England cubs need final flourish

The European Under-21 Football Championships come to a close this weekend when the top two sides in the competition meet in Satur-day's final. When the referee blows his whistle to signal the end of match, he will also bring an end to an extra-long European football season.

Several of the senior England squad have somehow found the time to get married this summer. Meanwhile it's a different story for the members of Stuart Pearce's Under-21 squad. Their reward for making it through their qualifying group is another two games against the best young players in Europe.

In reaching the knock-out stages of the competition, the Under-21s have raised their profiles and put themselves in the spotlight. An ugly incident involving racial taunts aimed at England defender Nedum Onuohain in his team's final group game against Serbia was quickly dealt with. Speaking after the game Pearce let it be known that the players and coaching staff were determined to put it behind them as they look to their next game. He added: "It's difficult to keep restraint under provocation. You've got to learn that in football."

England's next game was last night's semi-final against hosts Holland. England went into the match without captain Nigel Reo-Coker, who picked up a second yellow card for the tournament in the Serbia match. The second offence meant the want-away West Ham man could not be selected for the crucial match.

Having made it this far, let's hope England's next appearance is in the final on Saturday and not the third-place play-off. It would be nice for England to finish with a flourish. Coverage of Saturday's final is at 7.00pm on SSX.

Meanwhile in rugby union, there's a massive game coming up in the Tri-Nations tournament on Saturday. The mighty All Blacks are in South Africa to face the Springboks. Kick-off is at 2.00pm on Saturday on SSX