England's glorious young guns

By Charlie Henderson

England's Under-21s will discover on Friday who they will get in their group at next summer's Uefa European Under-21 Championship in Holland.

Back in 1984 their England predecessors were crowned champions of Europe.

But did the players that beat Spain that year go on to footballing superstardom or did that prove to be their crowning moment?

Gary Bailey
Goalkeeper, Manchester United
Senior caps: 2 (U21 caps: 14)

Today the former keeper is South Africa's answer to Gary Lineker working as a television presenter. He also helped his country of birth win the rights to host the 2010 World Cup. Having tasted success in two FA Cup finals he was the first of the team to retire, with injury curtailing his career in 1986.

Mel Sterland
Defender, Sheffield Wednesday
Senior caps: 1 (U21 caps: 7)

He scored the only goal in the first leg in Seville to set England on their way but it did not exactly set his senior career going - he had to wait another five years for a cap. A Sheffield Wednesday stalwart before stints at Rangers and Leeds, he starred in the film When Saturday Comes in 1996.

Nick Pickering
Defender, Sunderland
Senior caps: 1 (U21 caps: 15)

Won more U21 caps than any other player involved and had already made his one and only senior appearance in a 1-1 draw against Australia the summer before. He moved from Sunderland to Coventry in 1986 and went on to win the FA Cup with the Sky Blues a year later.

Gary Stevens
Defender, Tottenham Hotspur
Senior caps: 7 (U21 caps: 7)

The chant "There's only one Gary Stevens" was a non-starter back then as there were two. This one was the dark-haired DJ lookalike who started his career at Brighton before moving on to Tottenham, where he enjoyed his greatest success. He finished his career at Portsmouth before going on to work as a pundit.

Paul Bracewell
Midfielder, Everton
Senior caps: 3 (U21 caps: 13)

In an injury-hit career he won two league titles and the Cup Winners' Cup with Everton but was on the losing team in the FA Cup final three times with the Toffees as well as Sunderland in 1992. He had a short-lived spell as Fulham manager after stopping playing and also took the helm at Halifax.

Dave Watson
Defender, Norwich City
Senior caps: 12 (U21 caps: 7)

The Liverpudlian had longevity. He was still playing in the 21st century when the curtain came down on a career during which he won a League Cup at Norwich and a league title and FA Cup with Everton. Has since managed Tranmere and now trains junior teams in the Liverpool area.

Derek Mountfield
Defender, Everton
Senior caps: 0 (U21 caps: 1)

This was the only U21 appearance for a man who won two league titles and an FA Cup at Everton before moving to Aston Villa where injuries took their toll and he dropped down the divisions before retiring. After a managerial spell in Ireland with Cork City he is now a pundit on Merseyside.

Nigel Callaghan
Midfielder, Watford
Senior caps: 0 (U21 caps: 9)

This success was consolation for a losing FA Cup final against Everton the weekend before - when Mountfield was on the winning side. The flying winger never enjoyed the same fame after leaving Watford for spells at Derby and Aston Villa and is now a DJ.

Danny Wallace
Midfielder, Southampton
Senior caps: 1 (U21 caps: 14)

Winger Wallace played for Saints for nine years before joining Manchester United in a £1.2m deal, helping trigger the success Sir Alex Ferguson enjoyed at the club. Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1996, he completed the London Marathon in aid of his own MS charity this year.

Wallace completes seven-day London Marathon

Howard Gayle
Striker, Birmingham City
Senior caps: 0 (U21 caps: 3)

He had already failed to make the grade at Liverpool and Newcastle by this stage of his career and it was a matter of months before he was shown the door at Birmingham. Stints at Sunderland and Stoke followed before he lasted five seasons at Blackburn and wound down his career at Halifax.

Mark Hateley
Striker, Portsmouth
Senior caps: 32 (U21 caps: 10)

Was to enjoy the highest-profile career of any of the team and before the next season was a full international at AC Milan. Stints at Monaco, under Arsene Wenger, and Rangers followed before the combative forward played at QPR and Hull, where he was also manager. He is now a TV pundit.

Steve Hodge
Midfielder, Nottingham Forest
Senior caps: 24 (U21 caps: 8)

Hodge was involved in two World Cups and swapped shirts with Maradona in 1986. During spells with Nottingham Forest, Aston Villa and Tottenham he failed to land any domestic silverware before returning to Forest where he won the League Cup in 1989 and 1990. He also played for Leeds.

Kevin Brock
Midfielder, Oxford United
Senior caps: 0 (U21 caps: 4)

The fourth member of the team not to go on and win senior honours. He spent the majority of his career with Oxford as they rose up the league ladder and won the League Cup. Moves to QPR, Newcastle and Cardiff followed and he is still involved in the game as manager of non-league Banbury.

Goalkeeper Peter Hucker, defender Danny Thomas - who played in both legs of the 1982 success - midfielder Mark Chamberlain and Ipswich striker Mitch D'Avaray played in the first leg in Spain.

Of that quartet, Coventry full-back Thomas and Stoke winger Chamberlain went on to win senior caps.

In total, 65% of those involved in the victory took the step up to the next level on the international ladder.

That compares favourably with the group who won the title two years before (36%) and the 22-man England squad who played in the finals four years ago, of whom 50% have so far progressed through to the senior team.