Past defeats do not haunt Pearce

Three semi-finals at international tournaments; three gut-wrenching defeats in penalty shoot-outs. Stuart Pearce might be forgiven for looking ahead to Friday's UEFA European Under-21 Championship semi-final against Sweden with a degree of trepidation, but instead the England manager is in bullish mood, insisting: "We've been here before."

Semi-final defeats
Pearce won 78 caps for his country during his playing career but is best remembered for just two; the 1990 FIFA World Cup semi-final against West Germany, when he missed England's fourth kick in a 4-3 shoot-out defeat, and the meeting between the teams at the same stage of EURO '96™, when he converted his penalty but England still bowed out. There was more last-four heartbreak in store as a manager in the U21 finals two years ago when his side went down 13-12 to the Netherlands following an epic 32-kick shoot-out, and Pearce is hoping for a change of fortune this time round. "It's so tight at this level; you've got to get to the semi-finals with momentum and with players not suspended."

'On our knees'
The England manager is speaking from experience; two years ago he admits his side were "absolutely on our knees" at the end of the semi-final but, having had the opportunity to rest players in Monday's 1-1 draw against Germany which concluded their Group B campaign, Pearce expects a different outcome. "Two years ago, Holland and Serbia both got to the final and [Serbia] rested players in the third group game against us, the Dutch did that as well – I think it's helpful," he said. "If we'd got to the final, we were absolutely on our knees. I don't think we could have won the final; we didn't have enough players. This time we're hopefully going into it with 23 fit and available players."

'Questions answered'
Pearce made ten changes against Germany and offered particular praise for Jack Rodwell, describing the 18-year-old's display as "beyond his years". A recurring theme has been the manager's determination to emphasise the importance of the squad, a point he repeated ahead of the semi-final. "I've spelled out that we can only win this tournament with numbers one to 23 contributing," he said. "The players have done so much for me in training but that wasn't totally why certain people got on the pitch – I need to know about one or two. If we need them over the next two games I need to know if they're going to be calm enough or good enough. A lot of my questions have been answered."

'Focused and flat-out'
The larger issue is whether England – who have not won an international title at any level since their U18 triumph in 1993 – can overcome the semi-final jinx that has plagued them. "I've been to semi-finals before and if you're not focused and flat-out, it's time to go home," said Pearce, who has four players in his squad who shared that disappointment in 2007. "Myself and the coaching staff have had the experience of a couple of years ago which is serving us well now. We've got four or five players who have walked this line before. We just hope that we go one step further and get the experience of a major final. Whoever we take on will have a tough game on their hands; whether we're good enough on the night to win I can never tell you. We'll be prepared and focused; so will the opposition and may the best team win."