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The youngsters of England face a formidable challenge in their opening UEFA European under-21 Championship group game, when they face the World Cup holders next generation of starlets, in the shape of Spain.
Stuart Pearce led the England under-21s to the final in 2009, going one step further than their semi-final defeat in the 2007 tournament, and will without doubt be looking to win this competition which begins this weekend in Denmark.
The man known as 'Psycho' has admitted he has used the 2009 campaign in Sweden as the blueprint for this tournament, though much of the build-up was overshadowed by the 'will-he, won't-he' dilemma involving the call-up of Jack Wilshere.
In the end Pearce decided not to call on the Arsenal midfielder, and despite the loss of Kieran Gibbs, Micah Richards and Andrew Carroll through injury, he still has a strong squad at his disposal. Some of his under-21 stars could look to use this tournament to impress in the wake of the England senior teams recent dismal performance against Switzerland.
England face Spain in their opening European under-21 Championship match and their opponents are even money to win the game, something most football experts agree with.
If you look through the Spain under-21 squad it is filled with talented youngsters, some who already have experience of playing on the world stage, and it is no surprise to see them as pre-tournament favourites. They are priced at 7/4 to lift the trophy with Betfred.
Head coach Luis Milla can call upon the likes of the talented Barcelona pair Thiago Alcántara and Bojan Krkic, Valencia's Juan Manuel Mata, Athletic Bilbao's Javi MartĂnez and goalkeeper and Manchester United target David de Gea - so they are understandably well fancied by many to replicate their senior team, and secure the UEFA European under-21 trophy.
Danny Rose and Daniel Sturridge got the goals to give England a 2-0 win over Denmark in their final warm-up game and those two, along with the likes of Manchester United duo Danny Welbeck and Tom Cleverley, will be Pearce's danger men as they hunt for the win - priced at football odds of 9/4.
England have a lot of young talent within their squad, and if they can play to their full potential there is a real chances that they could go all the way in Denmark.
They are definitely in the tougher of the two groups, but if they can qualify for the knockout stages of the tournament they are in with a real chance - whatever happens they should certainly go further than the senior team did at last summers World Cup!
My Tip of the Weekend:
No one would be surprised if Spain prove to be too strong for England, but the opening match of any tournament is often a cagey affair and a draw at 9/4 looks a safe bet, with a 1-1 scoreline a 5/1 shot.
Take the 5/1 before a ball is kicked on the Czech Republic to be surprise winners of the tournament. They had an outstanding qualifying campaign, topping their group with 22 points from a possible 24, before thrashing Greece 5-0 in the play-offs.(Greece topped their own qualifying group with England as runners-up).
Sunday 12th June: Spain U21's v England U21's, Herning Stadium, kick-off 19.45, live on Sky Sports 1.
By Drew Swainston
(Guest writer from Betfred on behalf of Beer Footy and Birds!)
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