England Under 21 Latest

Last updated : 20 February 2021 By Three Lions

The UEFA Under 21 Championship will have a very different feel to it this year, in common with so many other sporting events, as the tournament will take place in two separate stages.

England will be among the sixteen nations playing their three group games in Hungary and Slovenia at the end of March, the Three Lions based in Slovenia for their matches against Switzerland (in Koper on Thursday 25th), Portugal (Ljubljana, Sunday 28th) and Croatia (Koper, Wednesday 31st).

Finish in the top two in their group and Aidy Boothroyd's side will then return to the tournament for the knockout stages in late May/early June, meaning it will be completed before the start of the senior Euros, delayed from last summer.

With World Cup qualifiers at senior level during the March window for international football and potential clashes with clubs, it means a balancing act for Boothroyd and the FA and even two different squads potentially being named for the separate stages of the competition.

England Badge with Three Lions logo

The Under 21 side were last in action in November, rounding off their qualifying campaign. Curtis Jones of Liverpool and Chelsea's Callum Hudson-Odoi were among the scorers in a 3-1 victory against Andorra and then Eddie Nketiah of Arsenal netted twice as Albania were beaten 5-0.

Bayern Munich's Jamal Musiala also scored on that evening, his first start for the Under 21's, but remains firmly on the radar of the German national set-up.