England U21s: What happened to the players from last Young Lions team to reach a European Championship final in 2009?

Former Watford goalkeeper Loach was only taken to the Euros as a backup for Joe Hart, but after the then-Manchester City man picked up a booking in the penalty shootout during England's last-four clash with Sweden, he was suspended for the final.

Loach came in and was at fault for Germany's second goal amid a very forgettable performance, but would go on to play for England's U21s for a couple more years and also received two call-ups to the senior squad. The shot-stopper was never able to land his first cap, though, and after leaving Watford in 2012, he became something of a journeyman.

After spells at Ipswich, Rotherham, Notts County, Hartlepool, Barnet and Chesterfield, Loach joined Derby County in 2022, and the 35-year-old signed a one-year extension with the Rams last month.

Cranie was on the books of Premier League Portsmouth at the time of the U21s Euros, but joined Coventry City in a £550,000 deal after the tournament. He played in 120 games for the Sky Blues, but left after their relegation to League One in 2012 to join Barnsley.

The defender went on to take in a spell at Huddersfield, and helped them achieve promotion to the Premier League before moving on to Middlesbrough in 2018. Cranie retired three years later after stints at Sheffield United and Luton Town.

Richards came through the academy ranks at Manchester City, and enjoyed great success at the club alongside Hart after their Abu Dhabi takeover. The versatile defender won two Premier League titles, one FA Cup and one League Cup with City, and also made eight appearances for England on the senior stage.

City eventually loaned Richards to Fiorentina in 2014, and he was sold to Aston Villa a year later. Form and fitness eluded Richards in the West Midlands, which led to him retiring at the early age of 31 in 2019. He has since become a popular pundit for Sky Sports and the BBC, notably striking up a hilarious relationship with Manchester United legend Roy Keane.

Another City academy graduate, Onuoha struck up a solid partnership with Richards at the back for England's U21s, but never managed to step up to senior level. He did make 116 appearances for City, though, and left with a Premier League winners' medal when QPR came calling in 2012.

Onuoha spent six years at Loftus Road before taking on a new challenge in MLS with Real Salt Lake. He retired in 2020 aged 34, after featuring in 50 games for Real Salt Lake and famously clashing with former LA Galaxy superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic. He has since begun to forge a successful punditry career.

Arsenal youngster Gibbs completed England's defence against Germany, and went on to enjoy a solid, if unspectacular career. The left-back won three FA Cups during his 10-year stay with the Gunners, making over 200 appearances across all competitions.

Gibbs joined West Brom in 2017 and turned out in both the Premier League and Championship for the Baggies over the next four years before following Onuoha's lead and heading to America. After two seasons at Inter Miami, Gibbs mutually agreed to terminate his contract in February and joined the club's broadcasting team, but might have had the chance to play with Lionel Messi if he'd stayed on the pitch for a bit longer!

The most remarkable story to come out of England's 2009 U21s side was that of Muamba, who started his career at Arsenal and Birmingham City before becoming a household name at Bolton Wanderers. Muamba played in 130 Premier League games for Bolton, but everything changed for him after an FA Cup quarter-final clash with Tottenham in March 2012.

The midfielder suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch and his heart stopped beating for 78 minutes, but he miraculously survived after being rushed to hospital and receiving numerous defibrillator shocks. Muamba made a full recovery within the space of three weeks and was discharged from hospital after being fitted with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD).

Muamba was tragically forced to retire at the age of 24 in August of that year after advice from a leading cardiologist. He eventually moved into coaching and recently had a spell as manager of Bolton's U15s.

Cattermole began his career at Middlesbrough before taking in a brief spell at Wigan, and after his appearance in the Euros final with England's U21s, he joined Sunderland in a £6m deal. During his 10-year stay at the Stadium of Light, Cattermole developed a reputation as an ill-disciplined enforcer, but did also bring technical quality to his role in the middle of the park.

He could do nothing to prevent Sunderland from falling to back-to-back relegations in 2017 and 2018, though, and made the surprise switch to Dutch outfit VVV-Venlo in August 2019, before retiring at the age of 32 the following year.

Noble had already been a member of West Ham's senior squad for five years by the time the U21 Euros rolled around, which made him the ideal captaincy candidate. The combative midfielder would also skipper the Hammers for the majority of his career thereafter, becoming a club legend in the process.

After 18 years and 550 appearances for West Ham, Noble retired in May 2022. Only six players have ever played more Premier League games for one club than Noble, who also featured in nine Europa League matches during the Hammers' run to the semi-finals during his final campaign.

Noble took up the sporting director role at the London Stadium in January.

Milner is without question the most decorated player on this list, having won every major trophy available across his stellar 21-year career at the highest level. He has appeared in 619 Premier League matches for five different clubs to date, with his most fruitful spells coming at Manchester City and Liverpool.

The Leeds academy graduate has three Premier League titles, two FA Cups, and two League Cups on his CV, along with Club World Cup and UEFA Super Cup honours, and has also won 61 caps for England's senior team.

Milner will still be going strong in the Premier League at the age of 37 next season, as Brighton brought him in on a free transfer following his departure from Liverpool at the end of June.

Johnson spent six years at Middlesbrough before joining Manchester City in 2010, and also played for Sunderland. The winger made eight appearances for England, too, but he was jailed for six years after being found guilty of one count of sexual activity with a child in 2016.

Johnson was released in March 2019 after serving half of his sentence, but has not played a single game of professional football since his conviction.

Walcott already had four senior caps and three goals under his belt when he went to the U21 Euros with England in 2009, having famously been called up to the Three Lions' World Cup squad as a 17-year-old by Sven Goran Eriksson three years earlier.

After leaving boyhood club Southampton in 2006, Walcott spent the next 12 years at Arsenal, scoring 108 goals across 397 matches. Alongside Gibbs, the pacey attacker also picked up three FA Cup winners' medals, but was sold to Everton for £20m in 2018.

Walcott, who has appeared in 47 games for England in total, returned to Southampton on loan in 2020 before making the move permanent. His contract expired at the end of last season, and the 34-year-old is now being strongly linked with a move to League One outfit Reading.

Mancienne is one of the many young English players to have failed to make the grade at Chelsea over the past 20 years, despite a promising loan spell at QPR between 2006 and 2008 that saw him singled out as a future star.

The defender eventually left Chelsea in 2011 with just six senior appearances on his record, joining Bundesliga side Hamburg for just £2m. Mancienne also had spells at Nottingham Forest, MLS club the New England Revolution and Burton Albion - but retired in May 2023 due to a knee injury at 35.

Rodwell was tipped as a generational talent after stepping into Everton's first-team squad as a 16-year-old in 2007. He impressed enough at Goodison Park to earn a £15m move to Manchester City in 2012, but was never able to hold down a regular spot in the starting XI at the Etihad Stadium.

Niggling injury problems hindered his progress, and they continued after he was sold to Sunderland in 2014. Rodwell only played 76 times for the Black Cats in four years before taking in a torrid spell at Sheffield United.

He moved to Australia in 2021, and is currently playing for Sydney FC in the A-League.

Gardner made 260 Premier League appearances alongside 67 Championship outings during his 15-year career, which began at Aston Villa. A central midfielder by trade, Gardner was also a useful utility player capable of playing in a variety of other positions, which helped him to keep playing at a high level for a prolonged period.

He joined Villa's arch-rivals Birmingham City in 2010 before enjoying stints at Sunderland and West Brom, but returned to St Andrew's in 2017. Gardner took on a player-coach role for the Blues in 2019-20 and finally hung up his boots at the end of that season.