THERE is a somewhat unfamiliar feel to this side led by Stuart Pearce.

Since when did England qualify for the semi-finals of a tournament with a game to spare?

At this Euro Under-21 Championship, England, at last, have looked the real deal.

If their opening day 2-1 win over Finland seemed laborious, then the 2-0 victory over Spain was a breeze.

With a last-four place all but confirmed, Pearce made 10 changes to his side in the inconsequential final group game against Germany, and by the end of the 90 minutes, all 23 players in his squad already had a taste of the competition.

By now, there is no question over whether England are good enough to win the tournament. From the look of things, they are.

Now is the time when their ability to cope with the unexpected will be called into action.

If their opponents score an early goal against the run of play, how will the players react?

And more crucially, what if the game goes to a penalty shoot-out?

It is the latter which has given England, from Under-21 to senior level, plenty of problems over the years.

The senior team's failures during penalty shoot-outs have been well documented.

But two years ago, the Under-21 side also crashed out 13-12 on penalties at the semi-final stage to eventual winners Holland.

Penalty practice

Since then, the players have been practising penalty-kicks at every given opportunity, according to Pearce.

He also added that they will be well equipped to cope with the situation should it arise again.

Pearce will be hoping that one incident during the 2-0 win over Spain is not a sign of things to come.

After earning a spot-kick, England's most-capped Under-21 player, James Milner, stepped up and saw his effort saved by the goalkeeper.

How's that for an omen?

Let's hope it doesn't come to that, for England and Sweden have been the two most entertaining teams of the tournament. Neither team deserves to bow out in such cruel fashion.

Much of the pre-tournament talk has been about the formidable English trio of Theo Walcott, Fraizer Campbell and Gabriel Agbonlahor.

Yet, the current talk of the town has been the effervescent Swedish strike pairing of Ola Toivonen and Marcus Berg, who have upstaged their more illustrious compatriots.

Together, the duo have poached seven goals in three matches - more than what any other country could muster during the group phase.

The two forwards are backed up by an inventive midfield which is adept at crisp one-touch passing.

What England have is a strong midfield and defence to soak up pressure from their opponents.

On the break, the speed of Walcott, Campbell and Agbonlahor - if all three play together - will definitely pose problems for a suspect Swedish defence.

For some, this is a dream final that has come one stage too early.

But no shoot-outs, please.

ENGLAND'S RESULTS: