England national under-21 football team

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England Under-21

Nickname(s)	Young Lions
Association	The Football Association
Head coach	Stuart Pearce (2007-)
Captain	Mark Noble
Most caps	James Milner (46)
Top scorer	Alan Shearer & Francis Jeffers (13)
Home colours Away colours
First international
England U-21 0-0 Wales U-21 (Molineux, Wolverhampton; 15 December 1976)
Biggest win
England U-21 8-1 Finland U-21 (Boothferry Park, Hull; 12 October 1977) & England U-21 7-0 Azerbaijan U-21 (stadium:mk, Milton Keynes; 9 June 2009)
Biggest defeat
Romania U-21 4-0 England U-21 (Ploieşti, Romania; 14 October 1980) & England U-21 0-4 Spain U-21 (St Andrews, Birmingham; 27 February 2001) & Germany U-21 4-0 England U-21 (Malmö New Stadium, Malmö; 29 June 2009)
UEFA U-21 Championship
Appearances	10 (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 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 U21s, senior side and again for the U21s, as Aaron Lennon, Micah Richards 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 former (2004-2006) Scotland international and former England U21 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 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 smaller 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. ^[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]

Contents 1 Competition History 2 Coaching Staff 2.1 Head coach 2.2 Other staff 3 Players 3.1 The most caps 3.2 The most goals 4 Current squad 4.1 Recent call-ups 5 Recent results and forthcoming fixtures 5.1 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship Qualification Group 3 5.1.1 Current table 5.2 Matches 5.3 Play-off 5.4 Friendlies 5.4.1 Recent Friendlies 6 References 7 See also 8 External links

[edit] Competition History

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

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.

[edit] Coaching Staff

[edit] Head coach

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

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 was in charge 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. His contract runs until the summer of 2009.^[4]

[edit] Other staff

Assistant Coach	Steve Wigley
Coach	Brian Eastick
Goalkeeping Coach	Martin Thomas
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

[edit] Players

[edit] The most caps

Because of the age restriction, a player can't be in the team for very long and the most promising young players spend little time, if any, with the U-21s before winning senior caps. James Milner currently holds the record for the most England Under-21 caps.

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
=3	Scott Carson	Leeds United, Liverpool	29
=3	Steven Taylor	Newcastle United	29
=5	Jamie Carragher	Liverpool	27
=5	Gareth Barry	Aston Villa	27
7	David Prutton	Nottingham Forest, Southampton	25
8	Jermaine Pennant	Arsenal	24
=9	Jermain Defoe	West Ham United	23
=9	Nigel Reo-Coker	West Ham United, Aston Villa	23

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, 18 June 2009.

[edit] The most goals

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
=3	James Milner	Leeds United, Newcastle United, Aston Villa	9
=6	Mark Hateley	Coventry City, Portsmouth	8
=6	Carl Cort	Wimbledon	8
=8	Mark Robins	Manchester United	7
=8	Shola Ameobi	Newcastle United	7
=8	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.

Statistics up to and including England vs Spain, 18 June 2009.

[edit] Current squad

The following players were named in the squad for the 2009 European Championship, which ran from 15-29 June 2009. Players born in 1986 and 1987 will no longer be eligible for future squads.

Name	DOB	Club	Caps (goals)
Goalkeepers
1 Joe Hart	19 April 1987 (1987-04-19) (age 22)	Manchester City	21 (0)
13 Joe Lewis	6 October 1987 (1987-10-06) (age 21)	Peterborough United	5 (0)
22 Scott Loach	27 May 1988 (1988-05-27) (age 21)	Watford	5 (0)
Defenders
6 Nedum Onuoha	12 November 1986 (1986-11-12) (age 22)	Manchester City	21 (2)
2 Martin Cranie	26 September 1986 (1986-09-26) (age 22)	Portsmouth	16 (1)
18 Michael Mancienne	8 January 1988 (1988-01-08) (age 21)	Chelsea	15 (1)
3 Andrew Taylor	1 August 1986 (1986-08-01) (age 22)	Middlesbrough	13 (0)
17 Micah Richards	24 June 1988 (1988-06-24) (age 21)	Manchester City	9 (2)
19 Kieran Gibbs	26 September 1989 (1989-09-26) (age 19)	Arsenal	8 (2)
5 Richard Stearman	19 August 1987 (1987-08-19) (age 21)	Wolverhampton Wanderers	4 (0)
16 James Tomkins	23 September 1989 (1989-09-23) (age 19)	West Ham United	3 (0)
Midfielders
7 James Milner	4 January 1986 (1986-01-04) (age 23)	Aston Villa	46 (9)
10 Mark Noble	8 May 1987 (1987-05-08) (age 22)	West Ham United	20 (3)
11 Adam Johnson	14 July 1987 (1987-07-14) (age 21)	Middlesbrough	19 (4)
12 Fabrice Muamba	6 April 1988 (1988-04-06) (age 21)	Bolton Wanderers	19 (0)
8 Craig Gardner	25 November 1986 (1986-11-25) (age 22)	Aston Villa	14 (2)
4 Lee Cattermole	21 March 1988 (1988-03-21) (age 21)	Wigan Athletic	14 (2)
15 Jack Rodwell	11 March 1991 (1991-03-11) (age 18)	Everton	6 (2)
23 Danny Rose	2 July 1990 (1990-07-02) (age 19)	Tottenham Hotspur	2 (0)
20 Andrew Driver	27 November 1987 (1987-11-27) (age 21)	Heart of Midlothian	1 (0)
Forwards
14 Theo Walcott	16 March 1989 (1989-03-16) (age 20)	Arsenal	20 (6)
9 Gabriel Agbonlahor	13 October 1986 (1986-10-13) (age 22)	Aston Villa	16 (5)
21 Fraizer Campbell	13 September 1987 (1987-09-13) (age 21)	Manchester United	14 (4)

