England prepare for penalties
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Article summary
Stuart Pearce, a man who knows all about missing vital penalties, staged a mock shoot-out after England's victory against Slovakia.
Article body
Stuart Pearce has particular reason for wanting his England squad to avoid shoot-outs at the UEFA European Under-21 Championship.
England win
Having had the misfortune of spurning a crucial penalty for his country in the 1990 FIFA World Cup semi-finals, Pearce knows only too well the impact that such a miss can have on a young player. To help his side as much as possible, Pearce staged a special shoot-out after England's 5-0 friendly victory against Slovakia on Tuesday night. The young lions' penalty prowess was evident for all to see as they won 4-3 in Norwich but the real test of whether they can shake off England's long-standing spot-kick misfortune may not come until the latter stages in the Netherlands.
Misery
"I've been to three championships and lost two on penalties," said Pearce, who scored in the shoot-out win against Spain and defeat by Germany at EURO '96™. "It might just be the thing that wins us the trophy." England have been eliminated from three World Cups on penalties since 1990, including in last year's quarter-finals against Portugal having fallen to the same opponents in the same manner at UEFA EURO 2004™.
