Source: FOOTYMAD
Pearce turns focus to Lithuania
Stuart Pearce, the England U21 coach, praised his side's workrate in defeating Portugal on Friday night- but warned against complacency for Tuesday's final European Championship qualifying game against Lithuania. Daniel Sturridge's first-half goal secured a 1-0 win in Barcelos, keeping alive hopes of reaching next year's finals in Denmark. "We were pleased with everyone and there was a great contribution from all 18 players over the last few days. The only way you win matches is through a contribution from everybody," said Pearce. "There were very few efforts on our goal and if we'd have won the game by two or three goals it would have been a fair reflection on chances.
I was very pleased and it keeps us in the mix for Tuesday evening as well." Tuesday's game against Lithuania will be played in Colchester and a win for England should be enough to secure a play-off spot. "We needed to come here and win, we've achieved that. We have to make sure the players are fully focused on what we do on Tuesday because it is really important for the country and this group of players," added Pearce. "They will be very difficult to break down and we're going to have to recuperate our players and do some more work."
