As England exits Euro U21 tournament we ask what can be done to improve the chances of the English national team? Last summer, when the England national football team was eliminated from the 2014 FIFA World Cup without winning a single game, many wondered how England had fallen so far from football prominence. It wasn't that they were expected to win the tournament: on the contrary, the English side have only won the World Cup on one occasion, and that was almost half a century ago. But 2014 was the worst World Cup performance in history for the English team, featuring only two goals (the only other time England went home winless, in 1958, they at least netted four goals) and ending with a 26th place finish out of 32 teams.

Since then, most soccer fans have backed off from the "English football is doomed" stance, thanks in part to the senior national team's performance in the Euro 2016 qualifiers. Indeed, the wearers of the England football shirt have bounced back substantially in the European Championship qualifying competition, winning all six of their games so far. At this rate, the Three Lions could be headed toward their first-ever Euro victory.

Under 21 Team Woes

While England's senior team seems to be enjoying a period of relative stability right now, things aren't looking so great for the future of English football. The country's under 21 team bowed out of the UEFA European U21 Championship early this year.

The good news is that the U21 squad's Euro exit wasn't quite as tragic as the senior team's exit from the World Cup last year. They did finish in last place in their group (which also included Portugal, Sweden, and Italy), but at least managed a win before bowing out. Their one victory, a 1-0 away match triumph over Sweden, slightly dulled the pain of a 0-1 loss to Portugal and a 1-3 beat-down against Italy.

The Euro Under 21 2015 Qualifiers

Indeed, England's under 21 team looked nearly bulletproof over the past two years, as they worked their way through the qualifying process. They finished the qualifiers at the top of Group 1, winning nine of their 10 games, and drawing the other. They scored 31 goals to reach the top spot, and only allowed two-a miraculous performance by any measure.

Compare the other teams in Group 1 to England, and the soccer team's qualifying run becomes even more impressive. The second-place squad in the group-from Finland-only won four games, drawing another four and losing the remaining two. Moldova, meanwhile, finished third in the group, with a record of five wins, one draw, and four losses.

The Problem

So what's the issue? Why did a promising qualifying run dissolve into a dismal tournament performance? Why has England's under 21 team now been eliminated from Euro in the group stage for three tournaments in a row? Will we see a similar dichotomy, between strong qualifier play and disappointing tournament performance, when the English senior squad heads to France for the 2016 European Championship?

Most of the domination at the under 21s in recent years has belonged to Spain and Italy, with the Netherlands, Germany, and France rounding out the top five. Those teams have also seen, on average, more success at the World Cup than England-suggesting that strong U21 performances really do pave the way for better senior soccer teams.

You could blame England's lack of success on any number of things. Perhaps U21 manager Gareth Southgate needs to be willing to take more established senior players to the Euro under 21s, as many of his rival teams do. Instead, Southgate let young and eligible senior players like Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ross Barkley, and even Raheem Sterling stay home while taking lesser soccer players without senior caps in their stead.

It's also worth noting that England's U21 team can't play under pressure. In their final group stage game against Italy, fighting for a chance to stay in the tournament, the Three Lions managed to control possession of the ball for almost 60% of regulation time. But it didn't matter: they still lost 1-3, and it would have been a 0-3 loss, had it not been for a last-minute goal from Nathan Redmond.

What do you think? Is England's U21 team failing because of poor lineup decisions, inexperience in high-pressure situations, or something else? Let us know on social media! You can reach out to Soccer Box on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or other popular networks. You can also root for the England senior squad and their Euro 2016 qualifying campaign, by picking up an England jersey, we still have stock of the home and away 2014 - 2015 kits in our online store!