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.^[1] 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.^[2][3]

Coaching staff

Head coach

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
2007–2013	Stuart Pearce
2013–2016	Gareth Southgate
2016–2021[4]	Aidy Boothroyd
2021–	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.^[5] He remained in the post until June 2013, when it was announced that his contract would not be renewed.^[6] 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,^[7] the match ended in a 6–0 win for Hodgson's side.^[8] Former England international Gareth Southgate was made manager of the under-21 team on 22 August.^[9]

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.^[4] In February 2017, Boothroyd was confirmed as the permanent manager.^[10] 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.^[11]

U21 coaching staff

Position	Staff
Manager	Lee Carsley
Assistant Manager	Ashley Cole
Goalkeeping Coach	Timothy Dittmer

Source:

^[12]

Media coverage

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

Results and fixtures

2023

  Win   Draw   Loss

England  v  France

25 March 2023 International friendly	England	4–0	France	Leicester, England
Match 404	Skipp  26' Smith Rowe 50' Aarons  59' Madueke 77' Jones 79' Ramsey 86'		Olise  71'	Stadium: King Power Stadium Attendance: 12,806 Referee: Joey Kooij (Netherlands)

England  v  Croatia

28 March 2023 International friendly	England	1–2	Croatia	Fulham, England
Match 405	Lewis  33' Gibbs-White 87' Johnson  90+5'		Baturina 34' Beljo 53' (pen.) Frigan  64' Pršir  83'	Stadium: Craven Cottage Attendance: 5,005 Referee: Krzysztof Jakubik (Poland)

England  v  Japan

10 June 2023 International friendly	England	0–2	Japan	Burton upon Trent, England
Match 406		Report	Yamamoto 65' Matsumura 75'	Stadium: St. George's Park

Czech Republic  v  England

22 June 2023 (2023-06-22) UEFA European Under-21 Championship (Final tournament) group stage	Czech Republic	0–2	England	Batumi, Georgia
20:00	Sejk  19' Šulc  45+1' Karabec  90+3'	Report	Gordon  20' Ramsey 47'  84' Aarons  56' Gibbs-White  69' Smith Rowe 90+4'	Stadium: Batumi Stadium Attendance: 8,168 Referee: Horatiu Fesnic (Romania)

England  v  Israel

25 June 2023 (2023-06-25) UEFA European Under-21 Championship (Final tournament) group stage	England	2–0	Israel	Kutaisi, Georgia
20:00	Gordon 15' Johnson  45' Smith Rowe 68' Jones  76'	Report	Hajaj  76'	Stadium: Ramaz Shengelia Stadium Attendance: 5,106 Referee: Rade Obrenović (Slovenia)

England  v  Germany

28 June 2023 (2023-06-28) UEFA European Under-21 Championship (Final tournament) group stage	England	2–0	Germany	Batumi, Georgia
20:00	Archer 4' Elliott 21'	Report		Stadium: Batumi Stadium Attendance: 9,587 Referee: Aliyar Aghayev (Azerbaijan)

England  v  Portugal

2 July 2023 (2023-07-02) UEFA European Under-21 Championship (Final tournament) quarter-final	England	1–0	Portugal	Kutaisi, Georgia
20:00	Gordon 34' Aarons  51' Johnson  80' Trafford  85'	Report	Zé Carlos  83'	Stadium: Ramaz Shengelia Stadium Attendance: 6,920[13] Referee: Rade Obrenović (Slovenia)

Israel  v  England

5 July 2023 (2023-07-05) UEFA European Under-21 Championship (Final tournament) semi-final	Israel	0–3	England	Batumi, Georgia
20:00	Turgeman  20' Lemkin  82'	Report	Gibbs-White 42' Palmer 63' Colwill  81' Archer 90'	Stadium: Adjarabet Arena Attendance: 11,801[14] Referee: Morten Krogh (Denmark)

England  v  Spain

8 July 2023 (2023-07-08) 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship final	England	1–0	Spain	Batumi, Georgia
20:00	Gomes  24' Jones 45+4' Colwill  45+6' Gibbs-White  69'  90+12' Trafford  74'	Report	Baena  34' Blanco  37'  90+12' Sancet  45+6' Oroz  62' Riquelme  86'	Stadium: Adjarabet Arena Attendance: 18,498 Referee: Espen Eskås (Norway)

