Internationals / Mike Norman / 26 June 2009 / Leave a comment

A feast of football is on the menu this evening, with Mike Norman believing Stuart Pearce has his destiny in his own hands, and that a fresh and hungry England squad won't let him down.

For years I've wondered how Tomas Brolin - one of Sweden's greatest footballing exports - went from being a slim-line midfield genius to a podgy snail-like has-been in just a few years. Now I know.

It had nothing to do with the serious leg injury he suffered whilst playing for his country in 1994, instead it was down to the excessive eating he became addicted to as a result of constantly being told that international football tournaments were like three-course meals.

Yep, you heard right. A three-course meal is what Sweden's joint-coachJorgen Lennartsson has likened the U21 European Championship to, and that England (rather flatteringly) have been called the 'main course'.

Lennartsson could be made to eat his words tonight, when an extremely tasty looking England team set out to remove the piquancy from Sweden's potent attack.

England manager Stuart Pearce has once again spoke about the onus on his squad not to underestimate the Swedes (or anyone else for that matter) as kick-off approaches. But whether he agrees or not, Pearce is in charge of the now tournament favourites, and that his destiny - which is to guide England to a major international final - is firmly in his own hands.

To help his cause, Pearce has the added bonus of being able to field a full strength side, but whether that will include the precocious talent of Theo Walcott is yet to be known.

England are strong all over the pitch, fresh, and extremely hungry; and whichever team Pearce decides to go with, they should have too many guns for a Sweden team unable to call upon the services of suspended midfielders Pontus Wernbloom and Emir Bajrami.

Our man James Eastham - who has made an impressive 8.14pts profit from 9pts staked on the tournament - thinks the game will end all square (available to back at [3.4]). You can read a full match preview courtesy of James by clicking here.

As I pointed out yesterday, tonight's second semi-final features an attack-minded Italian side against a less than adventurous German side. Mario Balotelli returns from suspension for Pierluigi Casiraghi's outfit, though midfielders Claudio Marchisio (suspended) and Paolo De Ceglie (injured) will miss out.

German coach Horst Hrubesch - who I'm happy to report is still around after admitting he couldn't live with the way Germany qualified - is, just like the Sweden coach, looking at this game from a food angle. Except, it's no three-course meal for the German lads, instead, they've been readied to, "Eat dirt if necessary" Hrubesch has promised.

I'm with James on this one though, and fully expect Italy to win tonight (available to back at [2.4]). Click here to read a full preview of the match.