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England are only two games away from winning the European Under-21 Championship twice.

On Wednesday (17:00 BST), Lee Carsley’s team, which defeated the Netherlands in the semi-final of the tournament in 2023, will face them.

At 20:00, Germany takes on France in the other semi.

In the following 12 years, 10 of the 24 teams that won the European Under-21 Championship went on to win either the World Cup or the senior Euros.

Nine of those players were members of the impressive U21 squad.

Of course, Germany and England, who won in 2017 and 2021, have still time to do so.

In that same time frame, five more have advanced to the final but lost.

The U21 teams that have won the Euros and a significant tournament are:

29 players, including Laurent Blanc, Fabio Cannavaro, Gianluigi Buffon, Francesco Totti, and Manuel Neuer, have won the U21 Euros and a significant senior tournament, according to the table above.

Many of the best players in the world have impressed at previous European Under-21 Championships, not to mention the winning team.

Rudi Voller, Blanc, Davor Suker, Luis Figo, Cannavaro, Andrea Pirlo, Petr Cech, Juan Mata, Thiago, and Fabian Ruiz were just a few players who were honored with the “best player of the tournament” award.

There are a few false positives, though.

While Royston Drenthe only played once for the Netherlands, Renato Buso and Francesc Arnau, both of whom died, never won an Italian or Spanish senior cap. Fabio Vieira, 25, has not yet played for the senior Portugal team.

Although he never played for one of Europe’s top clubs, Sweden’s Marcus Berg had a successful goal-corcoring career.

More of a mixed bag of people are on the Golden Boot list.

Despite playing midfield, Andrea Pirlo, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, and Alberto Gilardino were among the previous winners.

However, it’s unlikely that Luca Waldschmidt, Jan Kliment, Maceo Rigters, or Massimo Maccarone will be the subjects of any statues.

England won the tournament in 1982, 1984 and 2023.

In 1984, Mark Hateley and Anthony Gordon were given the honors of player of the tournament.

None of those 1982 and 1984 squads were Three Lions legends, and neither one of them won a senior cap for England.

Hateley, who was on both teams, won 32 caps, with five more coming from teams with 10 or more.

Cole Palmer is the most notable of the 2023 winners, and six more were selected for England from Thomas Tuchel’s final year.

England are just two games from making it back-to-back European Under-21 Championship triumphs.

Lee Carsley’s side, who won the tournament in 2023, face the Netherlands in the semi-final of this year’s competition on Wednesday (17:00 BST).

Germany play France in the other semi at 20:00.

Of the 24 teams to win the European Under-21 Championship, 10 of them have gone on to win either the World Cup or the senior Euros in the next 12 years.

Nine of those have featured players from that successful U21 squad.

Of course there is still time for Germany, winners in 2017 and 2021, and England in 2023 to do so.

Another five have reached a final in that time frame but lost.

The teams to win the U21 Euros and a major tournament are:

As the table above shows, 29 players have won the U21 Euros and then a major senior tournament – including Laurent Blanc, Fabio Cannavaro, Gianluigi Buffon, Francesco Totti and Manuel Neuer.

Not just counting the winning team, many of the world’s best players have impressed at previous European Under-21 Championships.

Among the players to win the best player of the tournament award were Rudi Voller, Blanc, Davor Suker, Luis Figo, Cannavaro, Andrea Pirlo, Petr Cech, Juan Mata, Thiago and Fabian Ruiz.

However, there are a few outliers.

Renato Buso and the late Francesc Arnau never won a senior cap for Italy or Spain respectively, while Royston Drenthe only played once for the Netherlands. Arsenal’s Fabio Vieira, 25, has yet to feature for the Portugal senior team.

Sweden’s Marcus Berg had a good goal-laden career, although never played for one of Europe’s top clubs.

The list of Golden Boot winners is more of a mixed bag.

Andrea Pirlo, despite being a midfielder, Alberto Gilardino and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar were among the previous winners.

