Goalkeepers
22 Ben Alnwick, Tottenham Hotspur
Born 01.01.87
Ben’s a great personality and always has a smile on his face. Perhaps not the best dressed player I’ve seen, though! He has settled into the England set-up very well, and keeps pretty quiet, but he’s a different person when he is back at Tottenham and I think he’s enjoying life in London.
1 Scott Carson, Liverpool
Born 03.09.85
Scott can also be fairly quiet but is another warm character. He has a great personality and really likes to get involved in the banter. On the pitch he’s a fantastic keeper and for me one of the best I’ve seen around our age group. He has a tremendous future ahead of him and will become England’s number one, I’m sure. He should stay in goal, though; in training he thinks he has a bit to offer out field, but I’m not sure where he’s got that idea from! He’s a much better goalkeeper.
Click here for Scott's Senior Team profile
13 Joe Hart, Manchester City
Goalkeeper, Born 19.04.87
Joe came into the squad for the first time against Spain and showed in training, and when he came on late in the game, that he is a very good keeper. He was understandably quite as it was his first trip, but we made him feel welcome and I think his save near the end of the match gave him a lot of confidence.
Defenders
3 Leighton Baines, Wigan Athletic
Born 11.12.84
Bainesy the footballer/rockstar. He is always moaning but is great value, though. Leighton is a fantastic footballer and has a sweet left foot – what a goal against Germany. He has tremendous ability, even though he doubts himself. In my view he could play for any of the top teams in England or Europe for that matter.
VIDEO: Watch Leighton's goal against Germany
6 Gary Cahill, Aston Villa
Born 19.12.85
Gary joined up with the squad for the Spain game, too. Although I didn’t get the chance to really get to know him I have played against him before and know he’s a very good defender, tall and powerful. He is quite bubbly and is always smiling and trying to feel his way into the squad.
5 Anton Ferdinand, West Ham United
Born 18.02.85
Aka ‘Jar Jar Binks’, I can’t get away from Anton, people seem to think we’re joined at the hip! Anton is a really good player and I’ve played with him for a long time at West Ham. I think he has got so much ability and is starting to command at the back and become another leader within the squad.
2 Justin Hoyte, Arsenal
Born 20.11.84
Justin’s a quiet boy and the most unenthusiastic person in the world! If you told him he’d just won the lottery he would still just groan. He is a great player, though, but another one that doesn’t seem to believe in his own ability for some reason. I believe in him, he’s a fantastic athlete and has everything needed to compete at the highest level.
20 Nedum Onuoha, Manchester City
Born 12.11.86
TheFA.com: The 20-year-old defender made his Premiership bow for City against Norwich City in November 2004, shortly before signing his first professional contract with the club. He marked his first international appearance scoring for England's U20s as the beat Russia 2-0 in February 2005. Nedum stepped up to the U21s squad for the double-header against Austria and Poland in October 2005, winning the first of his three caps so far against the Poles.
14 Liam Rosenior, Fulham
Born 01.08.86
Liam is an intelligent footballer and has great leadership and organisation skills. He’s playing week in and week out at Fulham and is constantly educating himself. Liam has got a really bright future ahead of him.
4 Steven Taylor, Newcastle United
Born 23.01.86
Steven Taylor is ‘Trigger’, he is a real character. He’s got a huge presence about him and gets along so well with the whole team. Steven is a very talented player and the classic die-hard centre-back, I’d put him in the same category as John Terry. If you put a brick up in the air, Steven would head it!
23 Peter Whittingham, Cardiff City
Born 08.09.84
TheFA.com: Peter earned his 14th cap for the U21s in the 3-1 win against Norway in February and got the scoring started with a first half strike. That was his third goal for Peter Taylor’s team following his brace in the 4-0 victory in Wales last September. A member of Villa’s FA Youth Cup winning side in 2002 he made his first team debut in a 1-1 draw at Newcastle a year later and in January 2007 joined Cardiff City.
Midfielders
17 Tom Huddlestone, Tottenham Hotspur
Born 28.12.86
Tom’s passing range is fantastic and he has great vision. He’s got a very good touch and is another very technically gifted player. Tom can dictate a game and, from my point of view, I don’t see much difference between him and Michael Carrick, he has such a bright future ahead of him. Unfortunately for Tom, though, he likes to get involved in the banter, but he’s terrible at it!
