Which of England’s UEFA European Under-21 Championship winners can make it to the first team?

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England won all six of their matches at Euro 2023 without conceding a goal

England have their first group of European Under-21 Champions in the Under-40s after the Young Lions beat Spain in the dramatic final on Saturday in Georgia.

It marks another victory for the country’s youth group, following the success of the Under-17 European Championships in 2014 and the Under-19 Championships in 2017 and 2022. Victories were also achieved at the Under-17 and Under-20 World Cups, both in 2017.

With the current batch of winners just one step away from Gareth Southgate’s side, thoughts now inevitably turn to which of them might graduate to help their country end its long wait for major trophies – starting with next summer’s Euros in Germany.

Building towards success

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St George’s Park is located in Burton-on-Trent in Staffordshire

The England senior team may still be waiting for their true breakthrough moment, despite it approaching agonizingly close in 2020, but there is no doubt that the infrastructure and processes designed to develop players for the national team have progressed exponentially in the past decade.

For too long, envious glances abroad from these shores have been cast at the talent being produced elsewhere – promising young players who will graduate from youth teams to excel in their senior national teams.

In Europe alone, Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain appeared to have problems at various points. It may not always have led to great tournament success but the minds and means were there to provide them with the necessary tools and the resulting opportunity.

It is not surprising to see some of these nations perform so well at the U21 Euros before their top teams claim major titles.

In 2000, a young Italian team including Gennaro Gattuso and Andrea Pirlo won the U21 Euro Championship. The same duo were at the heart of the Azzurri’s midfield six years later when they won the World Cup. Another World Cup winner, Daniele De Rossi, helped Italy win the European Under-21 Championship in 2004.

Germany won the 2014 World Cup with five members of the squad that won the European Under-21 Championship five years earlier – goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, centre-backs Jerome Boateng, Benedict Hoedes and Mats Hummels, and midfielders Mesut Ozil.

Interestingly, the country that England may have sought to replicate with their development strategy – France – has fared poorly at the U21 level. Not that this has hindered the talent pipeline still pouring into the burgeoning senior side.

In the aftermath of their failed 1998 World Cup campaign, England looked in detail at how France’s Clairefontaine academy, built in Paris in 1988, had provided the means to win the World Championship a decade later and then the Euros two years later. Later. All they saw were positives, so they pretty much copied it.

St George’s Park, completed in 2012, became the architectural center around which centered an overhaul of the English game which has since helped facilitate the country’s success at age group level.

If the investment is worth it, the major silverware should follow. Southgate’s squad currently has a number of such young players who have won trophies at youth level, such as Phil Foden, Mason Mount, Rhys James, Aaron Ramsdale, Marc Guihi and Conor Gallagher.

Could any of the Under-21s join them before next summer?

Smith Rowe and Colwell are already in Southgate’s thoughts

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Smith Rowe was limited to 15 appearances in total for Arsenal last season, during which he played just 240 minutes.

It stands to reason that the closest the Under-21s will come to graduating into Southgate’s first team are those who have already featured in it.

Arsenal’s Emile Smith Rowe has made three appearances so far, most recently as a second-half substitute in a 3-0 win over Ivory Coast in March 2022. He scored and assisted in his 10-0 World Cup qualifying debut in St. Louis. Marino in November 2021.

Chelsea’s Levi Colwell has yet to be officially called up, but he has trained with the A squad, doing so for the first time as part of the traveling squad for the Euro 2024 qualifiers in Malta last month.

Both have had good tournaments in Georgia and Romania, but any chance of participating next summer will depend on the club’s participation in 2023-24.

Having struggled for a start last season, initially due to injury, Smith Rowe will now have to work his way up in an attacking midfield and commanding attacking forward that contains a wealth of talent.

Colwell returns to Chelsea after a very impressive loan spell at Brighton, but he has stiff competition at centre-back for the Blues and a new manager to impress in Mauricio Pochettino.

Who else is in the mix?

Interestingly, Smith Rowe’s greater participation in the final stage of the European Under-21 Championship is due to an injury to Jacob Ramsey – the man whose involvement in England has been touted by many and who is likely to be a big figure for Aston Villa next season.

If he relies on the impressive performances in the Premier League that brought him six goals and seven assists last season, he will be in for a real shout of inclusion, especially as he will also experience European football in 2023-24 under a manager who knows how to. Dive into such competitions at Unai Emery.

Curtis Jones and Harvey Elliott in Liverpool are in the same category. Both are highly rated and trusted by Reds chairman Jurgen Klopp and already have European experience.

The former had an impressive finish to last season – he started 11 games on the jump, Liverpool won seven and drew four – and was brilliant as the Under-21s coolly beat Israel in the semi-final, emphasizing a 3-0 win from midfield. He also scored the winning goal in the final, albeit without knowing much about it!

He has increased competition in midfield now at Anfield, following the arrivals of Alexis McAllister and Dominic Zuboszlai, but that may be his creation rather than a hindrance.

Newcastle’s Anthony Gordon equaled Smith Rowe’s goal tally in the Under-21 Championship this summer, was named player of the tournament and is another big season ahead of him following his £45m move from Everton last January.

From his relative anonymity a few weeks ago, his reputation has skyrocketed, only bolstered by a last-gasp penalty for denying Spain in injury time in Saturday’s final.

Gibbs White shone – but is there a place for it?

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Gibbs-White made 40 appearances in total for Nottingham Forest last season, scoring five goals and assisting eight others.

Arguably England’s best player was Morgan Gibbs-White – an intelligent, skilful and creative midfielder who had no shortage of minutes last season as he played a key role in helping Nottingham Forest overcome relegation.

He will have every chance to showcase his talents again at Southgate in 2023-24.

The problem he will have, as with all attacking players looking to force their way into the first team, is the abundance of talent that is currently in front of them.

Gibbs White, Gordon, Chelsea’s Noni Madueki – the trio sees world-class talents with the likes of Foden, Jack Grealish, Bukayo Saka and Marcus Rashford currently in the squad and high-caliber players such as Jadon Sancho and Jarrod Bowen scrambling to make the pieces.

Where England is lighter in terms of elite talent is in central defence – something that could help Colwell’s case include if he can get club minutes and excel.

Outside of first-choice duo Declan Rice and Jody Bellingham, there is also likely to be room in central midfield for Ramsey or Jones to take a step forward, especially if Calvin Phillips continues to struggle for game time at Manchester City.

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