But Massimo Maccarone, Maceo Rigters, Jan Kliment or Luca Waldschmidt are unlikely to have any statues made of them.

England won the tournament in 1982, 1984 and 2023.

Mark Hateley, in 1984, and Anthony Gordon, in 2023, were named player of the tournament.

About half of those 1982 and 1984 squads never won a senior cap for England – and none of them went on to be Three Lions legends.

Hateley, who was in both squads, went on to win the most caps, 32, with five more players reaching 10 caps or more.

Of the 2023 winners, the most notable current star is Cole Palmer – and another six were in Thomas Tuchel’s last England selection.

Olympic champion Daniel Wiffen thinks his gold medal from Paris would mean more to him than winning back-to-back World Championship titles.

Wiffen, a swimmer for Team Ireland, won a historic gold medal in the 800-meter freestyle at the Paris Olympics and won a stunning 200-meter victory at the World Championships in 2024.

The 23-year-old also won a bronze medal at the Games in the 1500-meter race.

In preparation for the 2014 World Championships in Singapore, Wiffen stated, “Everyone says the hardest thing to do is to win a World Championships after an Olympics,” and he is up for the challenge.

Wiffen became the first athlete from Northern Ireland to win Olympic gold in 36 years when he won the gold medal in Paris.

When he travels to the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, which will take place from July 11 through August 3, he will attempt to replicate that form.

Wiffen claims that he wants to continue his successful legacy and that this will motivate him as he enters the Worlds after a stellar 2024.

Everyone watches the Olympics, in my opinion. If you can win consecutively over the course of an Olympics, that is more significant than just winning. “, he added.

“It turns to being how many times you can win before you lose.” Then you reach the point where you continue to strive for excellence.

You’re attempting to grow bigger, and you’re bringing the question “what will happen if I do keep winning?” or “what occurs if I lose?” ‘.

After spending a number of years studying and swimming at Loughborough University, Wiffen will relocate his training base back to Ireland.

As he prepares for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, he will divide his time between Dublin and America, where his twin Nathan will live later in the year.

Wiffen claims he is unsure about who he will collaborate with in the coming years of his career and that the decision will also mean the end of his long-running partnership with coach Andi Manley.

His current focus will be on the World Championships, where he will compete in the 400-meter freestyle in addition to the longer-distance 800 and 1500 meters.

Before winning his two titles, Wiffen admitted that it “sparked something in me” when he placed seventh in the 400-meter final in Doha.

I want to win, not come in seventh place. I’m re-inputting it because my goal is to finish in seventh place.

We’ll see how it turns out. I’m hoping for a medal in it. I’ve been swimming it for a year, so it will be challenging, but I’m looking forward to the challenge.

He added that although the 400m would serve as a “warm-up” for the longer events, he is still aiming for a podium finish.

Because I try to warm up after 400 meters, this will start to sound strange. We’re talking about attempting to get that swim out before the 800-meter, despite my desire for a medal in it.

Olympic champion Daniel Wiffen thinks his gold medal from Paris would mean more to him than winning back-to-back World Championship titles.

Wiffen, a swimmer for Team Ireland, won a historic gold medal in the 800-meter freestyle at the Paris Olympics and won a stunning 200-meter victory at the World Championships in 2024.

The 23-year-old also won a bronze medal at the Games in the 1500-meter race.

In preparation for the 2014 World Championships in Singapore, Wiffen stated, “Everyone says the hardest thing to do is to win a World Championships after an Olympics,” and he is up for the challenge.

Wiffen became the first athlete from Northern Ireland to win Olympic gold in 36 years when he won the gold medal in Paris.

When he travels to the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, which will take place from July 11 through August 3, he will attempt to replicate that form.

Wiffen claims that he wants to continue his successful legacy and that this will motivate him as he enters the Worlds after a stellar 2024.

