EUROPEAN UNDER-21 CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL England v Germany: STUART PEARCE has told his England under-21 side that heroic failure counts for nothing and thAt they must create a new chapter of history when they face Germany in the European Championship final in Malmo today.
Pearce has been part of several near misses – losing as a player in semi-finals against Germany on penalties at Italia ’90 and Euro ’96 – and he is not satisfied by qualifying for this tournament, travelling to Sweden and reaching the final.
The fact the final is against old rivals Germany adds to the pressure, with Pearce willing to settle for nothing less than victory.
“Success is not coming away as a gallant loser,” he said. “We feel we have had no success yet. The only way we will deem to have success is if we win. Whoever goes away without the trophy will not think they have had a good tournament.”
Fabio Capello, the England senior manager, has been credited with creating a winning mentality in the past 18 months, a change from years of underachievement since England defeated Germany at the 1966 World Cup.
England’s finest hour came while wearing red shirts against Germany but there will be no repeat of that this time around as Horst Hrubesch’s side have chosen to wear red despite being the “home” team.
In any case, Pearce wants his youngsters to forget about past encounters against Germany. “Any matches in the past are in the past,” he said. “My only concern is the match. The only history we want to create is a victory for us. As for games gone by, they have no relevance.”
Pearce appeared intense and totally focused when he sat next to Hrubesch at Swedbank Stadion, barely cracking a smile as he answered questions on the final.
What will be the toughest part of the game? “Facing 11 German players,” he said.
It was not confirmed until later that Joe Hart’s appeal against suspension had failed, with the goalkeeper joining Gabriel Agbonlahor and Fraizer Campbell on the sidelines.
Agbonlahor and Campbell being banned means Theo Walcott is set to start as Pearce’s central striker despite feeling cramp in his calves after 120 minutes against Sweden on Friday.
“Theo has blistering pace and he causes teams problems,” said Pearce. “Pace in the modern day is a great commodity and he has that in abundance.”
Capello wants to travel to the game to look at Walcott and other youngsters who could play a part in next year’s World Cup. “We have had lots of interest from Fabio and the staff,” he said. “Everyone else connected with us is coming such as Ray Clemence and Trevor Brooking.”
England trained at their base in Varberg rather than at the stadium, a routine that served them well through the group stages when they fielded a second string and drew with Germany. “The group game has no bearing whatsoever,” Pearce insisted.
Germany did train at the ground and saw Marcel Schmelzer pick up an injury, while Marki Marin is already a doubt and Ashkan Dejagah is suspended.
One thing Hrubesch is confident of is there being no penalties, like the famous matches of the past when Pearce was involved. “You don’t have to worry about penalties because it will be decided inside 90 minutes,” he said. “For Germany, for sure.”
