by Luke Irelan-Hill
England have suffered mixed results since they first made the European Championship finals in 1968. They did not enter the inaugural tournament in 1960 and failed to qualify in for the 1964 finals. However in 1968 they finished third but there were only four teams competing. 1972 and 1976 also saw England fail to qualify for the tournament again. They made the group stage for the first time in 1980 – 8 teams made the finals – but they failed to progress from their group. The 1984 tournament was once again competed without England as they failed to qualify for the tournament. Following that disappointment England then qualified for the next five finals (1988, 92, 96, 2000, 2004). They progressed to the Semi-finals in 1996, the first year the tournament had 16 teams in the final stages. These finals still remain England’s best performance to date. They also made the quarter-finals under Sven Goran-Eriksson in 2004, but they failed to qualify in 2008 for the first time since 1984.
England’s History
Euro 1960 – Did not enter
Winner: Russia
Host: France
Euro 1964 – Did not qualify
Winner: Spain
Host: Spain
Euro 1968 – Finished 3rd
Winner: Italy
Host: Italy
1968 was England’s first appearance in the final stages of a European Championship having not entered the inaugural event and failing to qualify in 1964. UEFA allowed the British Home International Championship for the 1966-67 and 1967-68 season to serve as the preliminary qualification competition to the 1968 championship. England had to beat Spain in a final qualifying game on 3rd April 1968 which they did, 1-0 (Bobby Charlton), and 3-1 in the return leg with goals from Charlton, Roger Hunt and Martin Peters.
England lost 1-0 to Yugoslavia in Florence, when Alan Mullery became the first England player to be sent off. However, England won the third-place play-off match 2-0 against the USSR in Rome with goals from Bobby Charlton and Geoff Hurst.
Manager: Sir Alf Ramsey
Squad:
- Gordon Banks (Leicester City) 2. Keith Newton (Blackburn) 3. Ray Wilson (Everton) 4. Alan Mullery (Spurs) 5. Brian Labone (Everton) 6. Bobby Moore (West Ham) 7. Alan Ball (Everton) 8. Roger Hunt (Liverpool) 9. Bobby Charlton (Man Utd) 10. Geoff Hurst (West Ham) 11. Martin Peters (West Ham) 12. Alex Stepney (Man Urd) 13. Gordon West (Everton) 14. Cyril Knowles (Leeds Utd) 15. Jack Charlton (Leeds Utd) 16. Tommy Wright (Everton) 17. Nobby Stiles (Man Utd) 18. Mike Summerbee (Man City) 19. Norman Hunter (Leeds Utd) 20. Colin Bell (Man City) 21. Jimmy Greaves (Spurs) 22. Peter Thompson (Liverpool)
Semi Final
5th June 1968, Florence, 21,800
Yugoslavia (0) 1 v England (0) 0
(Dzajic 86)
Third-Place Play-Off
England (1) 2 v Soviet Union (0) 0
(Charlton 40,
Hurst 63)
Euro 1972 – Did not qualify
Winner: Germany
Host: Belgium
Euro 1976 – Did not qualify
Winner: Czech Republic
Host: Serbia
Euro 1980 – Eliminated in group stage
This was only England’s second appearance in the European Championship finals having not qualified in 1972 or 1976. England was drawn in Group 2 with Belgium, Spain and the hosts Italy. England drew their opening game 1-1 with Belgium in the Stadio Communale, Turin, lost their next game 1-0 to Italy in the same stadium and beat the Spanish 2-1 in Stadio San Paolo, Naples. But it was Belgium who topped the group ahead of Italy, with England third and Spain last.
