Wembley Stadium has been home to English football since the beginning of time, and is widely regarded as one of the sport’s largest cathedrals.
But the old Wembley could not stand the test of time and it was rebuilt to become a suitable, modern home for the game’s most prestigious event.
Since the grand reopening in 2007, London’s famous ground has witnessed some of football’s most important midfield matches and has hosted many unforgettable moments over the past 14 years.
To celebrate Wembley as the host of Euro 2020’s grand final this summer, 90min has chosen the 15 best matches ever played in the new arena. And of course they rank.
We start with one of the rare sights in football: England beats Brazil. In 2013, the Three Lions hosted the most famous football nation on the planet, and they showed them how to play the game.
Joe Hart produced a fantastic double count from a penalty before Wayne Rooney opened the scoring from the edge of the box. Fred equalized from a Gary Cahill error, but England were not finished, and Frank Lampard sealed the victory with a curl from 20 meters.
A little EFL Cup drama now, and this had a lot. Manchester United seemed to walk to victory in the final, after Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Jesse Lingard gave them a leading 2-0 lead.
But Manolo Gabbiadini pulled the Saints level and did twice to really place the cat among the pigeons. Ibrahimovic made the difference, however, and the Swede grabbed the winning goal with a powerful nod.
85,000 fans went up to watch the EFL Trophy final between Portsmouth and Sunderland in 2019, and it was a crack. The Black Cats went on through Aiden McGeady, but Portsmouth struck late and then messed up in extra time thanks to a fantastic Jamal Lowe lobby.
McGeady made it 2-2 with one minute left to play and sent the game to penalties. Portsmouth won the spot kicks, after Lee Cattermole missed the decisive attempt. Heartbreak for Sunderland.
Wembley was also home to one of the biggest disruptions in FA Cup history when Manchester City and Wigan Athletic went head-to-head in the 2013 final.
Wigan’s Ben Watson was a disappointment, however. The home crowd was not pleased with that one. Such moments will never be forgotten.
Who doesn’t love a goal party? The last day of the 2017/18 season produced a nine-goal thriller at Wembley, when Tottenham Hotspur ran incredible 5-4 winners over Leicester City.
The Spurs eventually left Wembley a few months later to settle in their brand new stadium, but they made plenty of memories in their temporary home.
The Championship play-off is known as the richest game in football, which often causes some nervous business. The 2010 meeting between Blackpool and Cardiff City was far from cagey.
The Tangerines came from behind twice to stun the Bluebirds, with all five goals in a 3-2 victory that came in a breathless first half. Brett Ormerod beat the winner and sent Blackpool into the Premier League for the first time in its history.
More cup drama now, even if we switch to the semi-finals of the FA Cup 2017 between London’s rivals Spurs and Chelsea. The Blues came out on this dizzying meeting and booked their place in the final with a 4-2 victory.
Willian put Chelsea ahead twice, but Spurs fought back to level the score. Eden Hazard reintroduced the Blues advantage in the second half, and a Nemanja Matic thunder set the result undoubtedly.
Now this is a classic moment in English football history. Birmingham City and Arsenal equalized one goal each, with Laurent Koscielny and Wojciech Szczesny plowing into each other, leaving Obafemi Martin standing over the ball with the net gaping.
The freight forwarder did the rest, which led to another major shock in the history of the English Cup competition.
Another entry for Spurs here and a new defeat. This time they were torn apart by the Spanish giants Barcelona, who rolled to a 4-2 victory at Wembley.
Ivan Rakitic and Lionel Messi made the choice of goal, as Barça hit the three points in style. Every opportunity to see Messi in full flow is a wonderful one.
Back to 2013, and it’s an England-Scotland classic. Kenny Miller put Scotland 2-1 up in the second half, as the shooting army dreamed of a famous victory over their enemies.
Danny Welbeck restored parity for the Three Lions, and Rickie Lambert ended the turn with a brilliant nod from a corner of England. A close shave.
FA Cup time again, and we think back to 2019 when Watford pulled out one of the best comebacks the competition has seen. Wolverhampton Wanderers were two goals to the good in the second half and seemed to cross into the final.
A brilliant Gerard Deulofeu chip took the Hornets back into battle, and a final gasp Troy Deeney penalty took the game to extra time. Deulofeu won the semi-final for Watford in the next 30 minutes and competed through to the goal and set up a big final against Man City. I can not really remember how it ended, in fact …
Speaking of dramatic twists, what about Arsenal’s FA Cup final with Hull City? The lucky underdogs stunned the Gunners by running into an early two-goal lead and looking out for the most famous FA shocks.
But Arsenal showed their experience in this competition and forced the final to extra time, where Aaron Ramsey wrote his name further into the Gunners folklore with the winning goal and ended their nine-year trophy drought.
The Champions League final is the pinnacle of club football, and Wembley hosted an all-German deal for the 2013 edition. Bayern Munich came out on top and secured a 2-1 victory with a last minute strike.
Arjen Robben was the match winner, loaded through to roll the ball in the back of the net and send Bayern fans into a frenzy. Rent drama.
Heroes on the night / Anadolu Agency / Getty Images
If Danny Murphy says he has not had a football game in many years as much as he has had this, it must be an instant classic! Italy reached the European Championship 2020 final via penalties and held out with a 1-1 draw with Spain after extra time.
Federico Chiesa sent Gli Azzurri supporters wild with a goal towards the race, but Alvaro Morata sent the game to extra time. Spain could not force their way through for the second time, and they had to pay when Jorginho coolly lost the winning penalty in the shooting.
Probably the biggest club side ever built against Sir Alex Ferguson’s Man Utd at Wembley Stadium? Football does not get bigger or better than this.
Barcelona set up a championship class in London, where Lionel Messi, Pedro and David Villa shared Pep Guardiola’s side Champions League trophy. Sit back and admire it, everyone.