Everyone watches the Olympics, in my opinion. If you can win consecutively over the course of an Olympics, that is more significant than just winning. “, he added.

“It turns to being how many times you can win before you lose.” Then you reach the point where you continue to strive for excellence.

You’re attempting to grow bigger, and you’re bringing the question “what will happen if I do keep winning?” or “what occurs if I lose?” ‘.

After spending a number of years studying and swimming at Loughborough University, Wiffen will relocate his training base back to Ireland.

As he prepares for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, he will divide his time between Dublin and America, where his twin Nathan will live later in the year.

Wiffen claims he is unsure about who he will collaborate with in the coming years of his career and that the decision will also mean the end of his long-running partnership with coach Andi Manley.

His current focus will be on the World Championships, where he will compete in the 400-meter freestyle in addition to the longer-distance 800 and 1500 meters.

Before winning his two titles, Wiffen admitted that it “sparked something in me” when he placed seventh in the 400-meter final in Doha.

I want to win, not come in seventh place. I’m re-inputting it because my goal is to finish in seventh place.

We’ll see how it turns out. I’m hoping for a medal in it. I’ve been swimming it for a year, so it will be challenging, but I’m looking forward to the challenge.

He added that although the 400m would serve as a “warm-up” for the longer events, he is still aiming for a podium finish.

Because I try to warm up after 400 meters, this will start to sound strange. We’re talking about attempting to get that swim out before the 800-meter, despite my desire for a medal in it.

Olympic champion Daniel Wiffen believes that winning back-to-back World Championship titles would mean more to him than his gold medal from Paris.

In a stunning 2024, Team Ireland swimmer Wiffen claimed a 1500m and 800m freestyle double at the World Championships and won a historic gold medal in the 800m at the Paris Olympics.

The 23-year-old also won a bronze medal in the 1500m at the Games.

“Everyone says the hardest thing to do is to win a World Championships after an Olympics, and I’m up for the challenge,” Wiffen told BBC Sport NI in anticipation of this year’s World Championships in Singapore.

By winning his gold medal in Paris, Wiffen became the first athlete from Northern Ireland to claim Olympic gold in 36 years.

He will look to replicate that form when he heads to the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, which take place from 11 July to 3 August.

After a golden 2024, Wiffen says he wants to add to his winning legacy and that has given him added motivation heading to the Worlds.

“For me, the Olympics is what everyone watches. If you can win consecutively over the next number of years then it becomes bigger than just winning an Olympics.,” he added.

“It becomes about being how many times can you win before you lose? Then you get to the point where you keep striving for that excellence.

“You’re trying to go bigger and bigger and you are bringing the curiosity of ‘what happens if I do keep winning?’ or ‘what happens if I lose?’.

After the Worlds, Wiffen will move his training base back to Ireland after a number of years studying and swimming at Loughborough University.

He will split his time between Dublin and America, where his twin Nathan will move to at the University of California later in the year, as he builds towards the next Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028.

The move will also mean the end of his successful partnership with coach Andi Manley, and Wiffen says he is undecided on who he will work with in the next stage of his career.

But for now his focus is on the World Championships, where he will add the 400 metre freestyle to the longer-distance 800m and 1500m.

Wiffen finished seventh in the 400m final in Doha before winning his two titles, admitting that “sparked something in me”.

“I don’t want to come in seventh place, I want to win. I’m adding it back in, I’m going to try and better seventh place as my goal.

“We’ll see how it goes. I’m hoping for a medal in it. It will be tough having now swam it for a year but I’m looking forward to it and the challenge.”

He added that the 400m would be treated as a “warm-up” for the longer events, but he is still aiming for a podium finish.

“This is going to sound weird because I try and treat the 400m as a warm-up. Even though I want a medal in it, we’re talking about trying to get that swim out of the way before the 800m.

In order to reach the knockout stages of the Club World Cup, Chelsea have fought through extreme heat, weather warnings, and made four debuts.

