Pearce keeps pushing England

Two games, two victories, two goals in each and a semi-final place secured with one match to spare, but if any of the England squad were thinking about easing up n Monday's third and final Group B game against Germany at the UEFA European Under-21 Championship, their manager Stuart Pearce will be swift to disabuse them of that notion.

Crucial momentum
Wins against Finland and Spain have guaranteed progress to the last four regardless of the result against Germany and, though the historical resonance of fixtures between the two sides virtually ensures the contest in Halmstad will be anything but low key, Pearce is eager for his squad to maintain their momentum. "When you're involved in these tournaments, if you take your foot of the gas for one moment it's fatal," he said. "You never pick the tempo up again. I've seen it many times before and it won't happen here."

'Million miles away'
That theory was borne out last summer at UEFA EURO 2008™ when the four group winners – Portugal, Croatia, the Netherlands and Spain – all opted to make wholesale changes for their final games with qualification assured. All bar Spain bowed out in the quarter-finals, and Pearce is determined to ensure his side will not fall into the same trap. When asked if reaching the last four means the tournament can already be counted as a success, he replied: "It's a million miles away from it. We've got a game on Monday night I'm desperate to win; every time England come up against Germany there's a lot on it. It's a group match of a major championship and a learning curve for the players. We know we've got to improve to get through the semi-final; the dressing room are aware of that."

'All have to contribute'
The England manager is likely to give several of his fringe players a chance to impress in Halmstad, although he insists there will be no drop in intensity or quality. "If we're going to get over the finish line we're only going to do it with 23 players – never with eleven," he said. "I've told the players many times when you come to these tournaments, if you're going to be successful all 23 players have to contribute. There's one or two of this squad that are really growing on me and Kieran [Gibbs] is certainly one of them, Danny Rose has not featured yet and he's got a character about him, Jack Rodwell [too]. A few youngsters have really given us a lift, the dynamic within the group is as good as I've ever known it. There's a spirit there."

Passing shortcomings
England's form in Sweden has made them strong contenders to lift the trophy in Malmo on 29 June but Pearce knows there is still plenty of hard work ahead. "In our squad, we've got pace and power; we've got pace on the counterattack and the modern game is based on that. We've got a strong mentality, but what we didn't do once again was pass it as well as we can. We have to be a little more brave; as the game went on we gained confidence in passing the ball. We just need to keep building that because guts alone won't get us over the line. We've got that in abundance, but we need to pass the ball better. I'm aware of that shortcoming. I'm pleased to have six points but we won't get carried away with this."