England young boys put Spaniards to the sword.

The England under 21 side have put Spain to the sword by beating their opponents 2-0 to reach the semi-finals of the European Under 21 Championships. Goals from Frazier Campbell and James Milner were enough in a match that England controlled from start to finish.

It was quite a fitting contrast to England’s first match where the side managed to scrape a result against Finland and with only ten men. It should give the side confidence going into their semi-final match, as they will be looking to make up for the heartbreak, which marred their defeat at this time last year.

Theo Walcott also played a blinder ad it was nice to see the question of who has the best under 21 side between England and Spain being convincingly answered. Stuart Pearce must be credited for getting every single little detail right and having put out one of the tournament favourites, there is no reason why England should not go on and win this event.

It could have been an even bigger win for the English but Milner had a penalty saved earlier in the match by Spanish goalkeeper, Sergio Asenjo. In an essence the result probably didn’t reflect how good England actually were and it was more of a case of a well earnt victory and modest score line as opposed to a poor performance, which the side managed to scrape through.

Pearce would be the first person to say they performances don’t generally matter until you are actually in the final and playing against the best other team there is. However, he will be pleased that England played so well and saw off such a good side in unforgiving style. It will give the players immense confidence as their semi-final opponents quiver in their boots at the prospect of meeting this new machine.

The England coaches seem to be a very shrewd bunch of people and there can be no doubt that now England have got themselves into a position where they can win the Euros, they will do everything they can to make sure preparation is perfect. They should also not take a single risk because if they do and it doesn’t come off there will be a lot of criticism by the time they arrive back in England.

It would be naïve to say at this stage that England are certain to win the event because there are good teams left in the competition but the main job that Pearce will now have is being able to keep the younger members of the squad firmly rooted to the ground before he releases their infinite enthusiasm in the next two matches, providing England do get through their semi-final encounter.

It was nice to enjoy a little bit of smug self-satisfaction in a summer where the Spanish continue to knock the Premier League and the obvious quality it has. On this occasion it was proven that English football is far superior to any thing the Spanish can offer up.