This summer will mark 25 years since England last played host to a major international football tournament, and memories of that summer still remain fresh for many football fans.
Euro 96 was the birth of ‘It’s Coming Home’, perhaps the greatest football song ever written (though New Order might have something to say about that). It gave us THAT Gazza goal versus Scotland; Stuart Pearce exercised his demons from the spot and, of course, Germany saw off England in the semi-finals via a penalty shoot out.
To celebrate that landmark moment in English culture, and to look forward to another ‘home’ tournament this summer, we took a trip down memory lane to relive England’s memorable run to the last four…
Match One – Group A – England 1-1 Switzerland
Coming off the back of the now infamous ‘bonding’ trip to Hong Kong – where the dentist chair took centre stage – Terry Venables’ England side arrived at a packed Wembley Stadium almost as villains. But with a loud chorus of ‘Three Lions on the shirt’ swirling around the famous old ground, Alan Shearer gave the hosts a first half lead and ended a 12 game scoring drought. It was all going to plan for England until Kübilay Türkyilmaz's 83rd-minute penalty drew Switzerland level, ensuring the tournament didn’t get off to the best of starts.
Match Two – Group A – England 2-0 Scotland
Next up was the big one – Craig Brown’s Scotland. The Scots travelled to London full of optimism and boasted a team more than capable of getting one over the Auld Enemy, including Premier League winner Colin Hendry, Leeds’ Gary McAllister and Chelsea’s John Spencer. With the game goalless at half-time, the Scots had England where they wanted them – frustrated and wary of a late Scottish attack. Venables brought on Jamie Redknapp at the break to enable England to move the ball quicker, and within minutes of the restart Alan Shearer opened the scoring with his head. Then with 15 minutes to go, Tony Adams conceded a penalty and McAllister had the chance to draw Scotland level. His shot went straight at David Seaman, then 90 seconds later a moment of inspired genius from Gazza killed the game and sent Wembley wild.
Match Three – Group A – England 4-1 Netherlands
This thumping of an incredibly talented Dutch side remains one of England’s finest ever tournament displays. Leading 1-0 at half-time thanks to a Shearer penalty, the Three Lions turned on the style in the second half to give Holland a taste of total football. Two goals from Teddy Sheringham, and another from Shearer, in the space of just 11 second half minutes had England fans believing this was going to be their year. A late Patrick Kluivert consolation for the Dutch couldn’t disguise just what a brilliant display this was from the hosts.
Quarter Final – England 0-0 Spain (England win 4-2 on penalties)
Long before Spain became one of the greatest international sides to play the game (three major tournament wins in five years allows such a title), they and England were on similar trajectories. Traditional football powerhouses with great domestic leagues and conveyor belts of talent, but nothing to show for it on the international scene. A tense 90 minutes at Wembley saw each side cancel each other out before the first ever period of golden goal was played out. With no goal forthcoming, a place in the semi-finals would be decided from the penalty spot. With England still showing scars from the World Cup semi-final penalty shootout defeat to West Germany six years previous, Wembley, and a nation, held its breath. However, when Stuart Pearce stepped forward and thumped his effort past a helpless Andoni Zubizarreta – thus condemning his miss six years previous to the history books – England started to believe. Naturally, when Seaman stopped Miguel Nadal’s penalty and confirmed England’s place in the last four, Wembley breathed a sigh of relief.
Semi Final – England 1-1 Germany (Germany win 6-5 on penalties)
Despite the result this game remains one of the most iconic matches to be played at the old Wembley. An England v Germany fixture never needs much hype, but another semi-final just six years on from Italia ’90, and 30 years after England’s famous World Cup win, meant this game could only ever be a classic. So when the Three Lions were designated as the away team, meaning they were to wear their grey change kit, parallels with 1966 grew even louder. England couldn’t have had a better start after Shearer headed in after just three minutes, however a Stefan Kuntz equaliser just 12 minutes later silenced Wembley and ensured a tense, tight 90 minutes. With nothing to separate the sides, golden goal was once again required. England, desperate to avoid penalties, were the most adventurous of the sides in the extra half hour, with Darren Anderton hitting the post and Gazza being just a studs length away from turning in a Shearer cross. It wasn’t to be though, and this time it was now-England manager Gareth Southgate’s turn to miss from the spot and send the German’s through at England’s expense once again.
