, 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 11 2005 . That match, the home leg of the qualification playoff against
France , was drawn 1-1.
There is no Under-21 World Cup, although there is an
Under-20 World Championship . 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.
The year of the tournament represents the year in which it ends.
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 15 2000 , 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 has been manager of
Hull City since
November 2002 , gaining promotion twice in the last two seasons.
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).
Peter 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.
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.
One highly notable player who does not play for the U-21 team, despite being eligible, is
Wayne Rooney , born in 1985. He is now a star for the
Senior Side . In fact, Rooney has never played for the U-21 team, and only has one cap at U-19 level.
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 Rooney's case, 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.
''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 28 2006 .''
''Club(s)'' represents the permanent clubs during the player's time in the Under-21s.
''Statistics up to and including England vs Norway,
February 28 2006 .''
