England has a long history of depressing tournaments, with some notable outings. Since their only victory at the 1966 World Cup, their story has been very different. Near-misses, key injuries and notable penalty shootout defeats are a very familiar story for Three Lions fans. That’s part of why, even though they have a huge amount of talent, many fans feel it’s simply not made for England.
Euro 2024 may be different. England have a strong squad and are among the favourites to win the trophy on July 14. In any case, the memory of the outings from the tournament torments the minds of the English faithful. Here’s a history of some of the harshest tactics England conspired with. Quit tournaments.
England faced Argentina in the quarterfinals of the 1986 World Cup. Facing their sides was a player whose unique talents were beginning to be widely identified and who would use the tournament as undeniable proof that he was the greatest player in the world: Diego. Maradona. Su performance against England was a calling card that showed his footballing skills and overall determination to win. He scored both goals in the 2-1 win and each of them will be remembered for a long time.
It was the first that remains a hard tablet for England to swallow: Maradona, a man less than five and a half feet tall, “beat” a goalkeeper more than six feet tall to bring the ball home. Even if he didn’t. He kicked the ball and then brazenly claimed that the goal had been “the hand of God. “His second, a labyrinthine solo run from inside his own half, wiped out England’s entire defence. It remains the most beautiful goal scored in the world. Cup. England has fallen into injustice and inspiration.
For the first time since 1966, England reached the quarter-finals of a foreign tournament in Italy ’90. Inspired by new national hero Paul Gascoigne, the team faced West Germany for a final position. While Gary Lineker’s goal forced 30 minutes after the extra time after the injury, the consequences lurked. It was the first of many painful defeats in this brutal way suffered by England when the game ended with Chris Waddle kicking his yards over the crossbar.
After failing to qualify for the 1994 World Cup in America, England hosted the European Championship two years later and temporarily conquered a country with a striking goal from Paul Gascoigne against their Scottish neighbours and a very good all-time performance against the Netherlands. They even managed to win by the consequences in the quarter-finals against Spain before going head-to-head with Germany in the semi-finals. Maybe the players were different. Still, the result was the same as before: Germany won, and current England manager Gareth Southgate failed to convert his shot. It continues to be one of the hardest that exist for the country.
The first symptoms of a golden generation were beginning to appear in England. Michael Owen, 18, on his way to becoming one of the most stylish personalities on the continent and David Beckham, just as young, already on the front page and on the back cover. of the British tabloid press. In the round of 16 matches against Argentina, each player made his mark with many other contributions. Coming out to the world, Owen’s solo run and completing the 1-1 draw has been seen as one of England’s top productive at this level.
Beckham’s contribution, however, is less positive. Annoyed by a foul by Deigo Simeone, he attacked the Argentine. Beckham intentionally kicked him to receive an instant red card. The torrent of media and fan abuse in the months that followed caused a change in the star. While the teams were still point after extra time, they came back from a penalty shootout that ended England’s presence in a foreign tournament.
By the time the next World Cup rolled around, David Beckham had established himself as his country’s captain and talisman leader. Everything was forgiven in the eyes of the press and he was going to lead a team full of stars and full of potential. It was a problem. Just weeks before the tournament, Beckham was injured, fracturing the bones in his right foot and addressing the country with the word metatarsal. The country held its breath as he recovered, and the same press that had slandered him 4 years earlier was now employing his forehead. pages to pray for Beckham’s recovery. Despite being declared compatible for the tournament, he never looked comfortable, especially when he jumped on an attack against Brazil, allowing his opponent to run to the other end of the field and score.
Euro 2004, the tournament where Wayne Rooney burst onto the scene, burst onto the organisational stage and became the youngest goalscorer in the history of the tournament. England had unearthed a new star and the uproar was growing. It was almost predictable then that it would be time for Rooney to get injured. England had taken an early lead against Portugal in the quarter-finals when Rooney lost in the first hour. His departure seemed to lose confidence for the England side, who would concede a late draw before resorting to a penalty. .
Like Beckham before him, the referees sent off England star Wayne Rooney for an irritable kick to an opponent. This happened in his team’s quarter-finals against Portugal. His Manchester United teammate Cristiano Ronaldo did his best to provoke the referee to lift the red card. After that, the match becomes inevitable and England loses on penalties. It becomes a real habit.
England were terrible in the 2010 World Cup. The only positive thing for the team was to make a substitution in the game. In an asymmetrical circular 16-man match against Germany, Frank Lampard thought he had equalised at 2-2 just before the break. His shot from outside the box grazed the box under the crossbar before bouncing off the goal line. But the referee and the linesman think otherwise, despite the fact that in the replay it seems that Lampard had clearly scored. Not being convinced that the ball had crossed the line, the referee allowed play to continue.
England would finally be at the end of a tough 4-1 defeat. However, Lampard’s goal, which it wasn’t, would have a lasting impact. This then encouraged the goal generation that has become a staple around the world.
This is an English team that never had the impression of disturbing the final stages of the tournament. Thanks to another penalty defeat, this time against Italy, they did not manage it.
What’s strange, in a way, is that this is a tournament that didn’t end in a penalty shootout loss. England managed to find an even worse exit from Euro 2016. A humiliating 2-1 defeat to Iceland followed a move that resulted in the instant resignation of manager Roy Hodgson. The anger of another 50 million people has not alleviated the lingering effects of such an outcome.
Football almost “went home” with a Euro 2020 delayed due to covid. England have only reached the final of a tournament for the second time in their history. In addition, the odds were in favor of Inglaterra. La Euro 2020 final took place at the team’s national stadium. Wembley Stadium. It was the scene of England’s only other primary triumph, the 1966 World Cup. A lively crowd, desperate for hope of ending their years without a trophy, showed up en masse on this summer day. The opponent was Italy, who failed to qualify for the last World Cup. The Azzurri had exceeded expectations just by reaching the final of Euro 2020.
Things started well when Luke Shaw opened the scoring in five minutes. Still, a familiar trend soon emerged. England began to look increasingly cautious, causing tension and causing Italy to equalize. As the minutes passed, the country could sense what was coming. To everyone’s surprise, England once behind missed the last hurdle, missing three penalties.
The consequences sounded the death knell for a rich Euro 2020 series. Now, England will be looking for their result from 3 years ago when Euro 2024 opens in Germany.
PHOTOS: IMAGO