Despite England’s somewhat surprising reign of success in this year’s competition, at our time of writing, there has been a whole host of moments where The Three Lions have left us clutching our heads and screaming out in frustration.
Rating highly in the UEFA Euro 2020 winner odds, England seem to be getting it right for once. But Britain wouldn’t be what it is today if we didn’t decide to focus on the negatives. So, sit back and get ready to cringe as we take you through some of the top, stomach-churning moments from England’s past performances at the mighty Euros.
1992’s England v Sweden: Lineker gets cut short
Gary Lineker was getting ready to hang up his boots for international games when he headed out onto the pitch in Sweden, versus the home nation. Graham Taylor was acting as England manager, and his decisions were certainly about to be questioned.
Lineker was one goal away from making history when Taylor subbed him off. The game was currently drawing 1-1, and after Lineker’s departure, Sweden prevailed in the 82nd minute. From here, the former Watford coach was dubbed “turnip” by the British tabloids based on this decision, and it’s a nickname that he was never able to shake off.
2000’s England v Romania: Conceding penalties
It all seemed to be going well. A draw was in sight and England were fully expected to make it to the quarter finals against Italy. The Three Lions landed two goals in four minutes, putting them in good stead. But it wasn’t long until Romania’s Dorinel Munteanu equalised with a left-foot volley in the second half, and the pressure was back on for England to get ahead once again.
There was still some hope that the 2-2 draw could be maintained, until Phil Neville wound up tripping Viorel Moldovan and triggering an 89th minute penalty for their rivals. Ioan Ganea mislead goalkeeper Nigel Martyn as he lined up to take the penalty, sending the ball straight into the back of the net and Romania onto victory.
2004’s England v France: Another late penalty
Another undeniably frustrating performance, this time Sven-Goran Eriksson was guiding England, but it appeared he may have needed directions.
France was, and still are, a strong team, at the time boasting some of the best players in the world such as Zinedine Zidane, Thierry Henry and Lilian Thuram. But, despite their sporting prowess, there’s still room for a fair fight from their opponents. England seemed to be doing just that when Frank Lampard landed them a first-half lead, with David Beckham attempting to double that advance with a penalty. Fabien Barthez denied him, and Zidane equalised with a free-kick in the 91st minute. This was then followed by England’s David James bringing down Henry, and handing France the perfect penalty opportunity, of which they took, as well as the lead.
2016’s England v Iceland: Ultimate humiliation
This game was set to be a no-brainer. Roy Hodgson was at the helm when England took to the pitch for the Euros, and it was set to be his very last time in that position.
It started off promising, as it usually does. Wayne Rooney put his team ahead with a fourth-minute penalty, giving early confirmation that this match was already won. However, this joy was short lived as Aron Gunnarsson and Kolbeinn Sigthorsson quickly rose through the ranks and secured Iceland with the lead. Perhaps worse than the loss, was the performance from then-goalkeeper Joe Hart. The press deemed him a “danger to his own side” with such a careless approach to guarding the goal arguably caused England’s time in the game to be cut short.