What Happened to England U21s That Started vs Italy at Wembley in 2007

For many of the modern generation, the Old Wembley is something of the past. In fact, for all England fans, it’s a distant memory. Nowadays, the Home of Football is simply known as Wembley Stadium – though those of the older generation can’t help but call it the ‘New Wembley’.

Back in March 2007, the opening of London’s stunning ground was graced with a six-goal thriller – which ended 3-3 – courtesy of England’s Under-21s and their opponents on the day, Italy’s Under-21s. The memorable fixture happened 2,358 days following the closure of the old and iconic stadium. It represented a changing of the guard and, ever since, players from all corners of the globe have dreamed of gracing the famous turf.

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But what happened to Nigel Pearson’s bunch of youngsters that day? How many went on to play for England’s senior team? Are any players still plying their trade in 2025? Below is the starting XI of the England Under-21s. Let’s take a closer look at how they have fared since.

Goalkeeper and Defence

Lee Camp; Liam Rosenior, Anton Ferdinand, Gary Cahill & Leighton Baines

In between the sticks for England on the day was Lee Camp, a man who struggled to worm his way into the Three Lions squad. As such, a switch of allegiance was on the cards for the now-40-year-old, and he chalked up eight appearances for Northern Ireland.

At club level, the shot-stopper played for an array of clubs in England – Bournemouth, West Bromwich Albion and Nottingham Forest included – before moving to Wales, finishing his playing days in Wales with Wrexham.

Liam Rosenior never managed to assert himself as a regular in the English top flight, spending most of his career on the fringes of Fulham, Hull City and Brighton & Hove Albion, with the latter being his final club. He replaced Patrick Vieira as the manager of French club Strasbourg in the summer of 2024.

Of those who played against the Italians, former Chelsea man Gary Cahill – one of the greatest January signings in Premier League history – is undoubtedly the most successful. Dronfield-born Cahill went on to become a two-time Premier League winner and a one-time Champions League winner for Chelsea, while he also finished his career as a 61-cap England international.

Unable to follow in the footsteps of his older brother Rio, Anton Ferdinand still enjoyed a respectable career in the Premier League with the likes of West Ham United, Sunderland and Queens Park Rangers. The London-born centre-back hung up his boots in 2019 while at St. Mirren.

Unluckily for Leighton Baines, the fact that Ashley Cole played in the same position as him restricted his England career. An Everton cult hero, Kirkby-born Baines, now First Team Assistant Manager of his beloved Toffees, racked up 30 appearances at senior international level – but it was at club level that he became a household name.

Midfielders

David Bentley, Nigel Reo-Coker & Kieran Richardson

As one of the best players to play for both Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, there was never any doubt about David Bentley’s talent. Retiring at the tender age of 29, the once-promising youngster managed to rack up seven senior England caps before his adieu and even managed to win the Premier League with the Gunners back in 2003-04.

Now running a company in Marbella, which consists of looking after a series of bars and restaurants, who knows what the midfielder could’ve achieved if he hadn’t prematurely hung up his boots?

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Nigel Reo-Coker was trusted by Pearson and his entourage with the captain’s armband on the day. The defensive midfielder, born in London, enjoyed a decent career at the top of English football until Bolton Wanderers’ relegation in 2012.

Post-2017, Reo-Coker endured a tough ride, having stints away from the game – once between January 2016 and May 2017 and again between June 2017 and March 2018 – before retiring at Milton Keynes Dons. He racked up 23 appearances for England Under-21s but never played for the senior team – which is perhaps unsurprising after he accidentally told Sven-Goran Eriksson to “f off”. He now pops up on American TV as a pundit for CBS Sports.

Once a product of West Ham United’s youth set-up, Kieran Richardson’s move to Old Trafford failed to pull up trees in the early stages of his career. The two-time Premier League champion – who enjoyed one of the greatest England debuts in history – enjoyed stints at Sunderland, Fulham and Aston Villa followed before calling time while on the books at Cardiff City. The 40-year-old now lives a very different life, selling luxury watches.

Forwards

Wayne Routledge, Leroy Lita & Gabriel Agbonlahor

The diminutive Wayne Routledge was deployed on the right flank by Pearson back in 2007. He enjoyed quite a journeyman career in his pomp, playing for the likes of Crystal Palace, Aston Villa and Tottenham, while enjoying temporary spells at Portsmouth, Fulham, Cardiff and QPR.

The one-time League Cup winner – with Swansea back in 2013 – winger enjoyed the majority of his career with the Welsh outfit. Between 2011 and 2021, the 11-cap England Under-21 international racked up 33 goals and 35 assists in 305 outings for them.

Incredibly, 40-year-old Leroy Lita is the only player from Pearson’s starting line-up to still be playing football. Born in Kinshasa but an England international, Leicestershire-based Barwell in the Southern League Premier Division Central is Lita’s current team. During his professional career, the striker played for a host of clubs. He spent the majority of his professional playing days with Reading (100 outings) and notched 124 goals and a further 30 assists in his 446-game career.

Now on your television screens as one of football’s pundits, Gabriel Agbonlahor flanked Lita, who was playing down the middle. Best known for his audacious takes post-retirement, the Birmingham-born forward racked up a trio of senior England appearances.

At domestic level, Agbonlahor is widely recognised as one of Aston Villa’s greatest-ever strikers in Premier League history, having scored 73 goals for the club. A speedster of the highest order, he also played for Sheffield Wednesday and Watford.