15 James Milner, Newcastle United
Born 04.01.86
Milner seems like a veteran of the squad, he’s still very young but has been around the Under-21s for a long time. He’s having a great season with Newcastle and has done so well for the England. James continues to improve every time he plays; he’s a team player and has great ability on the ball.
18 Mark Noble, West Ham United
Born 04.01.86
TheFA.com: After spending the first part of this season on loan at Ipswich, Mark returned to West Ham to make eleven appearances and score three goals, which has earned him his first call-up to the U21s. Already has UEFA Championship experience with the U17s in 2004 and U19s a year later. Made his U21s debut as a half time substitute against Slovakia in Norwich.
7 Nigel Reo-Coker, West Ham United
Born 14.05.84
NRC: No don’t worry about him!
TheFA.com: Nigel is an all-action midfielder who joined the Hammers from Wimbledon in January 2004 and became skipper at Upton Park leading them to their first FA Cup Final in 26 years against Liverpool in May 2006. His first appearance for the U21s was as a substitute in Turkey in October 2003 and, despite missing the 2006 European play-offs against France due to injury he lead the team to a 3-0 aggregate win over Germany to reach the 2006 European Championship Finals in Holland. Scored his first goal for the U21s against Slovakia in June 2007.
9 Kieran Richardson, Manchester United
Born 21.10.84
I haven’t spent much time with Kieran but he’s always in front of the mirror. He must put about ten tubs of gel in his hair! He has a lot of ability, though, and you have to to be playing for Manchester United. Kieran has senior experience, too, and it’s really up to him how far he goes.
Click here for Kieran's Senior Team profile
12 Wayne Routledge, Tottenham Hotspur
Born 07.01.85
His nickname is ‘Lil’ Weezy’, he thinks he’s like the rapper Lil’ Wayne - he loves listening to his music. He’s been in the set-up for a while now and tends to be quite quiet but he can have his moments when he perks up. Wayne is a very skilful and quick player and is enjoying a good season at Fulham.
Forwards

19 Matt Derbyshire, Blackburn Rovers
Born 14.04.86
Matt was called up for the first time against Spain following some great performances for Blackburn, but was injured before the squad met up so I didn't get chance to meet him. But he has been doing very well at Ewood Park this season, scoring goals too, so will be interesting to see how he does with the Under-21s.
16 Leroy Lita, Reading
Born 28.12.84
Mr Smooth Operator, he’s surprisingly very quiet, but I think he is a terrific striker. He has been doing very well at Reading this season and came on against Spain to score an important goal for us. Leroy is a player I’ve always admired and has a very good opportunity to become a top, top player.
10 David Nugent, Preston North End
Born 02.05.85
David is such a great striker and he should be playing in the Premiership. He has been magnificent for Preston this season and is certainly doing everything he can to get them promoted into the top flight. He has played in every England game this season and every time he pulls on the shirt he gives 110%; he has a superb work ethic. But it’s not just about hard work with Nuge, he’s got pace and ability too, as he showed with his goal in The FA Cup against Crystal Palace. I think he’s trying to claim Goal of the Season, it wasn’t even goal of the Round, Scott Sinclair’s for Plymouth was much better! I’ve got a lot of time for David; he’s another personality around the camp and likes to make it a happy place to be.
VIDEO: Watch David's goal against Moldova
Click here for David's Senior Team profile
21 James Vaughan, Everton
Born 14.07.88
TheFA.com: A talented poacher of goals with bags of pace and tricks, James has suffered a number of unfortunate long term injuries but is back on form and looking to make his mark on 2007. James was England's saviour in their final game of last year, coming off the bench to grab the winner with just minutes to go, and followed that up with a second half brace against Poland.
11 Ashley Young, Aston Villa
Born 09.07.85
Ashley’s debut in Switzerland was long overdue, but he’s been given a chance now and has taken it. He has done very well for the Under-21s and his move to Aston Villa is a massive loss for Watford. He is so talented and is a player that I remember playing against in the Championship. Ashley is a very gifted, team player and can create and score goals.