UEFA European Under-21 Championship, Group 6 Qualifiers
England U21 v Germany U21
25 March 2005, Hull City FC

England U21 v Azerbaijan U21
29 March 2005, Middlesbrough FC

Peter Taylor has handed three new players their first opportunity with England's Under-21s after naming a 23-man squad for their two forthcoming qualifiers.

Aston Villa striker Luke Moore, Fulham defender Liam Rosenior and Manchester United 'keeper Luke Steele, who is currently enjoying a loan spell as first choice at Coventry City, all come into the reckoning for a place in next week's matches.

Like the senior team, the Under-21s have two important home qualifiers as they aim for a place in next summer's European Championships, with Germany at Hull City's KC Stadium and Azerbaijan at the Riverside Stadium in Middlesbrough.

"We’ve had only one home game out of the four played so far, so to have ten points at the stage is very good," said Peter Taylor, "Four more over these two matches will be fine.

"Germany will be a good test for us; they have some very talented players and work well together as a team. They currently sit at the top of the table and, like us, remain unbeaten in the qualifiers.

We also know a little more about Azerbaijan than we did before October’s qualifier out there.

"We can expect a tricky game, they have some talented players and the majority of their midfield players were very skilful."

But Taylor, too, has some extremely talented players in his squad. With England caps at U16, U17 and U19 level, Luke Moore, who scored his first senior goal in Aston Villa's 2-0 win over Middlesbrough last week, is a promising addition.

"Luke is a very exciting, pacey striker who has a chance due to an injury to his team-mate Carlton Cole," said Taylor

"He is quick, powerful and shows good movement up front, and has always done well for the England youth teams." 

Liam Rosenior and Luke Steele are also highly-regarded by Taylor: "I saw Liam play when he was with Bristol City and he impressed me greatly. Since joining Fulham he has held down a regular first team place and has done very well. He is an attacking full-back with lots of potential," he said.

"Andrew Lonergan's injury means that this is a good opportunity to take a look at Luke. He is a very promising keeper who is very highly-rated and is doing very well at Coventry this season."

To book tickets for the games calling the KC Stadium ticket hotline on 0870 837 0004 or the Middlesbrough hotline on 0870 421 1986

The England Under-21s Squad

GOALKEEPERS
Lee Camp, Derby County
Scott Carson, Liverpool
Luke Steele, Coventry City (loan)

DEFENDERS
Leighton Baines, Wigan Athletic
Calum Davenport, Southampton (loan)
Nicky Hunt, Bolton Wanderers
Glen Johnson, Chelsea
Liam Ridgewell, Aston Villa
Liam Rosenior, Fulham
Steven Taylor, Newcastle United
Peter Whittingham, Burnley (loan)

MIDFIELDERS
Darren Ambrose, Newcastle United
Tom Huddlestone, Derby County
Dean Marney, Tottenham Hotspur
James Milner, Newcastle United
Gary O''Neil, Portsmouth
Kieran Richardson, West Bromwich Albion (loan)
Wayne Routledge, Crystal Palace
John Welsh, Liverpool

FORWARDS
Dean Ashton, Norwich City
Darren Bent, Ipswich Town
Luke Moore, Aston Villa
Jonathan Stead, Blackburn Rovers