England national under-21 football team

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

This team is for English players aged 21 or under at the start of a two-year European Under-21 Football Championship campaign, so players can be, and often are, up to 23 years old. Also in existence are teams for Under-20s (for non-UEFA tournaments), Under-19s and Under 17s. As long as they are eligible, players can play at any level, making it possible to play for the U-21s, senior side and again for the U-21s, as Kieran Richardson, Darren Bent and Theo Walcott 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). Nigel Quashie is a current Scotland international and former England U-21 player.

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 U-21s' first result.

England U-21s 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 smaller demand compared to the senior national team, smaller grounds can be used. The record attendance for an England U-21 match was set on March 24 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 an U21 game. ^[1] 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.^[2][3]

Competition History

Main article: England's European Under-21 Football Championship Record

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.

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

Coaching Staff

Head coach

On 1 February2007, 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 May 142007, before the 2007 European Championships, but on 19 July2007 he was named full-time U21s coach. His contract runs until the summer of 2009.^[4]

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

Other staff

Assistant Coach	Nigel Pearson
Coach	Steve Wigley
Goalkeeping Coaches	Martin Thomas
	Eric Steele
Physiotherapists	Dave Galley
	Mike Healy
Doctor	Dr. Mark Waller
Masseur	Paul Small
Exercise Scientist	Gary Phillips
Video Analyst	Steve O'Brien
Kit Manager	Mark Simkin

Current and recent players

Ashley Young prepares to place the ball for a free kick for the England Under-21s against Slovakia at Carrow Road in June 2007.

Players born in 1984 or later were eligible for the 2006-07 UEFA European U-21 Championship, players born in 1986 or later are eligible for the 2007-09 UEFA European U-21 Championship, and so on. The Under-19 team will be the most obvious source for the next crop of Under-21s.

Since the 2006 World Cup, Stewart Downing and Aaron Lennon now also seem to have graduated to the senior side. Theo Walcott, who earned a senior cap in the run-up to the 2006 World Cup, and was in the England World Cup squad but did not play in the tournament, has been named in recent U-21s squads. He won his first cap for the under-21s after the World Cup.

Those players in italics have caps for the senior team. Details of exactly which players were selected in the squad for the latest fixture(s) are available here

Most Appearances - Top Ten

Because of the age restriction, a player can't be in the team for very long (4 years would be a long stretch) and the most promising young players spend little time (or, in the case of the likes of Wayne Rooney, none at all) with the U-21s before winning senior caps. James Milner holds the record for the most Under-21 caps, with 33.

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.

Statistics up to and including England vs Republic of Ireland, October 162007.

Most Goals - Top Ten

Note: Club(s) represents the permanent clubs during the player's time in the Under-21s.

Statistics up to and including England vs Netherlands, June 202007.

Current Under-21 Squad

Statistics up to and including England 3-0 Republic of Ireland, October 16, 2007.

No. Pos. Player DoB/Age Caps Goals Club GK Ben Alnwick January 1 1987 (1987--) (age 20) 1 0 Luton Town GK Joe Hart April 19 1987 (1987--) (age 20) 7 0 Manchester City GK Tom Heaton April 15 1986 (1986--) (age 21) 0 0 Manchester United DF Martin Cranie September 23 1986 (1986--) (age 21) 5 0 Portsmouth DF Billy Jones March 24 1987 (1987--) (age 20) 0 0 Preston North End DF Nedum Onouha November 12 1986 (1986--) (age 20) 13 1 Manchester City DF Andrew Taylor August 1 1986 (1986--) (age 21) 6 0 Middlesbrough DF Steven Taylor January 23 1986 (1986--) (age 21) 22 4 Newcastle United DF David Wheater February 14 1987 (1987--) (age 20) 2 0 Middlesbrough MF Tom Huddlestone December 28 1986 (1986--) (age 20) 22 2 Tottenham Hotspur MF Adam Johnson July 14 1987 (1987--) (age 20) 2 0 Watford MF Michael Kightly January 24 1986 (1986--) (age 21) 3 0 Wolverhampton Wanderers MF James Milner April 1 1986 (1986--) (age 21) 33 3 Newcastle United MF Fabrice Muamba April 6 1988 (1988--) (age 19) 4 0 Birmingham City MF Mark Noble May 8 1987 (1987--) (age 20) 9 3 West Ham United MF Andrew Surman August 20 1986 (1986--) (age 21) 2 1 Southampton MF Theo Walcott March 16 1989 (1989--) (age 18) 11 4 Arsenal FW Gabriel Agbonlahor October 13 1986 (1986--) (age 21) 8 1 Aston Villa FW Matt Derbyshire April 14 1986 (1986--) (age 21) 9 4 Blackburn Rovers FW Cameron Jerome October 14 1986 (1986--) (age 21) 8 0 Birmingham City FW Luke Moore February 13 1986 (1986--) (age 21) 4 0 Aston Villa

References

See also

• European Under-21 Football Championship
• England's European Under-21 Football Championship Record
• England (Senior) team
• England Under-19

External links

• Official FA England Under-21 website Contains listings of current England U-21 players.
• Uefa Under-21 website Contains full results archive
• The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation Contains full record of U-21 Championship hosts and additional statistics, such as the Group Winners table for the 1998 qualifiers.

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