[edit] 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
Frank Fielding	4 April 1988 (1988-04-04) (age 21)	Blackburn Rovers	1 (0)	v  Czech Republic, 18 November 2008
Defenders
Joe Mattock	15 May 1990 (1990-05-15) (age 19)	Leicester City	4 (0)	v  Poland, 25 March 2008
Kyle Naughton	11 November 1988 (1988-11-11) (age 20)	Sheffield United	2 (0)	v  Ecuador, 10 February 2009
Jack Cork	25 June 1989 (1989-06-25) (age 20)	Chelsea	2 (0)	v  Ecuador, 10 February 2009
Ryan Bertrand	5 August 1989 (1989-08-05) (age 19)	Chelsea	1 (0)	v  Czech Republic, 18 November 2008
Midfielders
Michael Johnson	24 February 1988 (1988-02-24) (age 21)	Manchester City	2 (0)	v  Slovenia, 19 August 2008
Adam Lallana	10 May 1988 (1988-05-10) (age 21)	Southampton	1 (0)	v  Czech Republic, 18 November 2008
Fabian Delph	21 November 1989 (1989-11-21) (age 19)	Leeds United	1 (0)	v  Czech Republic, 18 November 2008
Mark Davies	18 February 1988 (1988-02-18) (age 21)	Bolton Wanderers	0 (0)	v  Ecuador, 16 February 2009
Forwards
James Vaughan	4 July 1988 (1988-07-04) (age 21)	Everton	2 (0)	v  Czech Republic, 18 November 2008
Danny Welbeck	26 November 1990 (1990-11-26) (age 18)	Manchester United	2 (0)	v  France, 31 March 2009

Note: Names in italics denote players that have been capped for the Senior team

[edit] Recent results and forthcoming fixtures

[edit] 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship Qualification Group 3

[edit] Current table

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
England	8	7	1	0	17	1	+16	22
Portugal	8	4	2	2	13	7	+6	14
Montenegro	8	2	2	4	5	12	−7	8
Bulgaria	8	2	1	5	4	9	−5	7
Republic of Ireland	8	1	2	5	4	14	−10	5

Key: Pts Points, Pld Matches played, W Won, D Drawn, L Lost, GF Goals for, GA Goals against, GD Goal Difference

[edit] Matches

2007-06-05 17:00 CEST	Bulgaria	1 – 2	Montenegro	Balgarska Armiya, Sofia Referee: Petteri Kari (Finland)
	Simovic  90+1' (o.g.)	Report	Vukčević  50' Jovetić  66'

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2007-09-07 20:45 CEST	Republic of Ireland	0 – 2	Portugal	Turners Cross, Cork Referee: Manuel Gräfe (Germany)
		Report	Machado  7' Veloso  54'

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2007-09-07 20:45 CEST	Montenegro	0 – 3	England	Podgorica City Stadium, Podgorica Referee: Mechalis Germanakos (Greece)
		Report	Onuoha  6' Agbonlahor  10' Surman  90'

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2007-09-11 18:00 CEST	Bulgaria	0 – 2	England	Balgarska Armiya, Sofia Referee: Fredy Fautrel (France)
		Report	Huddlestone  25' Noble  32'

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2007-09-11 22:00 CEST	Portugal	4 – 0	Montenegro	CTFD PortoGaia, Portugal Referee: Jan Jilek (Czech Republic)
	Moreira  18' Coelho  53' Fernandes  66'  89'	Report

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2007-10-12 17:00 CEST	Bulgaria	1 – 0	Portugal	Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia Referee: Meir Levi (Israel)
	Domovchiyski  43' (pen.)	Report

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2007-10-12 20:45 CEST	England	1 – 0	Montenegro	Walkers Stadium, Leicester Referee: Anders Hermansen (Denmark)
	Derbyshire  20'	Report

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2007-10-16 19:00 CEST	Montenegro	1 – 2	Portugal	Podgorica City Stadium, Podgorica Referee: Joseph Attard (Malta)
	Moreira  34' (o.g.)	Report	Soares  76' Targino  80'