The Blues have so far made an estimated £28 million, and they will soon make up the £30 million fee Liam Delap’s Ipswich signing for the club, which was earlier this month.

In addition to defender Mamadou Sarr, the new striker has made his debut in the competition with a goal and an assist in his first three games for the club on US soil.

Chelsea also lost 3-1 to Brazilian giants Flamengo in a tactical experiment, according to manager Enzo Maresca.

Los Angeles FC and ES Tunis, who are weaker in Group D, were held to a comfortable victory.

Chelsea will face Portuguese side Benfica, who defeated Bayern Munich 1-0 in their final group game.

Delap, who signed from Ipswich before the tournament, did a stellar job in the opening game against LAFC. His chipped cross helped the club score Enzo Fernandez’s second goal in a 2-0 victory.

The striker struggled to make an impact in his final Group D appearance against Flamengo, but he did so in the final game for Chelsea.

Delap’s skillful touch and spin allowed him to cut inside and fire past goalkeeper Bechir Ben Said.

We needed to win, and it’s a great feeling, Delap said, “and to get a goal is a special feeling.”

Maresca continued, “We anticipated a quick turn-around for Liam because we already know him and he knows our game.”

He had three clear chances to score goals against Flamengo. That already makes him feel good because it indicates that he is in the right frame of mind.

In both of his first two games, winger Pedro Neto scored with quick, powerful dribbles.

After a disastrous six-minute collapse, where Jackson was forced to take the field after a subpar 3-1 defeat to Flamengo’s Lucas Ayrton, goals from Bruno Henrique and Danilo, cancelled out Neto’s early strike.

The 24-year-old, who was only on the field four minutes after replacing Delap, had already opened the door for his rival to begin the final group game due to his suspension.

Jackson will miss the final-16 tie against Benfica because he was later given a new match ban by world governing body Fifa.

Flamengo’s victory over Chelsea was deemed a “wake-up call” about the opposition level in South America, which enters the Club World Cup in the middle of the season, according to one source.

After booking a base at Philadelphia Union’s Subaru Park stadium and training ground, Chelsea have the unfortunate experience of unseasonably warm weather.

It is “impossible” to train in temperatures of 40C, which are the highest temperature in the area in 13 years, according to Manager Maresca.

Chelsea have conducted “very brief” training sessions with giant fans spraying cold water and drinks breaks after each drill because there have been health warnings for vigorous physical outdoor activity.

Before the Club World Cup, Chelsea qualified for the Champions League, which is worth between £80 million and £100 million and should result in a new lucrative front-of-shirt sponsorship deal.

Given that the Club World Cup is the most lucrative competition in club football per match, according to Fifa, they are on to a double windfall.

The Blues qualified for the tournament with just under $ 38 million (£28 million).

They defeated LAFC and ES Tunis to claim an additional $2 million for each victory in the group stage. In the round of 16, they will also be able to make $7.5 million, which will increase their total to $49.50.

There are additional offers of $ 31 million for quarter-final, $ 21 million for semi-final, and $ 30 million for final entry. The winner will receive an additional $ 40 million.

What about the fans, though, given that the bank balance has improved so far? 32, 967 people showed up for Chelsea’s final group game at the 67, 000-capacity Lincoln Financial Field.

One of them, Bharat from the Philadelphia Blues, told BBC Sport, “I haven’t had any complaints about the organization.

“I get some of the complaints about the player’s welfare,” I said. It will be interesting to see if they make any adjustments as they prepare for the World Cup in 2015’s dry run.

Cathy, a British Chelsea fan, hasn’t missed a game away from home for 47 years and was one of the few to travel to the US to continue her run.

She claimed that the competition’s quality and pricing are “overly high.”

It has only been watched by fans of the competition’s participating teams, which is Fifa’s own goal.

For the game against Benfica, the club has revealed that the club’s fans can purchase 500 lower tier tickets for $ 153 and 466 value tier tickets for $ 35 respectively.