England Under-21 centre-back Nedum Onuoha is determined to make up for his Euro final heartache two years ago.

Onuoha limped off the pitch during the last-four clash against Holland in 2007 when England eventually lost a marathon shoot-out and now they face Sweden at the same stage.

"I would say it was one of my biggest disappointments because I was so close to getting to a major final," said the Manchester City defender.

"I remember how close we were to getting to the final. They scored in the last minute of the game and that was a massive blow. Then in extra time I had to go off and we played the majority of it with ten men.

"The team were outstanding and we were very unlucky not to get to the final."

Onuoha feels Stuart Pearce's squad are better equipped this time around.

"With the England Under-21s and right through it is continuous improvement," he said.

"Everybody saw where we got to in the last tournament and everybody wanted to do better, so the preparation has been better and the organisation has been better."

They also have Theo Walcott in the current squad and Onuoha feels the Arsenal winger will come good after appearing below par in the group stage.

"People forget how young Theo is," Onuoha said. "He has got a lot of time to develop at this age group, should he be asked to play again. Eventually his Arsenal form will be replicated with England."

Onuoha was tipped to be captain at the start of the tournament but was injured for the first match so Mark Noble led the team out.

Noble then kept the armband for the victory against Spain and Craig Gardner was named skipper when Pearce rested players against Germany.

"The manager picks who is going to captain the side on that day, but then outside the pitch we have got 23 different leaders," Onuoha said. "It makes no difference who has the armband."

Onuoha was in relaxed mood in Tvaaker, near England's Varberg base on the west coast of Sweden.

When asked by a Swedish journalist what influence Sven-Goran Eriksson had on his career, Onuoha joked: "What do you mean? In terms of football or other things?"