Internationals / Mike Norman / 19 June 2009 / Leave a comment

England are into the semi-finals of the U21 European Championship one game early, but Mike Norman isn't convinced we won't be seeing another penalty shoot-out... and he's already fearing the worst.

This is a warning to all fans of the England national football team.

Stuart Pearce's under-21 squad have qualified to the stage of a tournament where the outcome of a match, if necessary, will be decided by a penalty shoot-out. In view of England's unwanted record at being eliminated via this method, it is strongly recommended that we refrain from getting carried away with the team's victory over Spain, and instead, brace ourselves for another Pizza Hut actor to emerge.

England were good last night, but they weren't great. Yet their 2-0 victory, thanks to second half goals from Fraizer Campbell and James Milner, has seen their odds to win the tournament shorten from around [5.0] to as low as [2.5] favourites.

In all fairness, England were rarely troubled by a very disappointing Spanish side (who now need a minor miracle to qualify) and the margin of victory could easily have been greater but for Milner's first half penalty being well saved.

But it's that 'penalty save' that got my drunken friends talking well into the early hours of this morning. And they made some valid points.

Pearce is on record as saying that the England lads have been practicing penalties at every opportunity for the last two years, and that no stone has been left unturned in preparation for another shoot-out at this year's U21 European Championship. So why is it then, that as soon as we are awarded a penalty, our most capped player steps up and hits a relatively tame shot far enough away from the corner for the goalkeeper to get his hand to it?

I just know that if we don't go on to win this tournament, it will probably be down to another failure from the 12-yard spot.

Germany were the other victors yesterday, beating Finland 2-0 thanks to goals from Benedikt Howedes and Ashkan Dejagah. The Germans now need just a point against England to book their place in the last four ([1.1] in the Group B To Qualify market), and are currently available to back at [4.2] to win the tournament outright.

There have been a few movers and shakers in the tournament Top Goalscorer market, understandably surrounding yesterday's goalscorers. Milner, Campbell and Dejagah are all trading around the [3.5], but you will probably get matched at a bit higher if you leave up a request.

Today's Group A second round of fixtures pits Belarus v Serbia, and host nation Sweden v Italy.

I was mightily impressed with Serbia in the second half against Italy, and I reckon at [1.43] to back, they will be far too strong for a defensively inept Belarus side. Our expert James Eastham agrees, and he has highlighted an alternative wager in his preview of this match.

Like England, Sweden have a chance of booking a last four slot one game early against the displaced tournament favourites Italy. Sweden are available to back at [3.2] for victory tonight, Italy at [2.58], and The Draw at [3.3]. Read Eastham's full match preview and recommended best bet by clicking here.

There are no matches over the weekend, but I will still be blogging on a daily basis, bringing you news from the England camp, taking a look at the loss of form of Theo Walcott, namedropping a few players catching the eye in this country, and of course, keeping you up to date on the betting front.