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England national under-21 football team facts for kids

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Quick facts for kids
England Under-21
Nickname(s) The Young Lions
Association The Football Association
Head coach Lee Carsley
Most caps James Milner (46)
Top scorer Eddie Nketiah (16)
First colours
Second colours
First international
 England 0–0 Wales 
(Wolverhampton, England; 15 December 1976)
Biggest win
 England 9–0 San Marino 
(Shrewsbury, England; 19 November 2013)
Biggest defeat
 Romania 4–0 England 
(Ploieşti, Romania; 14 October 1980)
 England 0–4 Spain 
(Birmingham, England; 27 February 2001)
 Germany 4–0 England 
(Malmö, Sweden; 29 June 2009)
UEFA U-21 Championship
Appearances 17 (first in 1978)
Best result Winners (3) (1982, 1984, 2023)

The England national under-21 football team, also known as England under-21s or England U21(s), is the national under-21 association football team of England, under the control of the Football Association. It is considered to be the feeder team for the England national football team.

This team is for England players aged under 21 at the start of the calendar year in which a two-year UEFA European Under-21 Championship campaign begins, so some players can remain with the squad until the age of 23. As long as they are eligible, players can play for England at any level, making it possible to play for the U21s, senior side, and again for the U21s, as Jack Butland, Harry Kane, Calum Chambers, John Stones and Emile Smith Rowe have done. It is also possible to play for one country at youth level and another at senior level (providing the player has not played a senior competitive game in his previous country).

The U21 team came into existence in 1976, following the realignment of UEFA's youth competitions. A goalless draw in a friendly against Wales at Molineux Stadium was England U21s' first result.

England U21s do not have a permanent home. They play in stadia across England, in an attempt to encourage younger fans in all areas of the country to attend matches. Because of the lower 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 new Wembley Stadium, also a world record attendance for a U21 game. The match was one of the required two 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.

Coaching staff

Head coach

Tenure Head Coach/Manager
1977–1990 England Dave Sexton
1990–1993 England Lawrie McMenemy
1994–1996 England Dave Sexton
1996–1999 England Peter Taylor
1999 England Peter Reid
1999–2001 England Howard Wilkinson
2001–2004 England David Platt
2004–2007 England Peter Taylor
2007–2013 England Stuart Pearce
2013–2016 England Gareth Southgate
2016–2021 England Aidy Boothroyd
2021– Republic of Ireland Lee Carsley

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 a tournament, his teams had an excellent record. He was controversially removed from the position in early 1999, however, and replaced initially by Peter Reid, who resigned after just one match in charge to dedicate more time to his other job as manager of Sunderland. Howard Wilkinson took over afterwards, yet could only produce four wins in ten competitive matches and quit after a year and a half in charge. David Platt took charge leaving his job at Nottingham Forest. Platt was U21 boss 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. He remained in the post until June 2013, when it was announced that his contract would not be renewed. On 31 July, the FA announced that England senior manager Roy Hodgson would take charge of an England U21 friendly match against Scotland at Bramall Lane, the match ended in a 6–0 win for Hodgson's side. Former England international Gareth Southgate was made manager of the under-21 team on 22 August.

In September 2016, Southgate was appointed to the temporary position of caretaker manager of the England senior side after the departure of Sam Allardyce. With Southgate overseeing the main team for four games, Aidy Boothroyd, the England under-20 manager, was appointed caretaker manager of the under-21s until Southgate's return. In February 2017, Boothroyd was confirmed as the permanent manager. Boothroyd left the role on in April 2021 following a disappointing European Championship campaign.

On 27 July 2021, Lee Carsley was promoted from his role with the England U20s to become the head coach of the U21s with Ashley Cole appointed as his assistant.

U21 coaching staff

Position Staff
Manager Republic of Ireland Lee Carsley
Assistant Manager England Ashley Cole
Goalkeeping Coach England Timothy Dittmer

Source:

Media coverage

England Euro qualifiers and friendlies are currently broadcast by The FA Player.

Results and fixtures

Main articles: England national under-21 football team results (2020–present), England national under-21 football team results (2000–2019), and England national under-21 football team results (1976–99)

2023

      Win       Draw       Loss

2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification

Main article: 2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group F

2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group F

Players

Current squad

Players born on or after 1 January 2002 are eligible for the 2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.

The following players were named in the squad for qualifiers against Azerbaijan and Luxembourg, played 22 and 26 March 2024.

