Holland

1-1

England

Maceo Rigters 89 

Leroy Lita 39 

Holland win 13-12 on penalties

2007 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
Abe Lenstra Stadion, Heerenveen
5.15pm (BST), Wednesday 20 June 2007
Live on Sky Sports

Stuart Pearce believes he may have just witnessed the bravest performance from an England team he has ever seen.

The Under-21 Coach was one of the proudest England players of his generation but puts the performance of his side against Holland in the Semi-Final of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship right up there with anything he achieved.

His side battled against injury, emotion, yellow cards and a late equaliser to hold the hosts to a 1-1 draw before losing an incredible penalty shoot-out 13-12. So when Pearce was asked if he had ever seen a braver display by an England side he was clear.

"Off the top of my head, no," he insisted, "I would find that very difficult. Even the ones I’ve been involved in that have gone to this stage in big tournaments.

"I’ve told them it’s the proudest night of my career. Representing my country brings out a lot of emotion in me as a person, but that aside this was unbelievable.

"I’ve lost near enough both centre halfs and Taylor’s attitude to carrying on was unbelievable.

"Onuoha couldn’t finish the game and we had one or two players who got booked and knew they were going to miss the Final but still slogged away."

He added: "The 22-man squad was absolutely outstanding.

"I’m distraught for them to be honest with you. They put so much effort and emotion into this tournament.

"We practiced penalties and that took us into a double-figures penalty shoot-out. It’s unbelievable.

"We felt as though we have done everything right. I can only be proud of the players, they were sensational. And my report to the full England manager will reflect their attitude towards playing for their country."