England national under-21 football team
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| Nickname | Young Lions | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Association | The Football Association | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coach |  Stuart Pearce (since 2007) |
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| Captain | Nigel Reo-Coker | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Most caps | Jamie Carragher & Gareth Barry (27) |
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| Top scorer | Alan Shearer & Francis Jeffers (13) |
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| First International England U-21 0-0 Wales U-21 (Molineux, Wolverhampton; December 15, 1976) |
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| Largest win England U-21 8-1 Finland U-21 (Boothferry Park, Hull; October 12, 1977) |
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| Worst defeat Romania U-21 4-0 England U-21 (Ploieşti, Romania; October 14, 1980) & England U-21 0-4 Spain U-21 (St Andrews, Birmingham; February 27, 2001) |
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| UEFA U-21 Championship | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Appearances | 8 (First in 1978) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Best result | Winners 1982 & 1984 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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 must host in order to gain a safety certificate in time for its scheduled full-capacity opening for the 2007 FA Cup Final in May. [2][3]
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[edit] Competition History
There is no Under-21 World Cup, although there is an Under-20 World Cup. European U-21 teams compete for the European Championship, with the finals every even-numbered year. It will be held in odd-numbered years from 2007. 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.
Note: The year of the tournament represents the year in which it ends.
[edit] Coaching Staff
| Head Coach | Stuart Pearce |
| Assistant Coach | Nigel Pearson |
| Coach | Steve Wigley |
| Goalkeeping Coach | Martin Thomas |
| Physiotherapist | Dave Galley |
| Doctor | Dr Mark Waller |
| Excercise Scientist | Gary Phillips |
[edit] Head coach
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 Sturat Pearce had club commitments. Nigel was assisted by Steve Wigley.
| 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 |
[edit] Current and recent players
Players born in 1984 or later are 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 of the next crop of Under-21s.
Wayne Rooney, born in 1985, would be eligible to play for the U-21s but has never done so (he has one cap at U-19 level) playing for the senior side instead. Following 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.
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1984-born
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1985-born |
1986-born
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1988-born
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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
[edit] 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 Rooney, none at all) with the U-21s before winning senior caps. Jamie Carragher and Gareth Barry hold the record for the most Under-21 caps, with 27 each.
| Rank | Player | Club(s) | U-21 Caps |
|---|---|---|---|
| =1 | Jamie Carragher | Liverpool | 27 |
| =1 | Gareth Barry | Aston Villa | 27 |
| =3 | David Prutton | Nottingham Forest, Southampton | 25 |
| =3 | Scott Carson | Leeds United, Liverpool | 25 |
| 5 | Jermaine Pennant | Arsenal | 24 |
| 6 | Jermain Defoe | West Ham United | 23 |
| =7 | Gary Owen | Manchester City, West Bromwich Albion | 22 |
| =7 | James Milner | Leeds United, Newcastle United | 22 |
| =9 | David Dunn | Blackburn Rovers | 20 |
| =9 | Shola Ameobi | Newcastle United | 20 |
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 Spain, February 6, 2007.
[edit] Most Goals - Top Ten
| Rank | Player | Club(s) | U-21 Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| =1 | Alan Shearer | Southampton | 13 |
| =1 | Francis Jeffers | Everton, Arsenal | 13 |
| =3 | Frank Lampard | West Ham United | 9 |
| =3 | Darren Bent | Ipswich Town, Charlton Athletic | 9 |
| =5 | Mark Hateley | Coventry City, Portsmouth | 8 |
| =5 | Carl Cort | Wimbledon | 8 |
| =7 | Mark Robins | Manchester United | 7 |
| =7 | Shola Ameobi | Newcastle United | 7 |
| =7 | Jermain Defoe | West Ham United | 7 |
| =10 | John Deehan | Aston Villa | 6 |
| =10 | Emile Heskey | Leicester City, Liverpool | 6 |
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 Spain, February 6, 2007.
[edit] References
[edit] See also
- European Under-21 Football Championship
- England's European Under-21 Football Championship Record
- England (Senior) team
[edit] 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.