Winner: Germany
Host: Italy
Manager: Ron Greenwoond
Squad:
- Ray Clemence (Liverpool) 2. Phil Neal (Liverpool) 3. Kenny Sansom (Crystal Palace) 4. Phil Thompson (Liverpool) 5. Dave Watson (Southampton) 6. Ray Wilkins (Man Utd) 7. Kevin Keegan (Hamburg SV) 8. Steve Coppell (Man Utd) 9. David Johnson (Liverpool) 10. Trevor Brooking (West Ham) 11. Tony Wookcock (Arsenal) 12. Viv Anderson (Notts Forest) 13. Peter Shilton (Notts Forest) 14. Trevor Cherry (Leeds Utd) 15. Emlyn Hughes (Wolves) 16. Mick Mills (Ipswich Town) 17. Terry McDermott (Liverpool) 18. Ray Kennedy (Liverpool) 19. Glenn Hoddle ( Spurs) 20. Paul Mariner (Ipswich Town) 21. Gary Birtles (Notts Forest) 22. Joe Corrigan (Man City)
First Round, Group 2
12 June 1980, TURIN, 15,186
England (1) 1 v Belgium (1) 1
(Wilkins 26) (Ceulemans 30)
15 June 1980, TURIN, 59,649
Italy (0) 1 v England (0) 0
(Tardelli 79)
18 June 1980, NAPLES, 14,440
England 1 (2) v Spain (0) 1
(Brooking 19, (Dani pen 48)
Woodcock 61)
Group Two – Final Table
P |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
Pts |
|
Belgium |
3 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
3 |
2 |
4 |
Italy |
3 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
England |
3 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
Spain |
3 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
1 |
Euro 1984 – Did not qualify
Winner: France
Host: France
Euro 1988 – Eliminated in group stage
Competing in just their third European Championship Finals having not qualified for 1984 England were placed in Group 2 with Soviet Union, Holland and Republic of Ireland. England lost their opening game 1-0 to the ROI in the Neckarstadion, Stuggart, and lost their next game 3-1 to Holland in Dusseldorf. They also lost their final group game by the same score to the USSR in Frankfurt. Holland and the USSR went on to contest the 1998 Final in Munich with the Dutch winning 2-0.
Winner: Holland
Host: West Germany
Manager: Bobby Robson
Squad:
Peter Shilton (Derby County) 2. Gary Stevens (Everton) 3. Kenny Samson (Arsenal) 4. Neil Webb (Notts Forest) 5. Dave Watson (Arsenal) 6. Tony Adams (Arsenal) 7. Bryan Robson (Man Utd) 8. Trevor Steven (Everton) 9. Peter Beardsley (Liverpool) 10. Gary Linekar (Barcelona) 11. John Barnes (Liverpool) 12. Chris Waddle (Spurs) 13. Chris Woods (Rangers) 14. Viv Anderson (Man Utd) 15. Steve McMahon (Liverpool) 16. Peter Reid (Everton) 17. Glenn Hoddle (As Monaco) 18. Mark Hateley (As Monaco) 19. Mark Wright (Derby County) 20. Tony Dorigo (Chelsea)
First Round – Group 2
12 June 1988, STUTTGART, 51,373
England (0) 0 v Republic of Ireland (1) 1
(Houghton 6)
15 June 1988, DUSSELDORF, 63,940
England (0) 1 v Holland (1) 3
(Robson 53) (Van Basten 44, 71, 75)
18 June 1988, Frankfurt, 48,335
England (1) 1 v Soviet Union (2) 3
(Adams 16) (Aleinikov 3
Mikihailichenko 28
Pasulko 73)
Group 2 – Final Table
P |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
Pts |
|
Soviet Union |
3 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
5 |
2 |
5 |
Holland |
3 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
2 |
4 |
ROI |
3 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
England |
3 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
2 |
7 |
0 |
Euro 1992 – Eliminated in group stage
In 1992 England participated in their fourth European finals. England were drawn in Group 1 with Denmark, France and Sweden. They drew their opening two games 0-0 with Denmark and France in the Malmo Stadion and lost their final game 2-1 to the hosts Sweden a result that left England bottom of the group with two points.
The surprise winner of the tournament was Denmark who were last minute replacements for the suspended Yugoslavia. They arrived with little time to prepare and left with the trophy after defeating Germany 2-0 in Gothenburg.
