19 March 2008
VIDEO: Stuart Pearce exclusive

Head Coach Stuart Pearce spoke to TheFA.com ahead of the Under-21s' game with Poland.

England

v

Poland

 

 


International Under-21 Friendly
7pm, Tuesday 25 March 2008
Molineux, Wolverhampton Wanderers FC
Tickets, priced £10 adults and £5 concessions, will be available from the Wolves Ticket Office on 0871 880 8433 or via www.wolves.co.uk  
Group booking form
Charter Standard booking form

Tuesday's clash with Poland might be classed as a friendly but Stuart Pearce insists the new members of the Under-21 squad will feel the pressure.

The Head Coach has called up Hull marksman Fraizer Campbell, on loan from Manchester United, as well as Coventry pair Scott Dann and Daniel Fox and all three will be pushing for a first start.

Ryan Shawcross, Jamie O'Hara, Ishmael Miller and goalkeeper Tom Heaton have experienced England life before but none of them have pulled on the Three Lions. Tuesday's game in Wolves could be their moment and Pearce will urge them to grab it with both hands.

"Whether it's billed as a friendly is irrelevant," said Pearce.

"It's a fantastic game, an opportunity for players. Six or seven regular members of this squad have been left out. The players know they will step in and be judged on what they do in an England shirt. In some ways there is more pressure on these boys than there would be for a qualifier."

The Young Lions are sitting pretty at the top of 2009 European Championship Qualifying Group 3, having won six games and drawn impressively in Portugal, but Pearce will ensure his players treat the fixture with the utmost respect.

The return match against Portugal, where the victors could finish as group winners, is not until September meaning Pearce has two friendlies to check out some new personnel.

"I think these games are crucial," added the Head Coach.

"We have had to field the strongest side right the way through the qualifiers. We have got ourselves in a good position. I've got to take an overview that we've got to get as much competition for places amongst the squad, so that when we come to the Finals in two years we have 23 players who have valuable experience of playing for the Under-21s.

"If one or two have seniors experience then that's utopia for any manager. We don't really want 13 or 14 players that are vastly experienced and the rest have not played at all and are pitched in at the Finals where they have to sink or swim.

"I need to find out about quite a few of these and I have two matches coming up to give games to the players who have been very patient and been around the squad but not played as much football."

The England Squad

Name

Club

DOB

Caps

Goals

Goalkeepers

Joe Hart

Manchester City

19.04.87

10

0

Tom Heaton

Manchester United

15.04.86

0

0

Defenders

Scott Dann

Coventry City

14.02.87

0

0

Daniel Fox

Coventry City

29.05.86

0

0

Craig Gardner

Aston Villa

25.11.86

5

0

Michael Mancienne

QPR (on loan)

08.01.88

2

0

Joe Mattock

Leicester City

15.05.90

3

0

Nedum Onuoha

Manchester City

12.11.86

13

1

Ryan Shawcross

Stoke City

04.10.87

0

0

Midfielders

Lee Cattermole

Middlesbrough

21.03.88

2

0

Adam Johnson

Middlesbrough

14.07.87

5

1

Michael Johnson

Manchester City

24.02.88

1

0

Grant Leadbitter

Sunderland

07.01.86

1

0

Jamie O'Hara

Tottenham Hotspur

25.09.86

0

0

Andrew Surman

Southampton

20.08.86

3

1

Forwards

Fraizer Campbell

Hull City (on loan)

13.09.87

0

0

Matt Derbyshire

Blackburn Rovers

14.04.86

10

4

Cameron Jerome

Birmingham City

14.08.86

9

0

Ishmael Miller

West Bromwich Albion

05.03.87

0

0

Luke Moore

WBA (on loan)

13.02.86

4

0



Statistics including England v Republic of Ireland, 5 February 2008