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2007-10-16 21:00 CEST	Republic of Ireland	0 – 3	England	Turners Cross, Cork Referee: Andrea De Marco (Italy)
		Report	Noble  10'  17' Milner  26'

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2007-11-16 15:30 CEST	Montenegro	1 – 0	Republic of Ireland	Podgorica City Stadium, Podgorica Referee: Fariz Yusifov (Azerbaijan)
	Vujović  18'	Report

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2007-11-16 19:00 CEST	England	2 – 0	Bulgaria	stadium:mk, Milton Keynes Referee: Luc Wouters (Belgium)
	Agbonlahor  41' Milner  82' (pen.)	Report

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2007-11-20 20:00 CEST	Republic of Ireland	1 – 0	Bulgaria	Lissywoollen Stadium, Athlone Referee: Jérôme Laperrière (Switzerland)
	O'Toole  90+3'	Report

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2007-11-20 22:00 CEST	Portugal	1 – 1	England	Estádio Municipal de Águeda, Agueda Referee: Istvan Vad (Hungary)
	Machado  3' (pen.)	Report	Johnson  49'

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2008-02-05 20:45 CEST	England	3 – 0	Republic of Ireland	St Mary's Stadium, Southampton Referee: Jouni Hyytiä (Finland)
	O'Halloran  59' (o.g.) Milner  68' Walcott  78'	Report

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2008-03-25 20:30 CEST	Republic of Ireland	1 – 1	Montenegro	Terryland Park, Galway Referee: Yuriy Moseychuk (Ukraine)
	Keogh  72'	Report	Bojovic  68'

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2008-03-26 18:15 CEST	Portugal	2 – 0	Bulgaria	Estádio D. Afonso Henriques, Guimarães
	Moreira  65' Saleiro  68'	Report

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2008-09-05 17:30 CEST	Bulgaria	2 – 0	Republic of Ireland	Georgi Asparuhov Stadium, Sofia Referee: Marco Borg (Malta)
	Kurdov  45' Tsvetanov  77'	Report

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2008-09-05 20:45 CEST	England	2 – 0	Portugal	Wembley Stadium, London Referee: Gianluca Rocchi (Italy)
	Milner  44' (pen.) Agbonlahor  63'	Report

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2008-09-09 16:00 UTC+2	Montenegro	0 – 0	Bulgaria	Stadion Gradski, Nikšić Referee: Svein-Erik Edvartsen (Norway)
		Report

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2008-09-09 18:00 UTC+1	Portugal	2 – 2	Republic of Ireland	Estádio dos Barreiros, Funchal Referee: Jérome Efong Nzolo (Belgium)
	Vaz Té  38' Fernandes  45+'	Report	Garvan  50' Garvan  65'

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[edit] Play-off

2008-10-09 20:45 CEST	Wales	2 - 3	England	Ninian Park, Cardiff Referee: Pavel Balaj (Romania)
	Church  13' Church  44'		Wheater  19' Johnson  35' Agbonlahor  61'

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2008-10-14 20:45 CEST	England	2 - 2	Wales	Villa Park, Birmingham Referee: Kevin Blom (Netherlands)
	Huddlestone  14' Vokes  35' (o.g.)		Ramsey  24' Church  29'

[edit] Friendlies

[edit] Recent Friendlies

21 August 2007 20:45 CEST	England	1 - 1	Romania	Ashton Gate, Bristol Referee: Svein Oddvar Moen
	Derbyshire  8'		Stancu  25'

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25 March 2008 20:00 CEST	England	0 - 0	Poland	Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton Referee: Kevin Blom

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15 May 2008 20.30 CEST	Wales	0 - 2	England	Racecourse Ground, Wrexham Referee: Alan Black
			Huddlestone  19' (pen.) Walcott  25'

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19 August 2008 20.45 CEST	England	2 - 1	Slovenia	KC Stadium, Hull Referee: Albert Toussaint
	Richards  25' Milner  35'		Etien Velikonja  12'

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18 November 2008 19.45	England	2 - 0	Czech Republic	Bramall Lane, Sheffield Referee: Cuneyt Cakir
	Campbell  10' Gardner  55'

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10 February 2009 20:00 (UTC+1)	England	2 - 3	Ecuador	La Rosaleda, Málaga Referee: Mario Melero López
	Johnson  13' Campbell  41'		Guerrón  52' Palacios  53' Caicedo  81'

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27 March 2009 15.30	Norway	0 - 5	England	Komplett.no Arena, Sandefjord
			Campbell  17' Johnson  29' Huddlestone  73' Derbyshire  77' 80'

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8 June 2009 19.30	England	7 - 0	Azerbaijan	Stadium:MK, Milton Keynes
	Mancienne  1' Sadigov  26' (o.g.) Gardner  31' Cattermole  55' Gibbs  64, 70' Rodwell  90'

[edit] References

[edit] See also

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

[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.

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