Caps and goals updated as of 26 March 2024 after the match against Luxembourg. Names in bold denote players who have been capped for the senior team.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Tickle, SamSam Tickle (2002-03-31) 31 March 2002 (age 22) 1 0 England Wigan Athletic
13 1GK Cox, MatthewMatthew Cox (2003-05-02) 2 May 2003 (age 21) 0 0 England Bristol Rovers (on loan from Brentford)
5 2DF Harwood-Bellis, TaylorTaylor Harwood-Bellis (2002-01-30) 30 January 2002 (age 22) 23 0 England Southampton (on loan from Manchester City)
15 2DF Cresswell, CharlieCharlie Cresswell (2002-08-17) 17 August 2002 (age 22) 14 1 England Leeds United
4 2DF Quansah, JarellJarell Quansah (2003-01-29) 29 January 2003 (age 21) 4 0 England Liverpool
12 2DF Norton-Cuffy, BrookeBrooke Norton-Cuffy (2004-01-12) 12 January 2004 (age 20) 4 0 England Millwall (on loan from Arsenal)
3 2DF Doyle, CallumCallum Doyle (2003-10-03) 3 October 2003 (age 21) 3 1 England Leicester City (on loan from Manchester City)
23 2DF Wood, NathanNathan Wood (2002-05-31) 31 May 2002 (age 22) 3 0 Wales Swansea City
16 2DF Mengi, TedenTeden Mengi (2002-04-30) 30 April 2002 (age 22) 1 0 England Luton Town
19 3MF Elliott, HarveyHarvey Elliott (2003-04-04) 4 April 2003 (age 21) 20 8 England Liverpool
10 3MF McAtee, JamesJames McAtee (2002-10-18) 18 October 2002 (age 22) 10 2 England Sheffield United (on loan from Manchester City)
6 3MF Morton, TylerTyler Morton (2002-10-31) 31 October 2002 (age 22) 3 1 England Hull City (on loan from Liverpool)
18 3MF Gray, ArchieArchie Gray (2006-03-12) 12 March 2006 (age 18) 2 1 England Leeds United
14 3MF Scott, AlexAlex Scott (2003-08-21) 21 August 2003 (age 21) 2 0 England Bournemouth
8 3MF Wharton, AdamAdam Wharton (2004-02-06) 6 February 2004 (age 20) 1 0 England Crystal Palace
11 4FW Madueke, NoniNoni Madueke (2002-03-10) 10 March 2002 (age 22) 20 7 England Chelsea
21 4FW Bynoe-Gittens, JamieJamie Bynoe-Gittens (2004-08-08) 8 August 2004 (age 20) 7 1 Germany Borussia Dortmund
17 4FW Iling-Junior, SamuelSamuel Iling-Junior (2003-10-04) 4 October 2003 (age 21) 5 2 Italy Juventus
7 4FW Philogene, JadenJaden Philogene (2002-02-08) 8 February 2002 (age 22) 4 3 England Hull City
9 4FW Stansfield, JayJay Stansfield (2002-11-24) 24 November 2002 (age 21) 3 0 England Birmingham City (on loan from Fulham)
20 4FW Rogers, MorganMorgan Rogers (2002-07-26) 26 July 2002 (age 22) 2 2 England Aston Villa

Recent call-ups

The following players have previously been called up to the England under-21 squad and remain eligible for selection.


Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Trafford, JamesJames Trafford (2002-10-10) 10 October 2002 (age 22) 17 0 England Burnley v.  Azerbaijan,  Luxembourg, 22–26 March 2024 SEN
GK Beadle, JamesJames Beadle (2004-07-16) 16 July 2004 (age 20) 0 0 England Sheffield Wednesday (on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion) v.  Serbia,  Ukraine, 12-16 October 2023
DF Lewis, RicoRico Lewis (2004-11-21) 21 November 2004 (age 20) 5 0 England Manchester City v.  Azerbaijan,  Luxembourg, 22–26 March 2024 SEN
DF Livramento, TinoTino Livramento (2002-11-12) 12 November 2002 (age 22) 9 0 England Newcastle United v.  Serbia,  Northern Ireland, 18-21 November 2023
DF Branthwaite, JarradJarrad Branthwaite (2002-06-27) 27 June 2002 (age 22) 6 0 England Everton v.  Serbia,  Northern Ireland, 18-21 November 2023
DF Humphreys, BashirBashir Humphreys (2003-03-15) 15 March 2003 (age 21) 3 0 Wales Swansea City (on loan from Manchester City) v.  Serbia,  Northern Ireland, 18-21 November 2023
DF Wilson-Esbrand, JoshJosh Wilson-Esbrand (2002-12-26) 26 December 2002 (age 21) 2 0 Wales Cardiff City (on loan from Manchester City) v.  Serbia,  Northern Ireland, 18-21 November 2023
DF Colwill, LeviLevi Colwill (2003-02-26) 26 February 2003 (age 21) 11 0 England Chelsea 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, June-July 2023
DF Mbete, LukeLuke Mbete (2003-09-18) 18 September 2003 (age 21) 2 0 Netherlands Den Bosch (on loan from Manchester City) v.  Italy,  Germany, 22–27 September 2022
DF Hill, JamesJames Hill (2002-01-10) 10 January 2002 (age 22) 1 0 England Bournemouth v.  Czech Republic,  Albania,  Kosovo,  Slovenia, 3–13 June 2022
MF Mainoo, KobbieKobbie Mainoo (2005-04-19) 19 April 2005 (age 19) 0 0 England Manchester United v.  Azerbaijan,  Luxembourg, 22–26 March 2024 SEN
MF Chukwuemeka, CarneyCarney Chukwuemeka (2003-10-20) 20 October 2003 (age 21) 0 0 England Chelsea v.  Azerbaijan,  Luxembourg, 22–26 March 2024 INJ
MF Palmer, ColeCole Palmer (2002-05-06) 6 May 2002 (age 22) 15 5 England Chelsea v.  Serbia,  Northern Ireland, 18-21 November 2023 SEN
MF Hackney, HaydenHayden Hackney (2002-06-26) 26 June 2002 (age 22) 5 0 England Middlesbrough v.  Serbia,  Northern Ireland, 18-21 November 2023
MF Patino, CharlieCharlie Patino (2003-10-17) 17 October 2003 (age 21) 2 0 Wales Swansea City (on loan from Arsenal) v.  Serbia,  Northern Ireland, 18-21 November 2023
MF Ramsey, AaronAaron Ramsey (2003-01-21) 21 January 2003 (age 21) 0 0 England Burnley v.  Serbia,  Ukraine, 12-16 October 2023
MF Hall, LewisLewis Hall (2004-09-08) 8 September 2004 (age 20) 1 0 England Newcastle United (on loan from Chelsea) v. Training Camp, 7–10 June 2023
MF Bellingham, JudeJude Bellingham (2003-06-29) 29 June 2003 (age 21) 4 1 Spain Real Madrid v.  Andorra,  Albania, 13–17 November 2020 SEN
FW Delap, LiamLiam Delap (2003-02-08) 8 February 2003 (age 21) 5 2 England Hull City (on loan from Manchester City) v.  Serbia,  Northern Ireland, 18-21 November 2023
FW Rowe, JonathanJonathan Rowe (2003-04-30) 30 April 2003 (age 21) 2 1 England Norwich City v.  Serbia,  Northern Ireland, 18-21 November 2023
FW Scarlett, DaneDane Scarlett (2004-03-24) 24 March 2004 (age 20) 1 0 England Tottenham Hotspur v.  Luxembourg, 11 September 2023
FW Edozie, SamuelSamuel Edozie (2003-01-28) 28 January 2003 (age 21) 0 0 England Southampton v.  Luxembourg, 11 September 2023
FW Greenwood, SamSam Greenwood (2002-01-26) 26 January 2002 (age 22) 1 1 England Middlesbrough (on loan from Leeds United) v.  Czech Republic,  Georgia, 11–16 November 2021
FW Gelhardt, JoeJoe Gelhardt (2002-05-04) 4 May 2002 (age 22) 0 0 England Leeds United v.  Slovenia,  Andorra, 7–11 October 2021
  • INJ Player withdrew from the squad before any games had been played.
  • SEN Player withdrew from the squad due to a call up to the senior team.

Past squads

  • 2000 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship squad
  • 2002 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship squad
  • 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship squad
  • 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship squad
  • 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship squad
  • 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship squad
  • 2015 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship squad
  • 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship squad
  • 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship squad
  • 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship squad
  • 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship squad

Records

Most appearances

Rank Player Caps Goals Career Clubs
1 James Milner 46 9 2004–2009 Leeds United, Newcastle United, Aston Villa
2 Nathaniel Chalobah 40 1 2012–2017 Chelsea
3 Nathan Redmond 38 10 2013–2017 Birmingham City, Norwich City, Southampton
4 Tom Huddlestone 33 5 2005–2009 Derby County, Tottenham Hotspur
Fabrice Muamba 33 0 2007–2011 Birmingham City, Bolton Wanderers
6 James Ward-Prowse 31 6 2013–2017 Southampton
7 Michael Mancienne 30 1 2007–2011 Chelsea, Hamburger SV
8 Scott Carson 29 0 2004–2007 Leeds United, Liverpool
Danny Rose 29 3 2009–2013 Tottenham Hotspur
Steven Taylor 29 4 2004–2009 Newcastle United

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.

