Whilst Sven's men have gained the upper hand in their qualifying group for Euro 2004 in Portugal, John Peacock's England Under-17 side have already qualified for the UEFA European Under-17 Championships in Portugal next week, having won three out of three qualifiers, scoring 10 goals, and conceding none.

Peacock's squad contains four young players who this season have set records at their clubs, by virtue of their youth.

James Milner of Leeds is the most high-profile of these players, and became a regular in the first team squad during Terry Venables' time at the Premier League strugglers.

At 16 years 198 days he made his debut against Aston Villa, becoming the second youngest ever player to appear in the Premier League, and in December 2002 became the youngest ever player to score in the Premier League with a superb goal against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.

Milner was part of the successful Nationwide Tournament winning side last Summer, when he himself got on the scoresheet in a 1-1 draw against Brazil and will be in familiar company alongside fellow Leeds Academy starlet Aaron Lennon. A local boy from the Chapeltown area of Leeds, he scored a hat-trick in Leeds' FA Youth Cup run this season, and scored for England in the European qualifier against Scotland. Much is also expected at Elland Road of this young talent.

Ryan Jarvis of Norwich, Dean Bowditch of Ipswich and Lee Holmes of Derby County complete the quartet who have all made their first-team debuts this season, underlining the quality of young English talent now coming into the game.

Talking after Jarvis had just made his debut against Wolves, Norwich manager Nigel Worthington, said:

"Ryan's performance is a big plus for this football club at this time. We knew he wouldn't be fazed by it, that he would take it all in his stride and had the quality to deal with it."

England face a stern test in their four team group, being required to finish in the top two in their group if they are required to progress to the knock-out stages. Lying in wait for the junior Lions are Italy, Spain and Israel, a task that Manager John Peacock said should not worry his squad:

"The players have already done themselves huge credit by getting to the European Championships", said John, "but now we have fulfilled one goal, we now want to go on and achieve our next target."

By reaching the final of the eight-team tournament, England can pre-qualify for the FIFA Under-17 World Championships in Finland later this year, a target the England coach feels isn't beyond his squad.

"We know that we have three very difficult games, but now we are at this stage, we will have to beat the best teams at some stage if we are to progress.

"Some of the boys will have faced Spain at Under-16 level, and played against Italy in last year's Nationwide Tournament when we drew 2-2.

"Israel are slightly more of an unknown quantity for the players, but I have had them watched during their qualification process, and we will be aware of their strengths and weaknesses."

With a number of players in his squad having tasted first-team club action this season, TheFA.com was keen to find out why these players were breaking through so early, and who would be next from his eighteen man squad.

"The investment that clubs are now making in their Academies I am sure is the biggest reason for some of these young players coming through.

"The old adage of 'if you're young enough, you're good enough' is certainly true, and as a manager, you can only really test a players physical and mental attributes if you give them a chance at the highest level.

"Clearly the financial situation amongst Nationwide clubs has also seen a move away from imported talent on large wages, which also opens the door more to young English players, but once they make the step up, the players have to ensure they keep working hard to stay at that level", said John.

Although reluctant to pick out individuals from his squad, John feels that there are several more players with the potential to soon join Milner, Bowditch, Holmes and Jarvis in their first teams.

"A number of the squad have been playing regular reserve team football this year, and four of the squad have also reached The FA Youth Cup Final in the last two seasons, which also adds to their learning curve", said John.

"Hopefully a good performance by the boys in Portugal will also give them some more invaluable experience to take back to their clubs, and maybe we will see some more boys getting their chance next season."

Alex Stone

England kick-off the tournament against Israel in St Marta Penaguiao on 7th May, followed by Italy in Chaves on 9th May and Spain in Vila Real on Sunday 11th May.

TheFA.com will keep you updated on the teams progress and bring you post-match views from Head Coach John Peacock and his Assistant Paul Bracewell........

England Squad:

Dean Bowditch - Ipswich Town
Martin Cranie - Southampton
Nathan Doyle - Derby County
Stuart Giddings - Coventry City
Thomas Heaton - Manchester United
Lee Holmes - Derby County
Tom Huddlestone - Derby County
Philip Ifil - Tottenham Hotspur
Ryan Jarvis - Norwich City
Grant Leadbitter - Sunderland
Aaron Lennon - Leeds United
David Martin - Wimbledon
Anthony McMahon - Middlesbrough
James Milner - Leeds United
Luke Moore - Aston Villa
James Morrison - Middlesbrough
Andrew Taylor - Middlesbrough
Steven Taylor - Newcastle United