England must take final step, says Pearce

STUART PEARCE has told his England Under-21s that heroic failure counts for nothing – and they must create a new chapter of history when they face Germany in the European Championship final in Malmo tonight (7.45pm).

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.”

Seniors boss Fabio Capello 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 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 suffered a blow yesterday when Joe Hart’s appeal against his suspension 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.

“All the players are 100%,” Pearce said. “For any coach to come to a final and have everyone fit and on form, you can’t ask for any more.

“Wherever they are asked to play, they will do with professionalism. We pick a team to win the match and want a big performance for everyone.

“Theo has blistering pace and causes problems. Pace is a great commodity. and he has that in abundance.”

One thing an ultra confident Hrubesch is sure 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.”