Football: Uefa European Under-21 Championship

England, James Milner, Age: 23, Position: Forward, Club: Aston Villa
Milner is England’s most capped player at this level (42) and an integral part of this current side. He started all four matches at the last championships and was an ever-present in qualifying for this tournament. The player’s experience, as well as talent, could prove crucial in Sweden Photograph: Mike Egerton/Empics Sport

Spain, Bojan Krkic, Age: 18, Position: Striker, Club: Barcelona
Quick and skillful, Krkic has raced through the youth ranks at both club and international level and is now regarded as one of the most exciting prospects in world football. He is the youngest Barcelona player to played in the Champions League and scored in La Liga Photograph: Albert Oliv /EPA

Germany, Mesut Ozil, Age: 20, Position: Forward, Club: Werder Bremen
Surprise met Werder Bremen’s decision to pay almost £5m for Ozil last January but after a superb first full season at the club, during which he scored the winning goal in their German Cup final victory over Bayer Leverkusen and made his debut for the senior national side, excitement now surrounds the player known for incisive passing Photograph: Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters

Finland, Tim Sparv, Age: 22, Position: Midfield, Club: Halmstad
Sparv is Finland’s captain, playmaker and penalty-taker, with three of his spot-kicks resulting in 1-0 wins over Denmark, Slovenia and Lithuania during qualifying. He has the advantage of knowing Theo Walcott from a brief spell in the Southampton youth side six years ago Photograph: Toru Yamanaka/AFP/Getty Images

Sweden, Pontus Wernbloom, Age: 22 Position: Midfield, Club: IFK Göteborg
Comfortable up front as well in midfield, Wernbloom is expected to make an impact for the hosts. His record of 43 goals in 138 games for Göteborg has earned him a move to the Dutch champions AZ Alkmaar, whom he will join after the championships, as well as two caps for the Sweden senior side Photograph: Patrick Straub /EPA

Belarus, Sergei Kryvets, Age: 23, Position: Midfield, Club: FC Bate A latecomer to the side, Kryvets is now a key member for Belarus. Not only versatile – he has played as a defensive midfielder, playmaker and on the right wing for the Under-21s – Kryvets also has experience at the highest level having scored for his club in their 2-2 draw with Juventus during last season’s Champions League Photograph: Sergei Grits/AP

Serbia, Zoran Tosic, Age: 22, Position: Winger, Club: Manchester United
Having joined the Premier League champions from Partizan Belgrade in January, Tosic will see the championships as a chance to stake his claim for a first start under Sir Alex Ferguson. He was a key member of the Serbia side that got to the final two years ago and has since gone on to win 13 caps for the senior side Photograph: Phil Noble/Reuters

Italy, Mario Balotelli, Age: 18, Position: Striker, Club: Internazionale
The Italy manager, Marcello Lippi, expects Balotelli to “achieve big things in the future” and will almost certainly give the player his first senior international cap soon. Born in Palermo to Ghanaian parents, Balotelli has scored 11 times for Inter and got both goals in Italy’s play-off victory over Israel, which secured their place in Sweden Photograph: Sakis Savvides/AFP/Getty Images