Stuart Pearce looks ahead to Euro 2011 after naming provisional squad.

Click here to buy tickets for England Under-21s v Norway at Southampton on Sunday 5 June.
Become a fan of England U21s on Facebook

Stuart Pearce named his provisional 40-man squad for this summer’s 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship in Denmark and admitted that he has a tough job of trimming it down to the final 23. (Click here to watch the FATV interview with Pearce)

England Under-21s meet Spain in the opening fixture of the Finals on 12 June, before games against Ukraine and Czech Republic as they look to go one better from their runners-up spot in Sweden two years ago.

"The countdown's well and truly on," Pearce said shortly after naming his squad in Southampton - venue of the team's send-off game against Norway on Sunday 5 June.

"We're going into the last month in our build-up, so for me it's keeping an eye on the players, seeing how they're performing and hopefully keeping them fully fit.

"It will be quite an exciting summer. The last two tournaments I've been involved in have been brilliant. The exposure in the tournament is getting bigger and bigger, so it's fantastic to be involved in."

Pearce continued: "We've got some players who are showing particularly good form. A lot of players have contributed to get the Under-21s to the Finals, so it will be difficult to trim the squad down to just 23 names.

"There are a lot of people who have contributed over a two-year period to help get the team to be ranked number one in Europe and to help us reach a third successive Finals."

The 40 names on Pearce's list highlight England's strength at Under-21 level with no fewer than six players having featured for Fabio Capello's senior team including Jack Wilshere and Andy Carroll.

And the England Coach hopes to be able to call on the best players available when he submits his Finals squad to UEFA on 1 June.

He believes that with a strong squad in Denmark, not only will England stand a better chance of bringing back the silverware, but it will also benefit the national team in the years to come.

"I've been involved in football a long time but I've never actually seen a team that gets to a Final tournament then decides to drop their best players. I think that's quite silly.

"I certainly think football's about gaining experience at whatever level you have to play and when I look back over the previous winners of the Under-21 tournament over the last 15 years, all of those nation's senior sides have done particularly well in the following years."

He added: "There are a lot of players there who, after Sweden, have gone on to do very good things and made that transition into the senior team."

England will take on fellow finalists Norway in a Championship warm-up fixture at Southampton’s St. Mary’s Stadium on 5 June (kick-off 3pm).

Tickets for this fixture are available from £10 for adults and £5 for children. Calling 0800 2800 050, book online here or in person at the club ticket office.

England's Provisional 40-man squad
Click here to see player stats

GOALKEEPERS
Frankie Fielding (Blackburn Rovers), Scott Loach (Watford), Jason Steele (Middlesbrough), Alex McCarthy (Reading),

DEFENDERS
Joe Bennett (Middlesbrough), Ryan Bertrand (Chelsea), Kieran Gibbs (Arsenal), Phil Jones (Blackburn Rovers), Michael Mancienne (Wolverhampton Wanderers - loan from Chelsea), Ben Mee (Leicester City - loan from Manchester City), Kyle Naughton (Leicester City - loan from Tottenham), Micah Richards (Manchester City), Chris Smalling (Manchester United), James Tomkins (West Ham United), Kieran Trippier (Barnsley - loan from Manchester City), Kyle Walker (Aston Villa - loan from Tottenham Hotspur),

MIDFIELDERS
Marc Albrighton (Aston Villa), Jack Cork (Burnley - loan from Chelsea), Tom Cleverley (Wigan Athletic - loan from Man Utd), Mark Davies (Bolton Wanderers), Adam Hammill (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Jordan Henderson (Sunderland), Jonathan Howson (Leeds United), Adam Lallana (Southampton), Henri Lansbury (Norwich City - loan from Arsenal), Josh McEachran (Chelsea), Fabrice Muamba (Bolton Wanderers), Jack Rodwell (Everton), Danny Rose (Tottenham Hotspur), Scott Sinclair (Swansea City), Jack Wilshere (Arsenal)

FORWARDS
Andy Carroll (Liverpool), Nathan Delfouneso (Burnley - loan from Aston Villa), Gary Hooper (Celtic), Jay Rodriguez (Burnley), Freddie Sears (West Ham United), Daniel Sturridge (Bolton Wanderers - loan from Chelsea), James Vaughan (Crystal Palace - loan from Everton), Danny Welbeck (Sunderland - loan from Man Utd), Connor Wickham (Ipswich Town)

Click here to see player stats