Do it for England! Stuart Pearce in spine-tingling video message ahead of final

Pearce is an England legend who came so close to glory with his nation at both the World Cup in 1990 and European Championship in 1996, going out on penalties to Germany in the semi-finals on both occasions.

He was renowned for the passion he showed every time he pulled on the Three Lions shirt and was one of the finest defenders ever to play for his country in an outstanding career which saw him collect 78 caps.

Pearce has never lost his passion for England and has now delivered an incredible speech on talkSPORT which he hopes will spur Gareth Southgate and his team on to achieve Euro glory this weekend.

In the video - which you can watch in full above - Pearce said: "What does England mean to me? I was born in Shepherd's Bush, London, the capital.

"I worked as an electrician, whilst playing non-league football for Wealdstone, eventually I signed for Coventry City, then Nottingham Forest.

"The best was yet to come. On the 19th of May, 1987, I was called up to play for my country. It was the greatest honour of my life.

"I'll never forget the feeling each time I was able to pull on my national shirt to be one of the best 11 players in your nation felt incredibly special, singing the national anthem with 100,000 patriots singing alongside you at Wembley.

"It makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up even now, nothing comes close. So what does England mean to me? It's Cornwall, it's the Lake District, the New Forest, Stonehenge, Buckingham Palace.

"It's a Cornish pasty, fish and chips, clotted cream and scones, pie and mash. It's The Who, The Stranglers, Oasis, The Sex Pistols.

"It's the bridges of Brunel, the sonnets of Shakespeare. Her Majesty the Queen. It's a Bristolian, a Brummie, a Scouser, a Geordie, a Cockney and a good old fashioned cup of tea.

"More than anything, it's home. This country, this England, my England. And if anyone knows that as well as I do, it's Gareth Southgate and these players.

"So do us proud lads. Think about what your country means to you. Keep dreaming, keep believing. Do it for yourselves. Do it for us. Do it for England."

Pearce's speech - recorded ahead of the semi-final win over Denmark - has already got the seal of approval from the England camp.

Declan Rice was among the thousands who liked the speech when it was posted on Twitter and told talkSPORT how inspiring it was to hear those words from Pearce, who is his coach at West Ham.

"I watched it and I was buzzing," he said. "That is Pearcey to a tee really - someone who motivates you, gets you up for big games and someone who has been there and done it for England.

"He's an icon for England so to listen to that and the reaction it had as well, was amazing.

"It's amazing. It gives you that real excitement to go out and perform."