England begin their European Under 21 Championship Finals campaign on the 18th June. Currently, England are second favourites behind Germany to win the competition. Can England go one better than the runners up spot they achieved in 2009? Or, will the Germans prove to be once again too strong?
European Under 21 Championships: England’s Chances
England qualified for this tournament, being held in the Czech Republic, easily; they finished first in their group with nine wins and one draw from ten games. England scored 31 goals, conceding only two. This being said, the group was arguably one of the easiest, with England finishing 12 points ahead of Finland in second place.
The European U21 Championships started in its current format in 1978 and have been played every two years since. Before 1978, it was an under 23 competition. England have won the competition twice, winning at consecutive tournaments in 1982 and 1984. They beat West Germany 5-4 in 1982 and Spain 3-0 in 1984. Surprisingly, very few of the players involved in these tournament-winning squads went on to have decent senior international careers. Up to and including the 1992 tournament, the final was played of two legs. England have also been runners up once in 2009 where they were easily beaten by their German counterparts 4-0. Again, very few of this team have gone on to do well in the senior squad – Theo Walcott and James Milner being the exceptions.
This time around England have a tough group to negotiate and will have to play their very best to qualify for the latter stages. England begin the tournament on June 18th against Portugal then play Sweden on the 21st, followed by Italy on the 24th.
England are currently second favourites to win the tournament behind old rivals: the Germans. They are followed closely behind by Portugal, Italy and Denmark. As you can see, if the bookmakers have called this correctly then England do indeed have at least two very tough group games. Current holders, Spain, failed to qualify for the tournament when Serbia defeated them in the qualification play-offs.
England are taking a strong squad to the Czech Republic, despite leaving the likes of Ross Barkley, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Raheem Stirling at home, contrary to their eligibility. Tottenham’s goal-scoring machine, Harry Kane, is expected to lead the attack, backed up by Liverpool new boy, Danny Ings, and West Bromich Albion’s Saido Berahino. The midfield includes the likes of Southampton’s James Ward-Prowse, Norwich City winger Nathan Redmond and Chelsea’s Nathaniel Chalobah and Ruben Loftus-Cheek. Defensively, Arsenal pair, Calum Chambers and Carl Jenkinson, is included along with Everton’s John Stones. Captain, Jack Butland, of Stoke City is expected to keep goal.
Do England have a chance of winning their third European Under 21 Championships? Yes they do. Being placed as second favourites by the bookmakers and a very convincing qualification campaign has to give the English a lot of confidence. However, having to leave players out who were eligible and would have undoubtedly made England stronger may prove to be England’s downfall. If England can negotiate their way through a tough group then there’s no reason why England can’t go into the latter stages without fear.
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