England Greatest Moments in Euro History

24 sides began fighting for the Euro 2020 championship title from 11 June and the winner will be determined on 11 July 2021. Some nations were eliminated, and this made the competition more exciting. Over the years England had it fair share of ups and downs. Heavy defeats, bad managers, and bad luck. In this article we will tell all the details about England's greatest Euro moments.

This year the three lines are determined to changes history and make their way to Euro championship. England hadn’t reached the knockouts since 55 years but in the Euro 2020 they made an incredible performance as they thrashed Germany and got closer to the championship. Find out details about England greatest moments in Euro history in this article.

England and Germany Old Rivalry

England and Germany have been old rivals since 1930, in different competitions like the 1966 FIFA World Cup Final, and the semi-finals of the 1990 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 1996. Gary Lineker, the former English footballer once said: “Football is a simple game; 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes, and at the end, the Germans win.” But this year things took another turn as the Germans were dumped out of the competition.

England Has Been Through a Lot in Euro History

Over the years England faced a lot of bad moments such as the exit of the German and Portuguese penalty shootouts. In 2008, England was defeated 3-2 and faced further losses after, which led to the embarrassment of not qualifying for the tournament. In Euro 2016 England was also humiliated with a loss to Iceland.

 “It is a hard one to take. It is embarrassing,” Rooney said after the 2-1 defeat. “We know we are a better team. You can’t explain it by saying we could have done this or that. We tried to create chances but unfortunately we couldn’t win.” Aside from all the defeats and shattered tears, England also had some great moments which were unforgettable. Stay tuned for our list of

high 5 England moments in European championship

.

High 5 England Moments in European Championship

Our list begins with the early days of Euro championship and we will go through history and find out these incredible moments together.

1. England Vs Spain Penalty Shootout Victory at Euro ’96

One of

England's greatest Euro moments

was during Euro 1996. The three lines defeated Netherlands 4-1 and went to face Spain in the next game. The winner of the game would be qualified to reach the finals. For the whole 90 minutes, both sides struggled to score. But there was no luck. Alan Shearer was a key role player in the match. An agile player with excellent control on the ball who scored 13 goals in 11 games on the international level and made a record.

knew they had to watch out for Shearer. After a goalless draw, England and Spain went for penalty shootouts. This was the first game that led to penalties in Euro 1996. England had a bad history in penalty shootouts but this one was going to be different. Shearer went on and scored the first penalty. David Platt, Stuart Pearce (the moment of his redemption after

’90) and Paul Gascoigne stepped up to make history.

The Spanish side missed two of the penalties and this was a historical moment as England won and got qualified for the final game. This was the first time England came this far in the tournament. However, in the final game against the Germans Gary Lineker prediction came true and England lost to their old rivalry. Gareth Southgate took a crucial penalty and unfortunately it was saved by the goalkeeper. England was eliminated from Euro 1996 championship. Find out more details about

England greatest moments in Euro history

in the following.

2. Shearer Hat Trick in A UEFA Euro 2000 Qualifier

One of England greatest moments in Euro history took place in Euro 2000. England worked hard to get qualified for the competition. They had a draw in January 1998 which put them in one group with Bulgaria, Luxembourg,

and

. The winner of the group would reach the runner-up into the play-offs. In September 1999, Shearer managed to score a hat trick against Luxembourg. This helped the three lions to reach a play-off against Scotland. England managed to defeat Scotland and they got qualified for the European Championships.

In the opening goal of the competition, England faced Portugal. Unfortunately, they were defeated 3-2. In the following game England came across their old opponent, Germany. Once again Shearer made another wonder in favor of his country and scored the winning goal and handed England the first competitive win over their arch rivals since the 1966 World Cup final. But the competition wasn’t over yet. England only needed a draw so it could remain in the competition.

In final group match they faced

. Shearer scored a penalty in the 41th minute. Later Michael Owen scored another goal. In the half time the results were 2-1 in favor of the three lines.

didn’t expect to face such a heavy defeat as Romania won 3-2 in the last minute. The three lines were knocked out of the competition. Stay tuned for further details about England's greatest euro moments.

The Darkest Euro in History

It’s been 21 years since the darkest Euro tournament in history. In 2000 Belgium and Netherlands were the hosts of the competition. After the qualification, England squad found themselves in the group of death along with Portugal and Germany. Prior to England’s game with their old opponent Germany, hooligans from England went violent in Brussels and Charleori and brought shame to the nation. England supporters got into fight with German fans and police had to take action. More than 900 people were arrested and more than 400 were deported back to their country.

Following the victory of English side against the Germans, the fans were thrilled however with the violent behavior of the supporters, UEFA president Lennart Johansson threatened to take England out of the competition. Johansson stated: “Fans cannot be allowed to behave like this again and create havoc. The UK government owes it to everyone concerned to take similar steps to those taken in other countries to stop those troublesome fans from travelling abroad.”

He added: “UEFA will have to determine whether the presence of the English team in the tournament should be maintained should there be a repetition of similar incidents. We cannot afford a repeat of the fans' behavior of recent days.” UK Prime Minister Tony Blair responded to the ultimatum: “Hopefully this threat will bring to their senses anyone tempted to continue the mindless thuggery that has brought such shame to the country.” Learn more details about England greatest moments in Euro history in the following.

