Under 21 European Championships / Mike Norman / 08 June 2011 /

England have the ability to win this year's Euro U-21 Championship says Mike Norman, but if the last 25 years are anything to go by then they are destined to fail in disappointing fashion.

Stuart Pearce's England U-21 side have been installed as second favourites - currently available to back at [5.4] - to win the forthcoming U-21 Euro Championship, and if you believe what the Betfair Contrarian has to say then you'll already have placed your Back wager.

England's chances of winning the tournament are obvious, but after yet another below par performance from the senior side last Saturday - and the pathetic excuses that followed - the nation is crying out for a new batch of players to shine on the big stage and inject some fresh hope into our national side's future. But with added expectancy comes added pressure, and Pearce's young lions face no easy task during the course of the next two weeks.

Jack Wilshere and Andy Carroll apart England will arrive in Denmark with a very strong squad, one that - on paper at least - arguably should be tournament favourites.

Their defence, containing the likes of Chris Smalling, Kyle Walker and Phil Jones (close to sealing a deal taking him to Manchester United) is talented and experienced, whilst in Scott Sinclair, Marc Albrighton, Jack Rodwell and Jordan Henderson they can boast a midfield containing a quartet of players that have had excellent seasons.

In attack Pearce can rely on Daniel Sturridge and Danny Welbeck to cause mayhem amongst opposition defences, and the lightening-fast Nathan Delfouneso and twinkle-toed Connor Wickham are excellent players to have in your squad at this level.

But there's this niggling doubt that this is England; and for the last 25 years that I've been watching the under-21 and senior sides England simply don't know how to win tournaments. Individually they've been more than good enough, as a unit they've fallen woefully short at times. Is there anything at all to suggest that it will be different this time, or will this team of promising individuals do what the senior side does with regularity - freeze on the big stage and suddenly lose the ability to pass, or even control, a football?

Sunderland midfielder Henderson is on the verge of signing a £16m deal that will take him to Liverpool, and he will be desperate to prove his worth over the next few weeks, whilst the likes of Welbeck, Sturridge, Ryan Bertrand, Henri Lansbury, Jack Cork, Tom Cleverley, and Danny Rose will be hoping to put themselves in the shop window assuming they'll be allowed to go out on loan - or even move away permanently - from their 'Top Six' Premier League clubs.

Then there are players such as Albrighton and Delfouneso - out to impress Aston Villa's new manager whoever it turns out to be - and Championship player Wickham, desperate to seal a move to the Premier League no doubt.

There's no shortage of talent or incentive to do well within the England U-21 squad, and in Stuart Pearce they have a determined manager who will instill plenty of passion and enthusiasm. Their immediate task of course is to get something from the game against their Spanish equivalents on Sunday. On paper England shouldn't fear the [3.0] tournament favourites, and neither should they fear the Czech Republic ([7.0]) or the Ukraine ([13.0]), their other Group B opponents.

But you sense that - within the Spanish side - the likes of Bojan, Juan Manuel Mata, Adrian Lopez and Diego Capel will cruise through the tournament, playing just as well as they do for their Spanish La Liga sides. And you sense that the Czech Republic and Ukraine sides will be technically better than England, and will pass the ball much more efficiently.

I'm not saying England won't progress from Group B (they can be backed at [3.6] to win it) because the likelihood is that they will, but if they do get to the final and face a Group B rival again then I'd wager quite heavily that they put in a worse performance than first time around.

Let's all be honest, that's what England footballers do - freeze on the big stage and disappoint us all - and you know it!

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