Character drives Pearce's England

It was the defining image of Stuart Pearce's England career. Fist pumping the air; a cry of "come on!"; a taut grimace rousing both team-mates and a heaving Wembley to greater heights. The celebration that followed his penalty in the shoot-out against Spain in the EURO '96™ quarter-finals, was as much about healing the pain of missing from the spot against Germany in the 1990 FIFA World Cup semi-finals as it was about firing England back into the last four of a major tournament. It was a moment of atonement, a moment of release.

'Tough tests'
Thirteen years on, Pearce once again has unfinished business to attend to following the hearthache of losing a penalty shoot-out. This time it is the marathon 13-12 defeat by the Netherlands in the semi-finals of the 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Championship that rankles. Pearce, though, believes he has the players to make amends in 2009. "They've got character, they are prepared to fight and battle and scrap," he told uefa.com. "As a group under my management, we have had some tough tests. We hope to come again this summer, give a good account of ourselves, get more experience, and hopefully play one more match [than 2007]."

Experience
James Milner, Steven Taylor, Tom Huddlestone, Matt Derbyshire and Joe Hart are likely to be the only survivors from that squad to feature for England this summer, but Pearce can still boast a side packed with Premier League and senior international experience. Part of Pearce's role is to prepare players for the senior team, and the 46-year-old reckons the best way to do that is by winning trophies. Consequently, he will be pressing senior coach Fabio Capello to make Arsenal FC winger Theo Walcott available for the tournament. "Theo has been a big part of the qualification campaign and, as far as I'm concerned, I want the strongest side we can possibly have to make an attempt at winning this tournament," Pearce said.

Italian example
He uses the example of Italy, five-time champions at this level, to make his point. "I've only got to look at the Italian squad that won the World Cup two years ago – seven or eight of them have got U21 championship medals as well. For me, the two go hand in hand. The Spaniards are very good at [underage tournaments] as well and they have just won the [UEFA] European Championship. I feel we have to win things at a young age group to have success at senior level, so for me not to take the best squad available would be absolute folly."

Walcott example
Walcott was a key figure for Pearce ahead of his call-up by Capello in September, and his success has served as an inspiration to his peers. Striker Gabriel Agbonlahor, who picked up the baton for the U21s in Walcott's absence, has also made his England debut since. With a number of Pearce's other players also on the fringes of Capello's squad, the former Nottingham Forest FC defender is benefiting from such close co-operation with the senior set-up – particularly working alongside the Italian.

'Massive honour'
"It's been a massive honour," he said. "For a learning curve for a young manager, which I view myself, I'd pay money to go and work alongside him and be taught by him, given the CV he's got. He's fantastic. To see the players who have been with me at U21 level with the seniors as well, is a fantastic experience, and it will help the young players. They know the path from U21 football to senior football isn't so far."

New challenge
A strong showing in Sweden in June would help bring that target one step closer. England breezed through their qualifying group before being pushed to the limit by Wales in the play-offs. They have already played ten games to get this far, but after being drawn against Germany, Spain and Finland in Group B, Pearce knows they will have to improve still further. "I've got to praise the team for getting through, but we feel as though the pressure has built up now for the finals and the eight teams that are there are very, very good sides," he said. "To win this tournament, even to get out of the group, we will probably have to play better than we did in qualifying." And yes, Pearce adds, practising penalties "will be an absolutely vital part of preparations" as England look to win the title for the first time in 25 years.

To watch this interview in the uefa.com Magazine, click here.