U21 Euros preview

Jon Holmes previews Group A ahead of the Uefa European Under 21 Championship in Denmark.

England's poor performance in their Euro 2012 qualifier against Switzerland at Wembley brought back painful reminders of their World Cup misadventures in South Africa last year. But for those who love tournament football, there's plenty to look forward to this summer. Manchester United's Javier Hernandez is already hitting hat-tricks for Mexico in the CONCACAF Gold Cup in the United States (runs until June 25), while Argentina host the Copa America in the first three weeks of July. And for those of us in Europe, the growing prestige of the U21 Euros suggests we're about to experience an exciting fortnight of football in Jutland. The Danish peninsula is the venue for the 18th staging of the European Under-21 Championship, and with a spread of eight countries from across the continent - the 'big guns' duo from the west, a pair of highly-rated central European national teams, two sides from the former Soviet bloc, and another Scandinavian country to join the hosts - it's about as cosmopolitan as you can get in a Uefa competition. There are certainly some surprise absentees. Five-time winners Italy will be missing after they were beaten 3-2 on aggregate in the play-offs by Belarus, while two-time champions Russia (as Soviet Union) and the Netherlands (2006 and 2007) also failed to qualify. Holders Germany didn't even make the play-offs, and neither did France. This year's tournament is particularly interesting as there is an extra incentive on offer - three places in next summer's Olympic football tournament at London 2012. If England reach the last four (as part of Great Britain, they will play in 2012 as hosts), the remaining semi-finalists will qualify. Otherwise, a third/fourth place play-off will be added to the schedule. Four stadiums are being used by the Danish FA. Aalborg, Viborg and Herning all have capacities of around 10,000, while Aarhus (around 20,000) will host the final, as well as three group games. Only players born on or after 1 January, 1988, are eligible for the tournament, which means there are plenty of 23-year-olds involved - but they were all Under 21 at the start of the qualifying phase. Hosts Denmark were placed in Group A alongside Iceland, Switzerland and Belarus. Here's the lowdown on the teams...