STUART Pearce has spoken of his delight at news that his England Under-21s side will play a vital Euro 2013 qualifier in front of a sell-out crowd at Colchester United.
The public have got fully behind the young Three Lions for their match against Iceland – even though there is still three weeks to go until the match on November 10.
It means Colchester’s 10,000-capacity Weston Homes Community Stadium will be packed to the rafters for the qualifier.
Under-21s boss Pearce said: “It’s great to see we’ll be playing at Colchester in front of a full-house.
“We enjoyed our last visit there a year ago, winning 3-0 against Lithuania, so we’d be pleased for a similar outcome this time around to send the supporters home happy afterwards.
“Our two away wins in Iceland and Norway earlier this month have put us is a good position in the group. There is plenty of work to do yet, but we’ll keep building and hopefully when we meet Iceland again in Colchester, the sell-out crowd will be right behind us to give the players an extra lift.”
England, who boast a 100 per cent record in qualifying thus far, have a good record in Colchester. Pearce’s side clinched a place in the play-offs for the 2011 Finals with a 3-0 victory over Lithuania last September before a crowd of 7,240, while the Under-19s beat Germany 1-0 in a 2008 friendly with another sell-out crowd cheering them on.
The match will kick off at 7.30pm on Thursday, November 10.
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