11:55am Monday 29th June 2009
MARK Noble is dreaming of ending his England Under-21 career by defeating Germany and lifting the European Championship trophy tonight in Malmo.
Noble, 22, and players such as James Milner will make their final appearance for the Under-21s when Stuart Pearce's youngsters face England's traditional rivals at Swedbank Stadion.
They have already gone one better than 2007 when they were knocked out at the semi-final stage - and now Noble is targeting a famous win.
"It will be my last match for the Under-21s and what a way to go out," he said.
"I was so close two years ago but now we have one foot in the door and hopefully we can step in."
Noble has heard all about England glory against Germany after growing up at West Ham, with the statue of Bobby Moore, Sir Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters outside Upton Park a constant reminder of 1966.
While international football can be seen as a hindrance at some clubs, its importance is ingrained at West Ham.
Noble said: "You hear the fans singing their cheeky songs. When teams come to us and say we haven't won anything, they sing back that they won the World Cup.
"It's just within the club. You get that as a whole when you come to West Ham. You take it on board."
Noble and his team-mates are young but the midfielder is fully aware of the historical rivalry with Germany, diplomatically saying, "We all do history in school".
He added: "We're all English players and when you get brought through the ranks from under-16s to under-21s and the senior team, whenever you play Germany it is always a massive game. Everyone knows that.
"It's just from the history that we have between us. Even though it is a European Championship final, there is no doubt there will be that extra little incentive because it is Germany.
"That is the way they will think about us and that is the way we think about them. When you put an England shirt on and you play against Germany you want to win."
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