspur) 14 (2)
Will Hughes 7 April 1995 England Derby County 14 (2)
Jake Forster-Caskey 25 April 1994 England Brighton & Hove Albion 13 (1)
Jesse Lingard 15 December 1992 England Derby County (on loan from Manchester United) 7 (1)
Alex Pritchard 3 May 1993 England Brentford (on loan from Tottenham Hotspur) 6 (0)
Forwards
Danny Ings 23 July 1992 England Burnley 9 (4)
Cauley Woodrow 2 December 1994 England Fulham 6 (2)

Recent call-ups

The following players have also been called up to the England under-21 squad and remain eligible:

Name DOB Club Caps (goals) Most recent call-up
Goalkeepers
Jack Butland 10 March 1993 England Stoke City 27 (0) v  Czech Republic/ Germany, 27/30 March 2015*
Sam Johnstone 25 March 1993 England Preston North End (on loan from Manchester United) 0 (0) v  Croatia, 10/14 October 2014
Jamal Blackman 27 October 1993 England Chelsea 0 (0) v  Lithuania/ Moldova, 5/9 September 2014
George Long 5 November 1993 Scotland Motherwell (on loan from Sheffield United) 0 (0) v  Finland/ San Marino, 14/19 November 2013
Defenders
Jack Robinson 1 September 1993 England Queens Park Rangers 10 (1) v  Portugal/ France, 13/17 November 2014
Jamaal Lascelles 11 November 1993 England Nottingham Forest (on loan from Newcastle United) 2 (0) v  Portugal/ France, 13/17 November 2014
Luke Shaw 12 July 1995 England Manchester United 5 (0) v  Croatia, 10/14 October 2014
Tyler Blackett 2 April 1994 England Manchester United 1 (0) v  Lithuania/ Moldova, 5/9 September 2014
Tyias Browning 27 May 1994 England Everton 5 (0) 2014 Toulon Tournament, 21 May – 1 June 2014
Zeki Fryers 9 September 1992 England Rotherham United (on loan from Crystal Palace) 0 (0) v  Wales, 5 March 2014*
Andre Wisdom 9 May 1993 England West Bromwich Albion (on loan from Liverpool) 10 (0) v  Moldova/ Finland, 5/9 September 2013
Tom Thorpe 13 January 1993 England Manchester United 1 (0) v  Moldova/ Finland, 5/9 September 2013
Todd Kane 17 September 1993 England Nottingham Forest (on loan from Chelsea) 0 (0) v  Moldova/ Finland, 5/9 September 2013
Phil Jones 21 February 1992 England Manchester United 9 (0) v  Sweden, 5 February 2013
Harry Maguire 5 March 1993 England Wigan Athletic (on loan from Hull City) 1 (0) v  Northern Ireland, 13 November 2012
Jon Flanagan 1 January 1993 England Liverpool 3 (0) v  Iceland, 10 November 2011
Midfielders
Nathaniel Chalobah 12 December 1994 England Reading (on loan from Chelsea) 21 (0) v  Czech Republic/ Germany, 27/30 March 2015*
Tom Ince 30 January 1992 England Derby County (on loan from Hull City) 19 (3) v  Portugal/ France, 13/17 November 2014
Lewis Baker 25 April 1995 England Milton Keynes Dons (on loan from Chelsea) 0 (0) v  Croatia, 10/14 October 2014
Josh McEachran 1 March 1993 Netherlands Vitesse (on loan from Chelsea) 15 (1) 2014 Toulon Tournament, 21 May – 1 June 2014
Jordan Cousins 6 March 1994 England Charlton Athletic 3 (1) 2014 Toulon Tournament, 21 May – 1 June 2014
Solomon March 20 July 1994 England Brighton & Hove Albion 4 (0) 2014 Toulon Tournament, 21 May – 1 June 2014
Jordan Obita 8 December 1993 England Reading 2 (1) 2014 Toulon Tournament, 21 May – 1 June 2014
Wilfried Zaha 10 November 1992 England Crystal Palace 13 (1) v  Wales, 19 May 2014*
Ravel Morrison 2 February 1993 Free agent 4 (2) v  Wales, 5 March 2014
Raheem Sterling 8 December 1994 England Liverpool 8 (3) v  Finland/ San Marino, 14/19 November 2013
Jonjo Shelvey 27 February 1992 Wales Swansea City 13 (4) v  Moldova/ Finland, 5/9 September 2013*
Ross Barkley 5 December 1993 England Everton 5 (1) v  Scotland, 13 August 2013
Gary Gardner 29 June 1992 England Nottingham Forest (on loan from Aston Villa) 5 (2) v  Belgium, 29 February 2012
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain 15 August 1993 England Arsenal 8 (4) v  Belgium, 29 February 2012
Jack Wilshere 1 January 1992 England Arsenal 7 (0) 2011 European Championship provisional squad, 11–25 June 2011
Forwards
Saido Berahino 4 August 1993 England West Bromwich Albion 13 (10) v  Czech Republic/ Germany, 27/30 March 2015*
Patrick Bamford 5 September 1993 England Middlesbrough (on loan from Chelsea) 2 (0) v  Czech Republic/ Germany, 27/30 March 2015*
Callum Wilson 27 February 1992 England Bournemouth 1 (0) v  Czech Republic/ Germany, 27/30 March 2015*
Harry Kane 28 July 1993 England Tottenham Hotspur 10 (8) v  Portugal/ France, 13/17 November 2014
Will Keane 11 January 1993 England Sheffield Wednesday (on loan from Manchester United) 5 (0) 2014 Toulon Tournament, 21 May – 1 June 2014
Nick Powell 23 March 1994 England Manchester United 2 (0) v  Finland/ San Marino, 14/19 November 2013
Connor Wickham 31 March 1993 England Sunderland 17 (6) v  Moldova/ Finland, 5/9 September 2013
Benik Afobe 12 February 1993 England Wolverhanpton Wanderers 2 (1) v  Sweden, 5 February 2013

*Player withdrew from the squad before any games had been played.

Past squads

References

  1. ↑ "Southgate named England Under-21 boss". BBC. 22 August 2013.
  2. ↑ BBC News – Wembley opener attracts thousands
  3. ↑ BBC News – Wembley game 'sold out' in hours
  4. ↑ The Guardian – Early set-back on Wembley's big day
  5. ↑ "Pearce named England U21 manager". BBC Sport. 19 July 2007. Retrieved 17 July 2007.
  6. ↑ "Stuart Pearce: England Under-21 boss to leave role". BBC Sport. 18 June 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  7. ↑ "Roy Hodgson and Ray Lewington to manage England Under-21s against Scotland". thefa.com. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  8. ↑ "England Under-21s thrash Scotland 6-0 in friendly". BBC News. 13 August 2013.
  9. ↑ "Gareth Southgate named England Under-21 boss". BBC News. 22 August 2013.
  10. ↑ "Holland to stay with U21s". http://www.thefa.com/''. The Football Association. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  11. ↑ "Martin Thomas". http://www.thefa.com/''. The Football Association. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Derek's Euro Role". http://www.nufc.co.uk/''. Newcastle United. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  13. ↑ "First team support staff". http://www.swfc.co.uk/''. Sheffield Wednesday. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  14. ↑ "Regulations of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship 2013–15" (PDF). http://www.uefa.org/''. UEFA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 July 2014. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  15. ↑ "England U21s squad named for Czech Republic and Germany". http://www.thefa.com/''. The Football Association. Retrieved 19 March 2015.

External links