in his autobiography, Taking Le Tiss. Pearce was also well known for his prowess from set pieces, being a designated penalty-taker for club and country. As a specialist at direct free kicks, renowned for his powerful left foot, Pearce scored from several of the free kicks that he took, famously including the first goal in the 1991 FA Cup final against Tottenham International career Pearce made his debut for England against Brazil in a 1–1 friendly draw at Wembley on 19 May 1987 at age 25. Replacing Kenny Sansom as the first choice left-back for his country, injury prevented him from playing in the 1988 UEFA European Championship. Following the tournament, he was consistently picked as left-back and scored his first England goal in his 21st senior appearance for England on 25 April 1990, scoring in a 4–2 friendly win over Czechoslovakia at Wembley. Pearce played at the 1990 FIFA World Cup, setting up a goal for David Platt in the quarter-final win against Cameroon and operating as a more attacking left-back than normal as England deployed a sweeper system. England progressed to the semi-finals, and Pearce was one of two players (the other being Chris Waddle) to miss a penalty in the shoot-out against West Germany after the match had ended in a 1–1 draw. Pearce left the field in tears. The following summer, on 8 June 1991, Pearce scored his second England goal in a 2–0 win over New Zealand during the England side's tour of Oceania. This game was his 40th appearance for England. The Euro 96 games had been England's first competitive matches since the end of the World Cup qualifiers nearly three years earlier. They had not been required to qualify for the tournament due to being hosts. All of the matches played between November 1993 and June 1996 had been friendlies, including the clash with Switzerland on 15 November 1995 in which Pearce scored the last of his five goals for England. When Terry Venables became England coach later in 1994, Pearce lost his place to Graeme Le Saux, but then regained it after Le Saux suffered a broken leg in December 1995. Pearce stayed in the side into Euro 96, scoring a penalty in a quarter-final shoot-out against Spain, which England won. His impassioned reaction following his successful penalty in front of the celebrating Wembley crowd became one of the images of the