England may not have the likes of Jack Wilshere, Andy Carroll, Keiran Gibbs or Micah Richards, but they still have a fairly strong squad lined up for the under-21 European Championships in Denmark. Jordan Henderson, Phil Jones and Daniel Sturridge are the headliners instead, and while they're certainly not quite as exciting as the names that have dropped out they should still be able to deal with most of their opponents (save Spain, who happen to be the first team they'll face).
UEFA European Under-21 Championships 2011: England Preview
Frank Fielding is an obvious choice at goalkeeper, while ahead of him will be a centre half pairing of Phil Jones and Chris Smalling, a tandoem whom Manchester United fans will be hoping performs well together. Fullbacks Ryan Bertrand and Kyle Walker provide some excitement going forward but have defensive questions - Stuart Pearce may opt to deploy Michael Mancienne at right-back rather than the more attack-minded Walker.
Midfield should feature new Liverpool acquisition Jordan Henderson as the main link between a holding pair and the forward line, with Jack Rodwell and Bolton midfielder Fabrice Muamba acting as the double pivot. Muamba should be able to cover for Rodwell's forward runs, allowing England to exploit one of their more dynamic players to the full.
On the wings we find something of an embarrassment of riches for England. Four players are probably qualified to start here, including Marc Albrighton, Danny Welbeck, Danny Rose and Tom Cleverly. One might expect the first two to start at left and right, but who plays may ultimately depend on the defensive cover required by the fullbacks.
Striker is easy - Danny Sturridge (there sure are a lot of Dannys on this team, eh?). The Chelsea forward had a phenomenal run with Bolton in the secod half of the season on loan, scoring eight goals in twelve league games, and he'll be hoping to continue that with England as he looks to mop up the attacks started by Henderson et al.
Projected First-Choice Lineup
England (4-2-3-1): Frank Fielding; Ryan Bertrand, Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, Kyle Walker; Fabrice Muamba, Jack Rodwell; Marc Albrighton, Jordan Henderson, Danny Welbeck; Danny Sturridge.
It's evident that all of the missing players would have been hugely beneficial to have available to England. Wilshere and Richards in particular will be missed, with the Arsenal man's capability to link the midfield to the attack unparalleled amongst players qualified to play for England at this level and Richards profoundly underrated as a right-sided fullback.
But they’ll have to do without. How far can this weakened England team get? They’re probably second-best to Spain, but they should be able to emerge from the group (although it’ll be tight). Once they emerge, there’s no reason they couldn’t make it to the final and lose to Spain again there. But who knows? They might get lucky and win the whole thing.
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