| England | |
| |
| Nickname(s) | The Young Lions |
|---|---|
| Association | The Football Association |
| Confederation | UEFA (Europe) |
| Head coach | Lee Carsley |
| Most caps | James Milner (46) |
| Top scorer | Eddie Nketiah (16) |
| 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) |
England's national under-21 football team, also known as England under-21s or England U21(s), is considered to be the feeder team for the England national football team.
This team is for English players aged under 21 at the start of the calendar year in which a two-year European Under-21 Football 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 and John Stones 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 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 Wolverhampton Wanderers' 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.
Players[]
Current squad[]
The following players were named in the squad for the qualifiers against Andorra on 25 March and Albania on 29 March 2022.
Caps and goals updated as of 16 November 2021 after the match against Georgia. Names in italics denote players who have been capped for the senior team.
| # | Pos | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Josef Bursik | 12 July 2000 | 4 | 0 | Stoke City
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| GK | Etienne Green | 19 July 2000 | 2 | 0 |  Saint-Étienne
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| GK | Carl Rushworth | 2 July 2001 | 0 | 0 | Walsall (on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion)
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| DF | Luke Thomas | 10 June 2001 | 5 | 0 | Leicester City
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| DF | Taylor Harwood-Bellis | 30 January 2002 | 4 | 0 | Stoke City (on loan from Manchester City)
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| DF | Valentino Livramento | 12 November 2002 | 3 | 0 | Southampton
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| DF | Lee Buchanan | 7 March 2001 | 2 | 0 | Derby County
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| DF | Charlie Cresswell | 17 August 2002 | 2 | 0 | Leeds United
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| DF | Ben Johnson | 24 January 2000 | 0 | 0 | West Ham United
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| DF | Djed Spence | 9 August 2000 | 0 | 0 | Nottingham Forest (on loan from Middlesbrough)
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| DF | Levi Colwill | 26 February 2003 | 0 | 0 | Huddersfield Town (on loan from Chelsea)
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| MF | Curtis Jones | 30 January 2001 | 7 | 2 | Liverpoool
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| MF | Morgan Gibbs-White | 27 January 2000 | 5 | 0 | Sheffield United (on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers)
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| MF | Tommy Doyle | 17 October 2001 | 3 | 0 |  Cardiff City (on loan from Manchester City)
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| MF | James Garner | 13 March 2001 | 3 | 0 | Nottingham Forest (on loan from Manchester United)
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| MF | Jacob Ramsey | 28 May 2001 | 3 | 0 | Aston Villa
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| MF | Harvey Elliott | 4 April 2003 | 0 | 0 | Liverpool
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| FW | Folarin Balogun | 3 July 2001 | 5 | 1 | Middlesbrough (on loan from Arsenal)
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| FW | Angel Gomes | 31 August 2000 | 3 | 0 | Lille
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| FW | Anthony Gordon | 24 February 2001 | 2 | 2 | Everton
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| FW | Noni Madueke | 10 March 2002 | 2 | 0 |  PSV Eindhoven
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| FW | Keane Lewis-Potter | 22 February 2001 | 0 | 0 | Hull City
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Recent call-ups[]
The following players have previously been called up to the England under-21 squad in the last 12 months and remain eligible.
Current coaching staff[]
Source: BBC Alumni[]Former players[]
Managers[]
Honours[]External links[]
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