Winner: Denmark
Host: Sweden
Manager: Graham Taylor
Squad:
- Chris Woods (Sheffield Wednesday) 2. Keith Curle (Man City) 3. Stuart Pearce (Nott Forest) 4. Martin Keown (Everton) 5. Des Walker (Nott Forest) 6. Mark Wright (Liverpool) 7. David Platt (Bari) 8. Trevor Steven (Marseille) 9. Nigel Clough (Nott Forest) 10. Gary Lineker (Spurs) 11. Andy Sinton (QPR) 12. Carlton Palmer (Sheffield Wednesday) 13. Nigel Martyn (Crystal Palace) 14. Tony Dorigo (Leeds Utd) 15. Neil Webb (Man Utd) 16. Paul Merson (Arsenal) 17. Alan Smith (Aesenal) 18. Tony Daley (Aston Villa) 19. David Batty (Leeds Utd) 20. Alan Shearer (Southampton)
First Round, Group 1
11 June 1992, MALMO, 26,400
Denmark (0) 0 v England (0) 0
14 June 1992, MALMO, 25,500
France (0) 0 v England (0) 0
17 June 1992, STOCKHOLM, 30,100
Sweden (0) 2 v England (1) 1
(Eriksson 54 (Platt 5)
Brolin 83)
Group 1- Final Table
P |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
Pts |
|
Sweden |
3 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
4 |
2 |
5 |
Denmark |
3 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
France |
3 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
England |
3 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
Euro 1996 – Eliminated in semi-final
England was playing host for the 1996 finals for the first and only time. They were in group A with Holland, Switzerland and Scotland. In their opening game they could only manage a 1-1 draw with the Swiss. They then beat Scotland 2-0 at Wembley before ensuring they qualified in first place with an impressive 4-1 victory against Holland. The quarter-final brought with it Spain and with the scores level after 90 minutes and extra time England won the contest 4-2 on penalties. England met rivals Germany in the semi-final and like the game against Spain it went to penalties after a 1-1 draw. England lost the shoot-out 6-5.
Winner: Germany
Host: England
Manager: Terry Venables
Squad:
- David Seaman (Arsenal) 2. Gary Neville (Man Utd) 3. Stuart pearce (Nott Forest) 4. Paul Ince (Inter Milan) 5. Tony Adams (Arsenal) 6. Gareth Southgate (Aston Villa) 7. David Platt (Arsenal) 8. Paul Gascoigne (Rangers) 9. Alan Shearer (Blackburn) 10. Teddy Sheringham (Spurs) 11. Darren Anderton (Spurs) 12. Steve Howey (Newcastle Utd) 13. Tim Flowers (Blackburn) 14. Nicky Barmby (Middlesbrough) 15. Jamie Redknapp (Liverpool) 16. Sol Campbell (Spurs) 17. Steve McManaman (Liverpool) 18. Les Ferdinand (Newcastle Utd) 19. Philip Neville (Man Utd) 20. Steve Stone (Nott Forest) 21. Robbie Fowler (Liverpool) 22. Ian Walker (Spurs)
First Round, Group A
8 June 1996, WEMBLEY, 75,567
England (1) 1 v Switzerland (0) 1
(Shearer 23) (Turkylmaz 84)
15 June 1996, WEMBLEY, 77,000
England (1) 2 v Scotland (0) 0
(Shearer 53
Gascoigne 79)
18 June 1996, WEMBLEY, 76,798
England (1) 4 v Holland (0) 1
(Shearer 23, 57, (Kluivert 78)
Sheringham 51, 62)
Group A – Final Table
P |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
Pts |
|
England |
3 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
7 |
2 |
7 |
Holland |
3 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
Scotland |
3 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
Switzerland |
3 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
4 |
1 |
Quarter-Final
22 June 1996, WEMBLEY, 75,440
England (0) 0 v Spain (0) 0
England won 4-2 on penalties after extra-time
Semi-Final
26 June, 1966, WEMBLEY, 75,862
England (1) 1 v Germany (1) 1
(Shearer 3) (Kuntz 16)
Germany won 6-5 on penalties after extra-time
Euro 2000 – Eliminated in group stage
In 2000, England participated in their sixth European Championship finals which were co-hosted by Belgium and the Netherlands. England were drawn in Group A with Germany, Portugal and Romania. England lost their opening game against Portugal 3-2 in Eindhoven, Netherlands. Germany, the holders, were England’s next opponents and England gained revenge for their penalty shoot-out heartache with a 1-0 victory in the Stade Communal, Charleroi. England suffered a shock 3-2 defeat in their final group game against Romania which eliminated them from the competition in third place.
