The Young Ones: Notes from the 2011 Under-17 European Championships

We keep a keen eye on youth football and developing talents here at Just Football. So too, happily, does our newest recruit. Preben Walle has been keeping an eye on events in Serbia at the U-17 European Championships and, making his JF debut, he’s here to give you an update:

The 2011 UEFA U-17 European Championships have been a very enjoyable affair so far, and some of the football on display has been scintallating. Now, as we reach the semi final stage, things start to hotten up, and we can expect even more of the brilliant football that we have seen so far.

The first semi final sees Holland take on the defending Champions, England.  The Dutch did not concede a single goal throughout the group stage, and they have only conceded two goals in their last thirteen games. However, they only scored three goals in the three group stage games, winning two games and drawing with the Czech Republic after securing qualification.

England, on the other hand, have struggled in this tournament. One win, one draw and one loss is not what you expect of the defending champions, and manager John Peacock will have some concerns over his players going into this game. The defence in particular has been of varying quality so far, with the two preferred centre backs John Lundstrom and Nathaniel Chalobah coming under some criticism.

During their last game against Serbia, the England side looked a much better outfit. Peacock had clearly done some work, and both defensive positioning and the attacking movement and options looked a lot better. Especially Everton starlet Hallam Hope impressed, scoring two goals in the process. One blow for England though is the loss of Raheem Sterling, the Liverpool wonder-kid returned to Merseyside after suffering a knock during the Serbia game. In his replacement, manager Peacock has called up his teammate Jack Dunn. Other English players to look out for are Nathan Redmond (Birmingham City), Adam Morgan (Liverpool), Alex Henshall (Manchester City) and Jordan Cousins (Charlton Athletic).

The Holland side should be fresh for this game. manager Albert Stuivenberg rested seven of his usual starters in their game against the Czechs on Monday. Stuivenberg told UEFA.com that it was a good thing as the players started to feel the wear and tear of the tournament. In terms of quality, this Holland side is something special. It includes a number of players from the famed Dutch academies, like Anass Achahbar and Jean-Paul Boëtius from Feyenoord, Memphis Depay and Terence Kongolo from PSV, Jordi Bitter from Ajax and also Karim Rekik from Manchester City.

It’s a European Championship semi final, albeit U-17, there’s no doubt that it is going to get interesting and tough. For me, there is no clear favourite. It’s two different sides, but with the potential to cancel each other out. If I had to put my money anywhere though, it would have to be the Dutch. With rested players, and the overall quality in that side, I think they have a slightly better chance than England.

Preben Walle is a new contributor to Just Football. Follow him on Twitter @OhPebbles.

England, Holland, Nathaniel Chalobah, Raheem Sterling, Under-17 European Championships, Youth Football