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England U21 boss Stuart Pearce has reiterated his belief that his England U21 side were good enough to at least reach the Euro U21 finals despite their elimination in the group stages.
The Three Lions were beaten 2-1 by a spirited Czech Republic side who fought from 1-0 down to win 2-1 after Danny Welbeck had given England the led.
The defeat, coupled with a poor 0-0 draw on Matchday 2 against Ukraine condemned Pearce’s men to an early plane home for the 2009 runners-up and drew much criticism amongst the English media who lambasted the sides’ inability to defend a lead and hold possession of the ball during crucial quarters.
Speaking after the game, a laconic Pearce waved away the mounting criticism and claimed that his side were good enough to get to the final!
“We felt if we’d won the game today, the momentum would have carried us on all the way through to the final,” he told reporters after the game.
“But credit to the Czechs. They are a good side, strong in qualification, very dogged and difficult to break down. We’re disappointed but we have to learn from it,” he added
‘Psycho’ also sought to contextualize the scale of England’s elimination by pointing out the difficulty his men faced having been drawn in the ‘Group of Death’.
“People don’t realise the magnitude of the group we were put in,” he added. “You’ve only got to look at the other group.
“A team’s come out of that group having lost two matches. That tells you they might have lumped the stronger teams together. But that’s tournament football,” he said.
Hmmm…good enough to reach the final? Are you sure Mr Pearce? We at In The Stands beg to differ. After all, the football was poor, there was a lack of creativity and the Young Lions did not even win a game! What do you think?
Nevertheless, catch highlights of England’s 2-1 defeat below. Ouch!
Link for the highlights of the match
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