UEFA Called UK Government to Take Action

UEFA called on the British government to consider a fitting punishment to England supporters when they get home. chief executive Gerhard Aigner stated: “These English hooligans are a disgrace to their country and a blight on their national team. The actions of the last 48 hours have left a scar on our tournament and left us wondering why more was not done to prevent them travelling. The events of the last few days cannot be allowed to continue. Euro 2000 is a celebration of European football and not an excuse for a small minority of English fans to cause havoc.”

He added “We are calling on the UK government and to everyone concerned to take action similar that taken in other countries to stop these so-called fans travelling abroad. We cannot allow a small (group) to spoil an international tournament for genuine fans. Other governments have shown that it can be done and we call on the UK government to take the necessary steps as a matter of urgency.” At the end Johansson didn’t make his threat happen however England was eliminated after their loss to Romania. Find out more details about England greatest moments in Euro history in the following.

3. Wayne Rooney the Wonder Kid of England at Euro 2004

Wayne Rooney is indeed one of the greatest footballers in England’s history. On 6 September 2004, while he was only 17 years old, the footballer appeared in Euro championship. The wonder kid managed to score goals for his nation and this made him the youngest player to score in the competition. In a 2-1 away win against

during the UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying match, Rooney scored the equalizing goal. On 17 June 2004, he grabbed a brace in England’s second match over

which was a 3-0 win for the three lions.

Four days later his record for the youngest goal scorer was broken by Swiss midfielder Johan Vonlanthen. During England’s final group match on 21 June, Rooney scored two more goals in a 4-2 victory against Croatia. Later he suffered from an injury in the quarter-final match against hosts Portugal on 24 June and England were eliminated from Euro 2004 in the penalty shootouts. After scoring four goals in four games Rooney was named in UEFA's Team of the Tournament. Although England’s elimination was disappointing but Rooney’s great performance was memorable. Find out more details about England greatest moments in Euro history in the following.

Nobody Has Made Such an Impact Since Pelé

After the competition was over, Rooney stated about his appearance in the tournament: “My debut at such a young age and then Euro 2004 was the standout tournament for me because I scored four goals. To be your country’s all-time leading goal scorer before the age of 30 is something I could never have dreamed of. I just hate losing.” Sven-Göran Eriksson, England manager at UEFA EURO 2004 commented: “I don't remember anyone making such an impact on a tournament since Pelé at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden.” Pele is highly regarded as one of the best footballers of his generation. He was among the most successful and popular sports figures of the 20th century.

FIFA labeled him as one of “the greatest.” The former footballer and winner of three World Cups praised Rooney for his performance and said: “Wayne's emerged as one of EURO 2004's best players. He's a very exciting talent who shows maturity and composure beyond his young years.” Gareth Southgate described him: “When Wayne came through he was at a level which is different to any of the players we’ve got at the moment.” Sir Alex Ferguson, former Manchester United manager once said: “I think we have got the best young player this country has seen in the past 30 years.” Stay tuned for more details about

England greatest moments in Euro history

.

Euro 2016

The English went through a lot of setbacks in Euro history. They didn’t even qualify for Euro 2008 and in Euro 2012 during the quarter-finals stage, they faced a heavy defeat in the penalty shootout as they were beaten 4-2 by Italy. In Euro 2016, England was the first team to join hosts

ahead of other sides. The three lines defeated

6-0 and got qualified for the rest of the competition. This game was also notable to Wayne Rooney the top goal scorer as he scored in the 49th minute for his nation, equaling the national record held by Sir Bobby Charlton

England captain, Wayne Rooney later stated in an interview: “It’s a proud moment to equal Sir Bobby Charlton's record. My aim is to push on and try and help the team win on Tuesday and break the record. It would have been great if the record had happened tonight. Obviously, the tradition of Wembley and to break the record at Wembley would be great. Sir Bobby is in the dressing room at Manchester United after all the games and he has a presence about him. He has given me advice. I would swap all these goals for a winners' medal next summer.”

4. Daniel Sturridge Winning Goal

We still haven’t told you about England’s greatest moment in the tournament. The three lines went through tough games. They barely reached it to the group phase. They faced an old opponent in one of the games. England and Wales met in group B. Gareth Bale led the

to a 1-0 in the 42 minutes and

pulled the game level in the 56 minute.

Later Daniel Sturridge stepped up and made one of

England greatest moments in Euro history

happen. In the 92nd minute the footballer gave the Three Lions a memorable last-minute winner with a decisive three points. Sturridge had a memorable goal celebration after his goal as well, performing the wobbling arm dance. Stay tuned for the number five of our list.

5. Euro 2020

Last but not least in our high 5 England moments in European championship list belongs to England's performance in Euro 2020. Let’s see how far the three lines had reached this year. Once again the English men came across their old opponent in Euro competition. This was indeed the greatest moment England had in Euro history among all the other ones. England managed to beat Germany in the competition and secured their position in the Euro 2020.

stepped up in the 75th minute and scored the opening goal for the English side.

In the 86th minute,

took control of the situation and scored the second goal. The match ended as England defeated Germany 2-0. “We knew we needed a big performance against a difficult side, and we did that today,” Sterling said. “Doing it for your country is always special. We knew the intensity we could play at, not a lot of teams can deal with it … All-round, great team performance. We take it game by game, we go away, recover and get focused onto the next one.” England's next game is against Ukraine on Saturday in the quarter-finals. The Englishmen performed strongly this summer hoping to be champions. 

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