2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification

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

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Ukraine	5	5	0	0	12	2	+10	15	Final tournament		—	3–2	6 Sep '24	1–0	4–0	1–0
2	England	5	4	0	1	20	4	+16	12	Play-offs		11 Oct '24	—	9–1	15 Oct '24	26 Mar '24	3–0
3	Serbia	5	3	0	2	7	13	−6	9			15 Oct '24	0–3	—	2–0	2–0	26 Mar '24
4	Azerbaijan	4	1	0	3	3	6	−3	3[lower-alpha 1]			26 Mar '24	22 Mar '24	10 Sep '24	—	3–2	0–1
5	Luxembourg (Y)	6	1	0	5	3	15	−12	3[lower-alpha 1]			0–3	0–3	22 Mar '24	6 Sep '24	—	15 Oct '24
6	Northern Ireland	5	1	0	4	2	7	−5	3[lower-alpha 1]			10 Sep '24	6 Sep '24	1–2	12 Oct '24	0–1	—

Updated to match(es) played on 21 November 2023. Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(Y) Cannot qualify directly, but may advance via the play-offs.
Notes:

1. 1 2 3 Ranked on head-to-head goals scored: Azerbaijan 3, Luxembourg 3, Northern Ireland 1.

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 Serbia and Northern Ireland, to be played 18 and 21 November 2023.^[15]

Caps and goals updated as of 21 November 2023 after the match against Northern Ireland. Names in italics denote players who have been capped for the senior team.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	James Trafford	(2002-10-10) 10 October 2002	16	0	Burnley
13	1GK	Matthew Cox	(2003-05-02) 2 May 2003	0	0	Bristol Rovers (on loan from Brentford)
22	1GK	Sam Tickle	(2002-03-31) 31 March 2002	0	0	Wigan Athletic
5	2DF	Taylor Harwood-Bellis	(2002-01-30) 30 January 2002	21	0	Southampton (on loan from Manchester City)
15	2DF	Charlie Cresswell	(2002-08-17) 17 August 2002	14	1	Leeds United
2	2DF	Tino Livramento	(2002-11-12) 12 November 2002	9	0	Newcastle United
4	2DF	Jarrad Branthwaite	(2002-06-27) 27 June 2002	6	0	Everton
3	2DF	Bashir Humphreys	(2003-03-15) 15 March 2003	3	0	Swansea City (on loan from Chelsea)
16	2DF	Jarell Quansah	(2003-01-29) 29 January 2003	3	0	Liverpool
12	2DF	Brooke Norton-Cuffy	(2004-01-12) 12 January 2004	2	0	Millwall (on loan from Arsenal)
23	2DF	Josh Wilson-Esbrand	(2002-12-26) 26 December 2002	2	0	Reims (on loan from Manchester City)
19	3MF	Harvey Elliott	(2003-04-04) 4 April 2003	18	6	Liverpool
10	3MF	James McAtee	(2002-10-18) 18 October 2002	8	2	Sheffield United (on loan from Manchester City)
6	3MF	Hayden Hackney	(2002-06-26) 26 June 2002	5	0	Middlesbrough
8	3MF	Charlie Patino	(2003-10-17) 17 October 2003	2	0	Swansea City (on loan from Arsenal)
14	3MF	Tyler Morton	(2002-10-31) 31 October 2002	2	1	Hull City (on loan from Liverpool)
11	4FW	Noni Madueke	(2002-03-10) 10 March 2002	18	4	Chelsea
21	4FW	Jamie Bynoe-Gittens	(2004-08-08) 8 August 2004	5	0	Borussia Dortmund
9	4FW	Liam Delap	(2003-02-08) 8 February 2003	5	2	Hull City (on loan from Manchester City)
7	4FW	Jaden Philogene	(2002-02-08) 8 February 2002	3	2	Hull City
17	4FW	Samuel Iling-Junior	(2003-10-04) 4 October 2003	3	0	Juventus
-	4FW	Jonathan Rowe	(2003-04-30) 30 April 2003	2	1	Norwich City
20	4FW	Jay Stansfield	(2002-11-24) 24 November 2002	2	0	Birmingham City (on loan from Fulham)

