England under-21’s the key to a successful international future

England under-21 boss Gareth Southgate could be a key figure in his countries future success

England’s under-21 team defeated Croatia 2-1 at Molineux last night in the first leg of their European Championship play-off.

A late Saido Berahino penalty was enough to secure a victory for Gareth Southgate’s team.

Vital

The winning goal was vital for the junior Lions, as Croatia will not be an easy place to visit for the second leg.

I am sure that everybody involved with the team would prefer to have built up a bigger lead ahead of the visit to the Balkans.

Strong

The England under-21 squad is quite impressive when you look at the youngsters available to Gareth Southgate. Manchester United full-back Luke Shaw has recently re-joined the under-21’s after going to the World Cup with England in the summer and earning himself a big money move to Manchester United.

West Brom’s Berahino is currently the highest scoring English player in the Premier League. Fellow striker Harry Kane has recently started to feature more regularly for Tottenham and Kane’s club mate Eric Dier, who has impressed since joining Spurs in the summer could only make the bench for the Croatia game.

Derby midfielder Will Hughes started in the centre of midfield for England and is regarded as one of the brightest young prospects outside of the Premier League. He has reportedly had scouts from the likes of Liverpool and Manchester United watching him in recent months.

Most the under-21 squad are either playing regularly at high end Championship clubs, or in and around the fringes of Premier League teams, which has not always been the case with the England under-21 team.

Missing

Young English players are often overhyped by the media, but there are a number of top young players that could still play for the countries under-21 team that are currently playing for the senior side.

Everton’s injured pair defender John Stones and Ross Barkley are regarded as two of the shining young English players at the moment. It is just a shame that Stones picked-up an injury which will keep him out of action until next year.

Barkley meanwhile is set to return to training next week and could be available to the Toffees very soon.

He is without doubt one of the most technically gifted youngsters England has produced in a long time. Everton have missed the youngster this year, after he picked-up a knee injury just before the season started.

Both players could play for the under-21 team. As could Liverpool’s young star winger Raheem Sterling, another player now vital for the senior team. Sterling has made a big impact on the international scene over the last six months or so.

Arsenal trio Calum Chambers, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Jack Wilshere would also be eligible to play in the European Championships next year, although Wilshere is the oldest player that would be possibility eligible for the tournament.

If under-21 boss Gareth Southgate decided to call-up all the young players that were eligible for next year’s European Championships, if they qualify then the Three Lions could have a very dangerous team. Whether any of these youngsters would wish to play in the tournament is another matter.

Important

For years everybody connected with the England national side have underestimated the importance of junior teams and just concentrated on the senior team. Mostly by using the excuse that young English players are not getting their chance at club level and that is why the national team are failing.

Well the likes of Stones, Barkley, Sterling and Chambers are just a few examples of talented young players, who when fully-fit are regular starters for Premier League clubs.

Other big European nations have recognised that junior tournaments are important to help youngsters become accustomed to playing in competitive tournaments. The likes of Spain and more recently Germany have become successful because their junior teams are nurtured and taken seriously.

Players have regularly even flittered between age groups and both countries have developed tournament ready players, who have winning momentum.

It seems that English football is now realising that the junior teams could be the key to a successful national team in the future. The current England squad is filled with young players, who have promise, but some have hardly played football at the underage levels.

That is a shame, because as recent history has shown us with Spain and Germany winning tournaments at junior level it creates a winning mentality, which the England team in the last five decades has struggled to develop.

Should English football put more energy into the junior teams?