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Cattermole keeps England on track

Lee Cattermole is convinced reaching the semi-finals of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship is only the start for England, although he is urging the squad to retain a sense of perspective.

Lee Cattermole is determined England will keep their eye on the ball
Lee Cattermole is determined England will keep their eye on the ball ©Sportsfile

Lee Cattermole is convinced reaching the UEFA European Under-21 Championship semi-finals is only the start for England, although he is urging the squad to retain a sense of perspective despite victories against Finland and Spain.

Job well done
Stuart Pearce's side recovered from James Milner's first-half penalty miss to secure a second successive Group B win against Spain thanks to strikes in the final quarter from Fraizer Campbell and Milner, and as far as Cattermole is concerned the victory was just reward for a job well done. "We knew it was a big game and we could potentially end up in the semi-finals of a European Championship," the midfielder told uefa.com. "There was a lot at stake and the lads played very well, we were very tight and hard to break down. We limited their chances, kicked on second half and created our own."

Walcott wonder
A key figure was Theo Walcott, who came off the bench to set up Milner's goal with a searing burst. Having appeared in the senior teams's FIFA World Cup qualifying wins against Kazakhstan and Andorra at the start of the month the Arsenal FC forward might have been expected to be an automatic starting selection but, according to Cattermole, the way he responded to being dropped sums up the character in the England camp. "Theo was gutted to be left out but that's what we've got a squad for," he explained. "He could have easily got the hump and not turned up but his attitude was spot on. He came on and was absolutely brilliant."

'Real belief'

Alongside Fabrice Muamba – whose display against Spain was described by Pearce as "as good a performance from a holding midfielder you will ever see" – and Mark Noble, Cattermole forms a powerful trio in the middle of the pitch for England. "We like to set a high tempo," said the Wigan Athletic FC man. "We like inviting teams on to us because we've got a lot of pace up front. We showed that with the goals we scored – if anyone gives us a chance we're on to it. For the last two or three weeks in training we've been playing on a lot of wet surfaces and it's been tremendous, the attitude has been fantastic. There's real belief about us at the minute."

High quality
The 21-year-old has been part of the U21 setup since the age of 17 and had no doubts as to the quality in Pearce's 23-man party, now in the last four for the second successive finals. "It's the best squad I've been involved in," he said. "Training's at such a high level and with the competition for places it must be so hard for the gaffer to pick the team. I don't think we're over the top thinking we're going to go on and win the tournament but we know we've got a good chance."

Positive attitude
Almost before the final whistle had sounded at the Gamla Ullevi, Pearce was urging his players to keep their focus in their third and final game against Germany when a point will suffice to earn a return to Gothenburg in the semi-finals as Group B winners. Cattermole is equally adamant that momentum must be maintained. "We'll look at Germany and prepare for that," he said. "We're looking to win the group. We want to keep an unbeaten run for as long as possible; if you switch off it's very hard to turn yourself back on."

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