England are finalising their preparations for another European Under-21 Championships where they will surely be listed among the very favourites for victory.
After dominating their qualifying group, a strong squad full of youth team talent mixed with senior team experience will give England fans serious hope that their stars of the future can prove to be better than those of Italy, Germany and Portugal.
Route to the Finals
The Young Lions’ route to the finals began in a qualifying group with Finland, Moldova, Wales, Lithuania, and San Marino.
Although the unimpressive 1-0 win against Moldova at the start of the cycle and the 1-1 draw against the Finnish formation in the fixture that followed may have raised some doubts about their chances at the cup, Gareth Southgate’s starlets followed up with eight consecutive wins to top their group with 28 points.
The playoff draw matched them against a tough Croatia side, who they nonetheless defeated 2-1 in both legs to complete the qualifying cycle with an impressive goal difference of 35-4.
Only just recently, the Young Lions edged Belarus 1-0 in their final test before the final tournament.
Past Record
The Young Lions’ traditionally dominant performances in qualifying earned them a fifth-straight final tournament appearance, in which they will seek third title in history following the back-to-back successes from 1982 and 1984.
In recent years, however, England have learned that qualifying and final tournament stages are entirely different animals.
The Young Lions exited the previous two tournaments in the group stage, doing it in the worst possible way two years ago – with losses to the hosts Israel, Norway, and Italy.
The last time England played knockout football at the Under-21 European forum — in 2009 — they made it all the way to the final, which they lost 4-0 to Germany.
Regardless, that was a step up from the preceding edition, when they were stopped in the the semi-final by eventual champions Netherlands on penalties.
In Group B, Southgate’s starlets will be in the company of 2013 finalists Italy, plus Sweden and Portugal, who they defeated 3-1 in a friendly last November.
Key Player
It is understandable for one to shake their head when the Young Lions’ attacking statistics gets brought up, especially since 18 of these 35 goals came in three matches – the pair against San Marino and the home fixture against Lithuania.
Perhaps it is much more impressive that England conceded only four goals in 12 qualifying matches.
The fact is, however, that if they want to have an actual shot at the trophy come late June, England will need many more than the one goal that they scored through defender Craig Dawson two summers ago; and truly, the two players who can change that for the better are up the field, far from Jack Butland – namely, Saido Berahino and Harry Kane.
The two combined for 16 of the team’s goal en route to the final tournament, but more importantly both had outstanding campaigns with their clubs.
Berahino netted 19 goals in 42 appearances for West Bromwich Albion, while Kane sparked for Tottenham in Europe as well as domestically with his 31 goals in 49 appearances.
Both players may try to use the tournament this month to trampoline their careers, a scenario in which England would be the main beneficiary.
Of the pair, Spurs livewire Kane can be considered the most influential towards England’s chances, having become a full senior international within the past year, lending invaluable experience.
The Coach
When England crashed out of the Under-21 European Championship in Israel, most of the blame fell on their coach Stuart Pearce and he was fired after the tournament.
In Southgate, he was replaced by another young, inexperienced coach who had been without a job since 2009.
The tournament in the Czech Republic will finally show the wider football audience what the former Crystal Palace, Aston Villa, and Middlesbrough player has learned about his new profession and it will be interesting to see what impression he can make during his first big coaching test.
