Hurt of final loss provides spur for Mancienne

Michael Mancienne is still hurting after England Under-21s' 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Germany last year and is looking to make amends when they meet again tonight.

Stuart Pearce's young Lions reached the 2009 European Championship final in Sweden, only to be torn apart by a German team featuring the likes of Jerome Boateng, Sami Khedira and Mesut Ozil.

Mancienne, who came on as a substitute in that game, is now captain of an Under-21 side that get their preparations for Euro 2011 under way with tonight's friendly in Germany, and the defender is relishing the opportunity to take revenge.

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"It obviously still hurts as it was a massive defeat," said Mancienne.

"They had some good players who went on to do well in the World Cup, so I do want to get one back on them.

"I'm looking forward to the occasion. Germany always have a strong side and it's good to play against the best. But our team is really good, very strong and I think we'll do well. It's a massive thing that we've qualified. They haven't, but it'll still be good to try and beat them.

"It's good for the manager to see some players he's not had the chance to see and they can show him what they can do. It's also good to get together and be on these trips to keep us going forward."

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England sealed qualification for next summer's tournament in Denmark with a two-legged play-off triumph over Romania in October – something that had looked like it might be beyond them in March following a 2-1 defeat to Greece.

Mancienne believes the spirit in the camp has shone through and the 22-year-old is confident that unity will serve the team well when their Euro 2011 campaign kicks off in June.

"You play against some quality opposition and it's tough," added Mancienne.

"We've come on so much. The boys have really got to know each other.

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"To be honest, back then (in March), we had a little struggle, but we've come through it and it shows just how strong our team is.

"I don't think a lot of teams would have been able to do what we've done and qualify. We have great unity in our team."

Mancienne, who is on loan at Wolves from Chelsea, will win his 27th Under-21 cap if he plays against Germany and is proud to have captained the team for their last four qualification matches.

He said: "It's a great honour to be playing with the boys that I am playing with and to captain them when I have. Hopefully I can have more of that."

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