UEFA U-21 Championships 2013 – A Chance To Impress

The domestic season may well have just come to a close, but now a lot of attention now turns to something completely different that is happening this summer. The UEFA Under-21 Championships that take place in Israel next month.
While this tournament does take place every two years, more interest is generated in it when it takes place only a year before The World Cup as it gives any fans watching a great opportunity to see young players performing for their respective countries youth side and any player that performs well at this tournament might then be considered one to watch at the biggest competition in the world the following summer.
In 2009, the tournament was held in Sweden and won by Germany who demolished England 4-0 in the final. The German squad that year included players like Manuel Neuer, Sami Khedira and Mesut Ozil who went on to feature for the main squad at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa the following summer and they all played a key part in getting them to the semi-finals where they lost 1-0 to eventual winners Spain.
Out of the 8 nations participating this year, 7 of the squads have already been announced. Players such as Fabio Borini, Lewis Holtby and David De Gea who are well known to Premier League fans will all be representing Italy, Germany and Spain respectively whilst other well known players that play in Europe including Marco Verratti and Isco are also taking part. It is the perfect chance for the players involved to make a name for themselves and perhaps even earn the chance to play for a bigger club next season as well as being considered a potential key player at next year’s World Cup.
With regards to England coach Stuart Pearce’s selections for his side. Many talented players such as Luke Shaw, Tom Ince and Wilfried Zaha are all travelling to Israel to take part and will hopefully be able to have a big impact. I can’t really say at the moment whether or not I think they will win the competition or not as I need to see them play first, the chances may have been slightly higher if players such as Phil Jones, Jack Wilshere and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain were taking part, but Jones and Chamberlain will both be featuring in the senior sides upcoming friendly games while Wilshere is unavailable for both teams due to ankle surgery. The side going to Israel is a decent one but even if they don’t get to the final and win, if most of the players can live up to expectations, the belief will still be there that those players can go on and potentially play a key part in an England World Cup campaign next year providing they encounter no more glitches in qualifying.
With less than two weeks to go until the first game, England, Germany, Holland, Israel, Italy, Norway, Russia and Spain will all be hoping that victory in this competition will be seen as a sign of greater things to come for the foreseeable future. The stage is set for what will hopefully be a great tournament that exceeds all expectations and provides us all with players to talk about who could potentially be shining stars at the greatly anticipated Fifa World Cup in Brazil next year.
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