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England national under-21 football team

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

England Under-21

Nickname(s)	Young Lions
Association	The Football Association
Head coach	Stuart Pearce (2007-)
Captain	Steven Taylor
Most caps	James Milner (40)
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)
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)
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 current 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]

[edit] 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.

[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. Howard Wilkinson took over in 1999 yet could only produce four wins in ten competitive matches and was sacked. 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	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

[edit] Players

[edit] Most Appearances - Top Ten

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.

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 Czech Republic, 18 November 2008.

[edit] Most Goals - Top Ten

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 Czech Republic, 18 November 2008.

[edit] Current players

Currently eligible players who have won caps or received call-ups to the squad.

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

Statistics up to and including England vs Czech Republic, 18 November 2008.

[edit] Recent results and forthcoming fixtures

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

Main article: 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'

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

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'

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

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

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

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

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'

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'

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

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

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

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'

2008-02-05 20:45 CEST

England

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