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England national under-21 football team

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England Under-21
Nickname Young Lions
Association The Football Association
Coach Peter Taylor, 1996-1999 & 2004-
Most caps Jamie Carragher & Gareth Barry (27)
Top scorer Alan Shearer & Francis Jeffers (13)
First International
England U-21 0-0 Wales U-21
(Molineux, Wolverhampton; December 151976)
Largest win
England U-21 8-1 Finland U-21
(Boothferry Park, Hull; October 121977)
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 272001)
UEFA U-21 Championship
Appearances 8 times in last eight (First in 1978)
Best result Winners 1982 & 1984
[http://encycl.opentopia.com/ edit]

England's national Under-21 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 and Darren Bent 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 lack of appeal compared to the senior national team, smaller grounds can be used. The record attendance for an England U-21 match is 34,494 - for a European Championship Qualifier at White Hart Lane on November 112005. That match, the home leg of the qualification playoff against France, was drawn 1-1.

Contents

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, who continues in this role to date. Taylor's England qualified from the group but lost to a strong France team in a two-legged playoff. England will not be at the 2006 tournament.

The next campaign starts shortly after the 2006 finals - the qualification stage of the 2007 competition. UEFA have decided to shift the next tournament forward to avoid a clash with senior tournaments taking place in even-numbered years. The competition will therefore be reduced as qualifying must be completed in a year's less time. In their 3-team qualification group, England will play Switzerland and the winners of the playoff between Kazakhstan and Moldova. England will play one match at home and one away. Fixtures are yet to be announced.

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

Coach

The current U-21 team coach is Peter Taylor; who also managed the team from 1996 to 1999. In his first spell as U-21s manager, Taylor's record was 15 played, 11 won, 3 drawn and 1 lost.

Under him, England narrowly failed to qualify for the European Championship in 1998, coming 9th. When he left the job in 1999, England had won every match and conceded no goals in the 2000 tournament qualifiers.

Taylor was caretaker manager of the senior national team for one match. For that one game in charge of the senior team, a 1-0 defeat to Italy in the Stadio Delle Alpi in Turin on November 152000, Taylor looked to youth. He handed David Beckham the captain's armband for the first time, and used six players then still eligible for the Under-21s; Gareth Barry, Jamie Carragher, Kieron Dyer, Rio Ferdinand, Emile Heskey and Seth Johnson.

Taylor worked as a scout for the senior England team before resuming duties as manager of the Under-21s in 2004. In addition to his England role, he was manager of Hull City from November 2002 until June 2006, gaining successive promotions and Championship survival, which led him being appointed as manager of Championship promotion contenders Crystal Palace.

After narrowly failing to qualify for the 2006 tournament, Taylor's record in his second spell is: 12 played, 6 won, 4 drawn and 2 lost (competitive matches only).

Taylor is assisted by former Manchester United and Chelsea legend Ray Wilkins. With Tony Parks as goalkeeping coach, Liverpool's Dr. Mark Waller is the team doctor and Rob Price is the team physiotherapist.

Current and recent players

Players born in 1983 or later were eligible for the 2004-2006 competition. Only players born in 1985 or later will be eligible for the forthcoming campaign. For this reason, England will not field older players in friendlies before the start of that campaign. The U-19 team will be the most obvious source of the next crop of Under-21s.

Two highly notable players who do not play for the U-21 team, despite being eligible, are Wayne Rooney, born in 1985, and Theo Walcott, born in 1989. Both play for the senior side. Neither Rooney nor Walcott has ever played for the U-21 team, and each only has one cap at U-19 level.

1983-born
(now ineligible)

1984-born
(eligible to July 2006)

1985-born
(eligible to July 2007)

1986-born
(eligible to July 2009)

1987-born
(eligible to July 2009)

Those players in italics have caps for the senior team.

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 and Walcott, 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
4 Jermaine Pennant Arsenal 24
5 Jermain Defoe West Ham United 23
6 Gary Owen Manchester City, West Bromwich Albion 22
=7 David Dunn Blackburn Rovers 20
=7 Shola Ameobi Newcastle United 20
=9 Frank Lampard West Ham United 19
=9 Jamie Redknapp Liverpool 19
=9 Carlton Cole Chelsea 19
=9 Scott Carson Leeds United, Liverpool 19

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 Norway, February 282006.

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.

Statistics up to and including England vs Norway, February 282006.

See also

External links

National under-21 football teams of Europe (UEFA)
Albania | Andorra | Armenia | Austria | Azerbaijan | Belarus | Belgium | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Bulgaria | Croatia | Cyprus | Czech Republic | Denmark | England | Estonia | Faroe Islands | Finland | France | Georgia | Germany | Greece | Hungary | Iceland | Republic of Ireland | Israel | Italy | Kazakhstan | Latvia | Liechtenstein | Lithuania | Luxembourg | Republic of Macedonia | Malta | Moldova | Montenegro | Netherlands | Northern Ireland | Norway | Poland | Portugal | Romania | Russia | San Marino | Scotland | Serbia | Slovakia | Slovenia | Spain | Sweden | Switzerland | Turkey | Ukraine | Wales   Former nations: Czechoslovakia | East Germany | Serbia and Montenegro | USSR | Yugoslavia  [http://encycl.opentopia.com/ edit]
UEFA U-21 Championship
1976-1978 | 1978-1980 | 1980-1982 | 1982-1984 | 1984-1986 | 1986-1988 | 1988-1990 | 1990-1992
1992-1994 France | 1994-1996 Spain | 1996-1998 Romania | 1998-2000 Slovakia | 2000-2002 Switzerland | 2002-2004 Germany | 2004-2006 Portugal | 2006-2007 Netherlands   [http://encycl.opentopia.com/ edit]

 

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