OK, it’s only the under 21s, but let me celebrate England’s success!

A few days ago I asked if I would ever see an England team win anything in my lifetime and now the under twenty-one team have gone and got themselves into the final of the European Championships. I’m absolutely thrilled, although, obviously, I am well aware that it doesn’t mean much. Just let me enjoy it!

England last won this tournament twenty-five years ago and as we all know, the senior team hasn’t won anything for forty-three years. After watching the British Lions rugby team get beaten in South Africa (only two English players good enough to get in the fifteen man team), the England cricket team get easily knocked out of the twenty-twenty world cup (our best player is South African) and all English tennis players lose on the first day of Wimbledon (Andy Murray is Scottish), you can surely understand why we might want to celebrate the achievements of our young players in Sweden.

Passion

The coach of the under twenty-one side is Stuart Pearce, a man who symbolises many of the good English qualities of guts, determination and passion, but who lacks some of the flair and footballing tactical nous of some of the top coaches.

I have no doubt that ’Psycho’ will give a rousing team talk before the players take to the field tomorrow evening but you can rest assured it won’t be about passing and moving, keeping possession or how to be more tactically astute than the Germans. It will be about battling and fighting. He has already said as much.

“The team who has the most guts, takes their chances and maybe has enough fit players will win. We came here to win, now we want to take the trophy home. As a nation we have played fantastically well and not got anything out of some matches. We can play a hell of a lot better than we did against Sweden, the players will be focused on Monday because the message for the last two years has been that we have come here to win the trophy. There is only one team that stands in our way now. We’re looking forward to it and come Monday we should win.”

Pearce is certainly right when he says that England can play better than they did in the semi-final against Sweden. The first half saw England take a 3-0 lead with three set pieces. They were strolling to victory and then Sweden were allowed back into the game and with three goals in the last twenty-five minutes they took the game into extra-time.

England somehow survived extra-time even though substitute Fraizer Campbell got sent-off and the tie went to everybody in England’s biggest nightmare, the penalty shoot-out. When James Milner fell over and blasted England’s first penalty into Norway we all feared the worst. However, the young England side flew in the face of tradition and went on to win and book a place against the Germans in Monday’s final.

Suspended

The downside for England is that their goalkeeper, Manchester City’s, now on loan to Birmingham, Joe Hart got himself booked in the shoot-out for ‘ungentlemanly conduct’ and is suspended for the final. Also suspended are strikers Gabby Agbonlahor and Fraizer Campbell. Not a disaster you might think as tournaments are a squad game and the chance will go to another striker. Unfortunately, it was felt that two strikers would be more than enough in our twenty-three man squad so there isn’t another one. The largely ineffective Theo Walcott will be asked to swap his wide role for that of a lone striker.

In the group stages England and Germany drew 1-1 in a game that England dominated. It was also a game where Stuart Pearce rested ten of his first team players as England had already qualified and Germany played their strongest team as they needed to get something from the game. That certainly augers well for England but is by no means proof that we will win the final.

Success

I shall be watching on Monday night and if we do win I shall celebrate like we’ve won the World Cup. Believe me, as an England fan you have got to take any success when it comes along!