After the drama of throwing away a three-goal lead to hosts Sweden but still coming through on penalties, Pearce's youngsters will be European champions if they beat their traditional rivals in Malmo.

Pearce has history against the Germans, losing to them on penalties at the 1990 World Cup and 1996 European Championships as a player, so knows exactly what will be needed for victory.

"The team who has the most guts, takes their chances when they come and maybe have enough fit players will win the game," Pearce said. "It's a fantastic final.

"It's the furthest I've been in international football as a player or a manager so it's a step in the right direction. We need to win one more match and one team stands in our way.

"We have to play better than against Sweden but also have to show the same character as they do time and again."

Pearce barely celebrated on Friday evening in Gothenburg when Guillermo Molins hit the post and England won the shoot-out.

It is the type of reaction he saw from two German players 19 years ago in Turin while he and Peter Shilton were taking a routine drugs test. Pearce had missed a spot-kick as England crashed out but there was no celebration or gloating from his opponents.

"I feel there is one more match in this tournament," Pearce said. "Then maybe I'll let my hair down a touch. We've come to win it. It was a semi-final, that's all it was.

"When the penalty hit the post everything else was irrelevant and only Monday was important."

Midfielder Fabrice Muamba echoed the sentiments of his coach, adding: "We came here to win, now we want to take trophy home. We're looking forward to it and come Monday we should win."

After losing to Germany on penalties twice during his career, Pearce now expects this clash to go the distance.

"I've been beaten twice in the penalty shoot-out, I've won twice during my time as well so we are even-steven at the moment," he added. "I'd like to turn that around and it might even be Monday night when we do that."

At least Pearce and England have overcome their semi-final spot-kick hoodoo that has hindered them down the years.

James Milner slipped when he took his but the other five penalties were flawless, helped by practice after each training session for the last two years.

Like Pearce, after the match players appeared focused on Monday rather than celebrating their victory.

"It's great obviously to be in the final but it felt like a defeat because of the standards we've set ourselves," said Milner. "Through qualifying we hardly conceded goals, then Sweden scored three very quickly.

"We showed bottle to go through. We have to look at them and maybe it will be a blessing for the final.

"It's been a long process and I think we deserve to be there. We'll analyse it and I'm sure we'll be ready to go."

Skipper Mark Noble, though, admits he cannot help thinking about lifting the trophy on Monday.

"I'm not going to lie, I've been dreaming about it and it's fingers crossed until the final," said the West Ham midfielder.

Joe Hart, Gabriel Agbonlahor and Fraizer Campbell are suspended for the final, so Theo Walcott is expected to be the central striker, while Scott Loach was picked ahead of Joe Lewis in goal earlier in the tournament.

Pearce is hoping that victory against Sweden when his players were not on top form bodes well.

"As a nation we have played fantastically well and not got anything out of some matches," he said.

"We can play a hell of a lot better than we did against Sweden, the players will be focused on Monday because the message for the last two years has been that we have come here to win the trophy. There is only one team that stands in our way now."