UEFA UNDER-21 CHAMPIONSHIP
Uefa Under-21 Championship
Can England bounce back?
Alex Humphreys looks at the Main Contenders
June 6th
After building up an unbeaten streak of nine games and hopes high, England's young lions went down to a spirited Italian side 1-0 last night, and must look to the more 'easy' games in Group A still to come, against Israel and Norway.
Disallowed goal apart, it was a disappointing night for England, with Stuart Pearce describing the performance as 'awful'. With players still to come back in, all is far from lost yet.
So, let's take a closer look at the four main contenders...
Not exactly the perfect start to a tournament...
England’s team looks strong going into these under 21’s championships, with a vast array of players good enough to play at premier league level. One of the players I am impressed with is Steven Caulker, who, despite not playing as much as he would hope for Tottenham this year, is a very composed and strong centre-back, this could be seen through his season-long loan spell under Brendan Rodgers at Swansea City.
Another player to keep your eye out for in this squad is Wilfred Zaha, who signed for Manchester United in January, but remained at Crystal Palace until the end of the season; he played an instrumental role in their successful push for promotion. having missed the Italy game his addition to the squad for Norway and Israel is key. This will be a great chance to see what this young man is capable of before the start of his Manchester United career.
I still predict England to do well in this tournament, they have a good squad, packed with premier league experience, though I do not expect them to win the trophy, a trip to the semi-finals could be expected.
Italy’s squad will not seem as star packed compared to that of England, Spain or Germany’s but it has a great range of players.
Expect the young PSG midfielder, Marco Veratti, to dominate the centre of the pitch. The twenty year old has had his breakthrough year with the French league winners can he will only get better as he becomes more experienced. He is not the largest of midfielders, standing at only 1.65 meters. But he is a fighter and anyone coming into a challenge against him will expect the young man to put up a keen fight. I expect him to become one of the worlds best all rounded midfielders.
Another exciting player from this Italian squad is Mattia Destro. The Roma striker used to be Mario Balotelli’s strike partner for Inter Milan’s reserve team, and since he has arrived at Roma he is starting to make a very big name for himself, with 11 goals in his first season as a Roma player. He will have to make a big impact in this tournament.
Italy has a well balanced squad, but I feel they lack the star-quality to win the tournament.
Italian Young Guns
Germany have a very strong team: this is a sign of the rising tide of German football.
The man who I expect to lead Germany’s push is Lewis Holtby. He has a disappointing second half of the season after his switch to Spurs, but his influence and skill should not be understated. His quick passing and clever footballing brains allows him to set up many chances for his teammates and he also has an unappreciated eye for goal, this can be seen in the way he has scored 13 goals in 21 games for the under-21’s squad, a mightily impressive record.
We should also keep an eye out for Bert Leno, the next up and coming keeper for Germany, along Ter Stagen. He is a supremely talented keeper who has successfully replaced Rene Adler in Bayer Leverkusen’s goal. Great reflexes and a strong physique means he is his capable to deal with almost any challenge that a goalkeeper could come across.
I expect Germany to be the winners of this tournament; the German game is so strong at the minute that anything but 1st place will be a massive disappointment.
An Impressive German U21 Squad.
A talented Spanish Line-Up.
Spanish football has had a difficult season; their two best clubs have been knocked off their perch as the undisputed rulers of world football by Germany - things need to start turning around for Spain otherwise they could lose their status as world champions in the world cup in 2014.
If there is one Spanish player you should keep an eye on in the tournament it is the playmaker, Isco. He has enjoyed a fantastic season at the heart of the Malaga set-up, as the replacement for the outgoing Santi Cazorla. He has been in brilliant form, especially in the champion’s league where he has scored memorable goals such as the ones against Porto and Zenit St Petersburg.
For English football fans, they will be able to judge the Manchester United keeper David De Gea in action. He has come on leaps and bounds this season; and has grown physically which allows him to compete in the air, something he had great trouble with in the past. His shot stopping however was never in question, he is one of the best in the world in that department and Spain will need to call upon his services in this tournament.
Spain are not the unstoppable force they were, but they have such a talented squad you can never rule them out.
WINNER:
Spain: 7/4
Italy: 7/2
Germany: 15/4
Netherlands: 13/2
England: 15/2
Russia: 20/1
Israel: 22/1
Norway: 28/1
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TOP GOALSCORER:
Rodrigo: 7/1
Lorenzo Insigne: 8/1
Mattia Destro: 10/1
Luuk De Jong: 12/1
Christian Tello: 14/1
Thomas Ince: 20/1
Wilfried Zaha: 20/1
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NAME THE FINALISTS:
Germany/Spain: 6/1
Germany/Italy: 8/1
Holland/Italy: 10/1
Holland/Spain: 10/1
England/Spain: 14/1
England/Germany: 16/1
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