England national under-21 football team

England Under-21

Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)	Young Lions
Association	The Football Association
Head coach	Stuart Pearce (since 2007)
Captain	Nigel Reo-Coker
Most caps	Jamie Carragher & Gareth Barry (27)
Top scorer	Alan Shearer & Francis Jeffers (13)
First colours Second colours
First international
England U-21 0-0 Wales U-21 (Molineux, Wolverhampton; December 151976)
Biggest win
England U-21 8-1 Finland U-21 (Boothferry Park, Hull; October 121977)
Biggest 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 (first in 1978)
Best result	Winners 1982 & 1984

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. 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.

Competition History

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

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.

Coaching Staff

Head Coach	Stuart Pearce
Assistant Coach	Nigel Pearson
Goalkeeping Coach	Martin Thomas
Physiotherapist	Dave Galley
Doctor	Dr Mark Waller
Excercise Scientist	Gary Phillips

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.

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

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.

1984-born (eligible to 2007 UEFA U21 Champ) Darren Ambrose Leighton Baines Darren Bent David Bentley Lee Camp Stewart Downing Justin Hoyte Glen Johnson Matt Kilgallon Leroy Lita Izale McLeod Dean Marney Lenny Pidgeley Nigel Reo-Coker Matthew Richards Kieran Richardson Liam Ridgewell Liam Rosenior Luke Steele Ryan Taylor John Welsh Pete Whittingham

1985-born (eligible to 2007 UEFA U21 Champ) Gary Borrowdale Scott Carson Curtis Davies Anton Ferdinand David Nugent Wayne Routledge Ross Turnbull Ben Watson Ashley Young Gary Cahill

1986-born (eligible to 2009 UEFA U21 Champ) Gabriel Agbonlahor Tom Huddlestone Cameron Jerome James Milner Luke Moore Nedum Onuoha Tom Soares Andrew Taylor Steven Taylor Matt Derbyshire 1987-born (eligible to 2009 UEFA U21 Champ) Ben Alnwick Aaron Lennon Joe Hart

1988-born (eligible to 2011 UEFA U21 Champ) Lee Cattermole Micah Richards 1989-born (eligible to 2011 UEFA U21 Champ) Theo Walcott

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 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 62007.

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 62007.

See also

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

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.