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	James Beadle	(2004-07-16) 16 July 2004	0	0	Oxford United (on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion)	v.  Serbia,  Ukraine, 12-16 October 2023[16]
DF	Nathan Wood	(2002-05-31) 31 May 2002	2	0	Swansea City	v.  Luxembourg, 11 September 2023[17]
DF	Callum Doyle	(2003-10-03) 3 October 2003	1	1	Leicester City (on loan from Manchester City)	v.  Luxembourg, 11 September 2023[17]
DF	Levi Colwill	(2003-02-26) 26 February 2003	11	0	Chelsea	2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, June-July 2023[18]
DF	Luke Mbete	(2003-09-18) 18 September 2003	2	0	Den Bosch (on loan from Manchester City)	v.  Italy,  Germany, 22–27 September 2022[19]
MF	Rico Lewis	(2004-11-21) 21 November 2004	4	0	Manchester City	v.  Serbia,  Northern Ireland, 18-21 November 2023
MF	Cole Palmer	(2002-05-06) 6 May 2002	15	5	Chelsea	v.  Serbia,  Northern Ireland, 18-21 November 2023
MF	Aaron Ramsey	(2003-01-21) 21 January 2003	0	0	Burnley	v.  Serbia,  Ukraine, 12-16 October 2023[16]
MF	Lewis Hall	(2004-09-08) 8 September 2004	1	0	Newcastle United (on loan from Chelsea)	v. Training Camp, 7–10 June 2023[20]
MF	Jude Bellingham	(2003-06-29) 29 June 2003	4	1	Real Madrid	v.  Andorra,  Albania, 13–17 November 2020 SEN[21]
FW	Dane Scarlett	(2004-03-24) 24 March 2004	1	0	Tottenham Hotspur	v.  Luxembourg, 11 September 2023[17]
FW	Samuel Edozie	(2003-01-28) 28 January 2003	0	0	Southampton	v.  Luxembourg, 11 September 2023[17]
FW	Sam Greenwood	(2002-01-26) 26 January 2002	1	1	Middlesbrough (on loan from Leeds United)	v.  Czech Republic,  Georgia, 11–16 November 2021[22]
FW	Joe Gelhardt	(2002-05-04) 4 May 2002	0	0	Leeds United	v.  Slovenia,  Andorra, 7–11 October 2021[23]

• ^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.

Records

Competitive 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
1978	Semi-Finals	4th of 8	4	1	2	1	4	4		4	4	0	0	17	2		Sexton
1980	Semi-Finals	3rd of 8	4	1	1	2	4	4		4	4	0	0	11	2		Sexton
1982	Champions	1st of 8	6	3	2	1	11	8		6	4	1	1	12	5		Sexton
1984	Champions	1st of 8	6	5	0	1	13	3		6	5	0	1	13	4		Sexton
1986	Semi-Finals	4th of 8	4	1	2	1	3	4		6	3	2	1	9	3		Sexton
1988	Semi-Finals	3rd of 8	4	2	1	1	6	6		4	1	3	0	7	3		Sexton
1990	did not qualify									6	4	1	1	10	5		Sexton
1992	did not qualify									6	3	1	2	11	5		McMenemy
1994	did not qualify									10	4	3	3	20	8		McMenemy
1996	did not qualify									8	6	1	1	13	4		Sexton
1998	did not qualify									10	6	3	1	11	5		Taylor
2000	Group Stage	5th of 8	3	1	0	2	6	4		9	8	0	1	26	3		Taylor, Reid, Wilkinson[24]
2002	Group Stage	7th of 8	3	1	0	2	4	6		8	5	2	1	18	8		Wilkinson Platt[25]
2004	did not qualify									8	3	2	3	14	10		Platt
2006	did not qualify									12	6	4	2	23	10		Taylor
2007	Semi-Finals	3rd of 8	4	1	3	0	5	3		4	3	1	0	8	4		Taylor, Pearce[26]
2009	Runners-Up	2nd of 8	5	2	2	1	8	9		10	8	2	0	22	5		Pearce
2011	Group Stage	7th of 8	3	0	2	1	2	3		10	6	3	1	17	8		Pearce
2013	Group Stage	7th of 8	3	0	0	3	1	5		10	9	0	1	26	3		Pearce
2015	Group Stage	7th of 8	3	1	0	2	2	4		12	11	1	0	35	4		Southgate
2017	Semi-Finals	3rd of 12	4	2	2	0	7	3		8	6	2	0	20	3		Southgate, Boothroyd[27]
2019	Group Stage	9th of 12	3	0	1	2	6	9		10	8	2	0	23	4		Boothroyd
2021	Group Stage	12th of 16	3	1	0	2	2	4		10	9	1	0	34	9		Boothroyd
2023	Champions	1st of 16	6	6	0	0	11	0		10	8	1	1	26	7		Carsley
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.

References

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.