Leading goalscorers

Rank Player Goals Caps Ratio Career Club(s)
1 Eddie Nketiah 16 17 0.94 2018–2021 Arsenal
2 Alan Shearer 13 11 1.18 1990–1992 Southampton, Newcastle United
Francis Jeffers 13 16 0.81 1999–2003 Everton, Arsenal
4 Saido Berahino 11 12 0.92 2013–2015 West Bromwich Albion
5 Nathan Redmond 10 38 0.26 2013–2017 Birmingham City, Norwich City, Southampton
6 Darren Bent 9 14 0.64 2003–2005 Ipswich Town, Charlton Athletic
Dominic Solanke 9 18 0.5 2015–2019 Chelsea, Liverpool, Bournemouth
Frank Lampard 9 19 0.47 1997–2000 West Ham United
Tammy Abraham 9 26 0.35 2016–2019 Chelsea
James Milner 9 46 0.2 2004–2009 Leeds United, Newcastle United, Aston Villa

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.

Competitive record

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 U20 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 a 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.

In 2009, England finished as runners-up, losing 4–0 to Germany in the final.

England finished second in their qualifying group for the 2011 championships in Denmark. They subsequently defeated Romania in the play-offs to qualify for the finals tournament, where they were knocked out in the group stage after a 2–1 defeat to the Czech Republic. England also subsequently exited the 2013 and 2015 Finals tournaments at the group stage, reached the last 4 in 2017, before again exiting at the group stage in 2019 and 2021.

UEFA European Under-21 Championship record UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification record Manager(s)
Year Round Position Pld W D * L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
Europe 1978 Semi-Finals 4th of 8 4 1 2 1 4 4 4 4 0 0 17 2 Sexton
Europe 1980 Semi-Finals 3rd of 8 4 1 1 2 4 4 4 4 0 0 11 2 Sexton
Europe 1982 Champions 1st of 8 6 3 2 1 11 8 6 4 1 1 12 5 Sexton
Europe 1984 Champions 1st of 8 6 5 0 1 13 3 6 5 0 1 13 4 Sexton
Europe 1986 Semi-Finals 4th of 8 4 1 2 1 3 4 6 3 2 1 9 3 Sexton
Europe 1988 Semi-Finals 3rd of 8 4 2 1 1 6 6 4 1 3 0 7 3 Sexton
Europe 1990 did not qualify 6 4 1 1 10 5 Sexton
Europe 1992 did not qualify 6 3 1 2 11 5 McMenemy
France 1994 did not qualify 10 4 3 3 20 8 McMenemy
Spain 1996 did not qualify 8 6 1 1 13 4 Sexton
Romania 1998 did not qualify 10 6 3 1 11 5 Taylor
Slovakia 2000 Group Stage 5th of 8 3 1 0 2 6 4 9 8 0 1 26 3 Taylor, Reid, Wilkinson
Switzerland 2002 Group Stage 7th of 8 3 1 0 2 4 6 8 5 2 1 18 8 Wilkinson Platt
Germany 2004 did not qualify 8 3 2 3 14 10 Platt
Portugal 2006 did not qualify 12 6 4 2 23 10 Taylor
Netherlands 2007 Semi-Finals 3rd of 8 4 1 3 0 5 3 4 3 1 0 8 4 Taylor, Pearce
Sweden 2009 Runners-Up 2nd of 8 5 2 2 1 8 9 10 8 2 0 22 5 Pearce
Denmark 2011 Group Stage 7th of 8 3 0 2 1 2 3 10 6 3 1 17 8 Pearce
Israel 2013 Group Stage 7th of 8 3 0 0 3 1 5 10 9 0 1 26 3 Pearce
Czech Republic 2015 Group Stage 7th of 8 3 1 0 2 2 4 12 11 1 0 35 4 Southgate
Poland 2017 Semi-Finals 3rd of 12 4 2 2 0 7 3 8 6 2 0 20 3 Southgate, Boothroyd
Italy 2019 Group Stage 9th of 12 3 0 1 2 6 9 10 8 2 0 23 4 Boothroyd
Slovenia Hungary 2021 Group Stage 12th of 16 3 1 0 2 2 4 10 9 1 0 34 9 Boothroyd
Romania Georgia (country) 2023 Champions 1st of 16 6 6 0 0 11 0 10 8 1 1 26 7 Carsley
Slovakia 2025
Total 3 titles 17/24 68 28 18 22 95 79 191 134 36 21 426 124

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

*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Selección de fútbol sub-21 de Inglaterra para niños

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