It’s almost home! The Three Lions still have one massive hurdle to overcome on their path to gloryNot many were more ruthless than him. Not many would bury their leg where he used to dive with his head. Not many would know how vital and difficult will tomorrow EURO 2020 final be for the Three Lions.That’s why Stuart Pearce, 59, nicknamed ‘Psycho’ for his die-hard approach on the pitch, wrote a sort of motivational letter to Gareth Southgate’s boys ahead of their larger-than-life clash with Italy at Wembley (Sunday, 22.00).A legendary defender who missed a vital penalty in the 1990 World Cup semifinal vs West Germany has given his ultimate support to Harry Kane and his side, who are on the verge of clinching the first major trophy for England after 1966.“This country. This England. My England.”“Do us proud lads. Do it for England.” 🏴Stuart Pearce has a rousing message for @England. This is what it means to him.Goosebumps listening to this 🔥 pic.twitter.com/hntyJswVD7— talkSPORT 🏴 (@talkSPORT) July 7, 2021 “What does England mean to me? I was born in Shepherd’s Bush, London, the capital,” writes Pearce initially.”I worked as an electrician whilst playing non-league football for Wealdstone. Eventually, I signed for Coventry City, then Nottingham Forest.”The best was yet to come. On the 19th of May, 1987, I was called up to play for my country. It was the greatest honour of my life.”I’ll never forget the feeling each time I was able to pull on my national shirt to be one of the best 11 players in your nation felt incredibly special, singing the national anthem with 100,000 patriots singing alongside you at Wembley.Italy’s 70-year-old central defence partnership relishes the challenge of England’ young lions”It makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up even now. Nothing comes close. So what does England mean to me? It’s Cornwall, it’s the Lake District, the New Forest, Stonehenge, Buckingham Palace.”It’s a Cornish pasty, fish and chips, clotted cream and scones, pie and mash. It’s The Who, The Stranglers, Oasis, The Sex Pistols.”It’s the bridges of Brunel, the sonnets of Shakespeare. Her Majesty the Queen. It’s a Bristolian, a Brummie, a Scouser, a Geordie, a Cockney and a good old fashioned cup of tea.English players celebrate the winner against Denmark (©Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)”More than anything, it’s home. This country, this England, my England. And if anyone knows that as well as I do, it’s Gareth Southgate and these players.”So do us proud, lads. Think about what your country means to you. Keep dreaming, keep believing. Do it for yourselves. Do it for us. Do it for England,” concludes Pearce.Declan Rice was among the thousands who liked the speech when it was posted on Twitter and told how inspiring it was to hear those words from Pearce, his coach at West Ham.”I watched it, and I was buzzing,” he said. “That is Pearcey to a tee, really – someone who motivates you, gets you up for big games and someone who has been there and done it for England.”He’s an icon for England, so to listen to that and the reaction it had as well was amazing.”It’s amazing. It gives you that real excitement to go out and perform.”