Winner: France
Host: Belgium and the Netherlands
Manager: Kevin Keegan
Squad:
- David Seamen (Arsenal) 2. Gary Neville (Man Utd) 3. Phil Neville (Man Utd) 4. Sol Campbell (Spurs) 5. Tony Adams (Arsenal) 6. Martin Keown (Arsenal) 7. David Beckham (Man Utd) 8. Paul Scholes (Man Utd) 9. Alan Shearer (Newcastle Utd) 10. Michael Owen (Liverpool) 11. Steve McManaman (Real Madrid) 12. Gareth Southgate (Aston Villa) 13. Nigel Martyn (Leeds Utd) 14. Paul Ince (Middlesbrough) 15. Gareth Barry (Aston Villa) 16. Steven Gerrard (Liverpool) 17. Dennis Wise (Chelsea) 18. Nicky Barmby (Everon) 19. Emile Heskey (Liverpool) 20. Kevin Phillips (Sunderland) 21. Robbie Fowler (Luverpool) 22. Richard Wright (Ipswich Town)
First Round, Group A
12 June 2000, EINDHOVEN, 31,500
Portugal (2) 3 v England (2) 2
(Figo 22 (Scholes 3
Joaa Pinto 37 McManaman 18)
Gomes 59)
17 June 2000, CHARLEROI, 27,700
Germany (0) 0 v England (0) 1
(Shearer 53)
20 June 2000, CHARLEROI, 27,000
England (2) 2 v Romania (1) 3
(Shearer 41 (Chivu 22
Owen 45) Munteanu 48
Ganea pen 89)
Group A – Final Table
P |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
Pts |
|
Portugal |
3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
2 |
9 |
Romania |
3 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
England |
3 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
5 |
6 |
3 |
Germany |
3 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
5 |
1 |
Euro 2004 – Eliminated in quarter-final
At the finals, England were drawn in Group B with Croatia, France and Switzerland. England lost their opening game to France 2-1 at the Estadio Da Luz, Lisbon. They defeated Switzerland 3-0 in their second game and also won 4-2 against Croatia. England finished second to France in the group and progressed to the quarter-finals where they drew 2-2 with the host nation Portugal with goals from Lampard and Owen before going out of the competition on penalties 6-5.
Winner: Greece
Host: Portugal
Manager: Sven-Goran Eriksson
Squad:
- David James (Man City) 2. Gary Neville (Man Utd) 3. Ashley Cole (Arsenal) 4. Steven Gerrard (Liverpool) 5. John Terry (Chelsea) 6. Sol Campbell (Arsenal) 7. David Beckham (Real Madrid) 8. Paul Scholes (Man Utd) 9. Wayne Rooney (Man Utd) 10. Michael Owen (Liverpool) 11. Frank Lampard (Chelsea) 12. Wayne Bridge (Chelsea) 13. Paul Robinson (Spurs) 14. Phil Neville (Man Utd) 15. Ledley King (Spurs) 16. Jamie Carragher (Liverpool)
17. Nicky Butt (Man Utd) 18. Owen Hargreaves (B Munich) 19. Joe Cole (Chelsea) 20. Kieran Dyer (Newcastle Utd) 21. Emile Heskey (Liverpool) 22. Ian Walker (Leicester City)
23. Darius Vassell (Aston Villa)
First Round, Group B
13 June 2004, LISBON, 65,200
France (0) 2 v England (1) 1
(Zidane 90, 90) (Lampard 39)
17 June 2004, COIMBRA, 28,500
England (1) 3 v Switzerland (0) 0
(Rooney 23, 76
Gerrard 83)
21 June 2004, LISBON, 57,047
Croatia (1) 2 v England (2) 4
(Kovav 5, (Scholes 40
Tudor 73) Rooney 46, 67
Lampard 78
Group B – Final Table
P |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
Pts |
|
France |
3 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
7 |
5 |
7 |
England |
3 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
8 |
4 |
6 |
Croatia |
3 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
4 |
6 |
2 |
Switzerland |
3 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
6 |
1 |
Quarter Final
24 June, LISBON, 62,564
Portugal (0) 2 v England (1) 2
(Postiga 83, (Owen 3,
Rui Costa 110) Lampard 115)
England lost 5-6 on penalities after extra-time (90min 1-1)
Euro 2008 – Did not qualify
Winner: Spain
Host: Austria and Switzerland
Euro 2012
Host: Poland and Ukraine
Winner: TBC
Manager: Roy Hodgson
England qualified for the finals of Euro 2012 with minimal effort which helped to put the disappointment of not qualifying in 2008 behind them. However Fabio Capello resigned as England boss and his replacement Roy Hodgson was only appointed at manager 40 days before the tournament started which is not ideal preparation for the country. Numerous injuries as well as the suspension of Rooney for the first two group games seem set to limit the options Hodgson has.
However expectation does seem to be lower from the English press and fans this year which arguably leaves them in a better position than all the previous major tournaments. Greece won the Euros in 2004 as massive underdogs and Denmark achieved the same in 1982, so you never know.
This could be England’s year……but probably not!