Mark Noble is dreaming of ending his England Under-21 career by defeating Germany and lifting the European Championship trophy tonight.

The 22-year-old and players such as James Milner will make their final appearance for the team when Stuart Pearce's youngsters face England's traditional rivals at Swedbank Stadion in Malmo.

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," said the midfielder.

"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.

Noble said: "When teams come to West Ham and say we haven't won anything, our fans sing back that we 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."

While Germany were beaten at Wembley back in '66, they have held the upper hand against England in the senior ranks since then, and Noble admitted: "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."

Pearce suffered heartbreak against the Germans as an England player, losing to them on penalties at Italia '90 and Euro '96.

On both occasions England were lauded for their battling displays but the man in the dug-out has told his men that heroic failure will count for nothing tonight.

"Success is not coming away as a gallant loser," said Pearce. "We feel we have had no success yet.

"The only way we will deem to have success is if we win. Whoever goes away without the trophy will not think they have had a good tournament."

Despite the history between the teams, the ex-Manchester City boss has told his men to concentrate on the present.

"Any matches in the past are in the past," he said. "My only concern is the match. The only history we want to create is a victory for us. As for games gone by, they have no relevance."

Joe Hart's appeal against suspension has failed, with the goalkeeper joining Gabriel Agbonlahor and Fraizer Campbell on the sidelines.

The latter pair's absence means Theo Walcott is set to start as the team's central striker despite feeling cramp in his calves after 120 minutes against Sweden on Friday.

Pearce added: "Theo has blistering pace and he causes teams problems. Pace in the modern day is a great commodity and he has that in abundance.

"We will pick a team to win the match and want a big performance for everyone."