Stuart Pearce believes that winning the 2009 European Under-21 Championship in Sweden could provoke more euphoria than an English club lifting the Champions League.

England play Wales at Ninian Park, Cardiff, tomorrow evening in the first leg of the play-off with a place in next summer's finals at stake and Pearce, the England Under-21 head coach, is content to buck the trend among coaches in lower age groups and prioritise winning. While mindful of the need to nurture talent regardless of results, Pearce believes that the best experience his players can gain is by finishing a tournament victorious.

Pearce emphasised that Theo Walcott's presence at the tournament, should England prevail over Wales, would aid rather than undermine team spirit. There have been suggestions that the other Under-21 players might resent the Arsenal wunderkind flying in from senior duty four days before the tournament starts.

“They would be absolutely delighted,” Pearce countered as he spoke at Oscott Primary School in Sutton Coldfield, where the FA was celebrating reaching 500,000 children involved in the Tesco Skills Programme. “Theo has played more qualification games than [nearly] anyone so he would be a bit disappointed if he was left out of the squad.

“What is the point in qualifying over a two-year period with your strongest team and then sending your second-string squad? There isn't a club side anywhere who would get to the final of the Champions League or FA Cup and then rest eight of their players. Who would do that? It is madness.

“The English national side at under-21 and senior level have not been successful. The excitement and euphoria that gets generated when we bring a trophy back to these shores will be unrivalled - unrivalled by any club winning the Champions League. I saw a glimpse in Euro '96 and in Italia '90 of the euphoria that started to get generated.”

With the success of the under-21s, who have not lost in open play in 25 games, Pearce's potential as a future England manager is growing, underlined by his involvement with Fabio Capello's senior squad.

“It is the Utopian job for me in some ways, to work with the 21s and link with the seniors,” he said. “If I was speaking to someone about my job now and they were asking should they go back into club management to become England manager I would say no. But I would also say someone needs a lot more experience, the experience Fabio has got.”