Pearce to ring the changes
Stuart Pearce has hinted there will be changes when he announces his England Under 21 squad to face Poland in a friendly at Molineux, Wolverhampton. Pearce is due to announce his squad tomorrow, Tuesday, for the March 25 match and sayshe will consider leaving many regular starters out of the line-up.
The England Under 21 manager, speaking at an event organised by England sponsors Nationwide Building Society, said: "There's going to be some changes. We feel as though we've come the stage of the season, with two friendlies coming up, where the squad have done partiuclarly well and we can have a look at others.
"One or two players who have been patient around the squad need to play some football and some of the players who have been playing regularly for their clubs and for the Under 21s probably need a break."
Pearce may consider leaving out key players, such as Tottenham's Aaron Lennon, and calling up new faces such as Wolves' Michael Kightly.
"There will be certain players I need to find out about," he said. "My main concern is making sure in 15 months time we get to the finals and I have squad of players there who have all had experience on the pitch.
"One of the most important things for me is to win something with this group, for the benefit of these players and the senior team.I look at the Italian side that won the World Cup and seven of their players have won under 21 tournaments, the likes of Pirlo had a lot of experience at Under 21 level. It's very important."
Pearce's side currently top their group in the UEFA European Under 21 Championships but do not play another qualifier until facing Portugal in September.
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