Pearce draws upon past to fuel England's present

England coach Stuart Pearce played in a FIFA World Cup and a UEFA European Championship before hanging up his boots, and hopes to draw on that experience to help his squad claim a semi-final berth on Sunday.

Stage fright has stifled many a prodigious talent on the international scene, and Pearce himself admits to being "scared stiff" on his World Cup bow in 1990. Yet having swapped the pitch for the dugout, the former left-back plans on using that big-game know-how to help his Young Lions progress past the Czech Republic.

"I try to brush it up so it relates directly to them, and it's not just an old codger wheeling out stories. If I can draw on my experiences to feed back to them and tell them, 'Don't worry if you feel nervous, that's normal', that's the advantage of having played the game," said the 49-year-old, who reached the semi-finals of the 1990 World Cup and EURO '96. "When you say, 'I know how you feel', they know you do as you were a player, even though they've probably never seen you play."

Pearce has a full-strength squad available as England target the win that will take them through. "We knew it would probably go to the last game," said the former Nottingham Forest FC defender. "I'm not so sure English teams are particularly good at defending draws. The way it's panned out, we have to win the game. That will get us on the front foot."

Pearce's team were certainly in attacking mode when the sides last met with England winning 2-0 in 2008. Following that defeat, the Czechs went 16 matches unbeaten, and Pearce – who pre-tournament tipped Jakub Dovalil's men as potential UEFA European Under-21 Championship winners – recognises the threat his players face in Viborg. "They're very organised as a group, very focused defensively and in attack. Physically, they've got a stature about them. At set pieces they'll cause you problems, and they've got a striker who's the competition's top scorer."

Though Tomáš Pekhart led the way with nine goals in qualifying, the towering forward has not struck in the opening two games, and Dovalil is considering replacing him, possibly with Libor Kozák. Midfielder Lukáš Mareček will get a first start of the finals in place of the suspended Lukáš Vácha as the Czechs seek to maintain their ambitions of not only reaching the last four but also clinching a place at next year's London Olympics.

"The players know it may be the only chance they get to play in the Olympics. Athletes, swimmers or rowers can compete in them a number of times, not footballers," said Dovalil, whose charges would spark the need for a third-place play-off to decide which three teams – along with England – compete in 2012 should they triumph at Viborg Stadion. "All the players know Lionel Messi played in Beijing in 2008, and it'll certainly be a great tournament in London and the next big step for our guys."