England

England are back at an Under-17 final tournament for the first time since 2011, when they reached the semi-finals in Serbia. Having missed just two finals in the first ten editions of the competition, the Three Lions – winners in 2010 – were eliminated at the elite round stage in 2012 and 2013.

After an eye-catching qualifying round this season, in which England scored 18 unanswered goals, John Peacock's side were similarly impressive in the elite round. Victories against mini-tournament hosts the Czech Republic, Albania and Italy ensured they finished as one of only three teams to pick up maximum points from their six fixtures.

Qualifying round: Armenia 4-0, Gibraltar 8-0, Republic of Ireland 6-0 (Group 7 winners)

Elite round: Czech Republic 1-0, Albania 1-0, Italy 2-1 (Group 4 winners)

Key players
Lewis Cook (midfielder, Leeds United AFC), Dominic Solanke (forward, Chelsea FC), Adam Armstrong (forward, Newcastle United FC)

Coach: John Peacock

Date of Birth: 27 March 1956
Nationality: English
Playing career: Scunthorpe United FC
Coaching career: England U16, Derby County FC (academy), England U17/U20

Peacock, who led England to their first U17 title in 2010, was a player until injury ended his career aged 24. He qualified as a coach three years later and spent eight years at the Football Association (FA) in a variety of roles. In 1998 he took charge of Derby's academy.

Peacock was appointed by the FA to be the England U17 coach in 2002, later landing the U20 role. He has only missed out on the U17 finals four times since, finishing runners-up in 2007, also qualifying for a FIFA U-17 World Cup debut and making the last eight, and winning in Liechtenstein in 2010. He passed 200 games in charge earlier this season.

Since 2007 Peacock has also been the FA's head of coaching and is among a very small number of Englishmen to hold the FA Academy Directors' Licence and UEFA Pro Licence. He is a believer in a holistic approach, interested in educational and welfare provision for young players as well as improving their footballing ability − while at Derby his brightest charges studied for the UK's A-level exams (for 18-year-olds) at the prestigious Repton public school.

Team records

Qualifying top scorer
 Adam Armstrong: 7

UEFA European Under-17 Championship best
Winners 2010

Honours in UEFA youth competitions
 UEFA European Under-19 Championship
Runners-up 2005, 2009
 UEFA European Under-18 Championship
Winners 1993
 International Youth Tournament (U18)
Winners 1948, 1963, 1964, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1980
Runners-up 1958, 1965, 1967