England hope to make it happy for the third time after finishing in their two EURO semi-finals so far.
England meet Denmark at Wembley on Wednesday and want to reach a UEFA European Championship final for the first time. We highlight their two previous semi-final bands.
1968: Yugoslavia 1-0 England
After winning the FIFA World Cup at home just two years earlier, England wanted to add continental awards to their cabinet at the tournament in Italy. However, the absence of the injured duo Geoff Hurst and Nobby Stiles, key figures in the 1966 triumph, did not help their cause in Florence, especially against a strong Yugoslav side. After 86 minutes of play, Dragan Džajić evened things up for Bobby Moore with an impressive goal coming up the middle. Things went from bad to worse just before the last whistle when Alan Mullery became the first England player sent out in the country’s history.
1996: Germany 1-1 England (pens: 6-5)
It took almost 30 years before England reached the same stage of competition again, encouraged as a tournament host at EURO ’96. Terry Venables’ side won Group A with seven points from three matches, including a thumping 4-1 victory over the Netherlands on match day 3 that triggered a wave of optimism across the country.
They edged Spain 4-2 on penalties after a goalless 120 minutes to put up a semi-final match with old rivals Germany, and when Alan Shearer went in from a corner in the third minute at Wembley, everything seemed to go smoothly. Stefan Kuntz equalized shortly afterwards, and although the Three Lions had a number of promising openings to restore their lead, they just could not apply the finishing touch, Darren Anderton hit the post and Paul Gascoigne painfully close to converting Alan Shearer’s cross.
The match finally went to penalty, and each side converted their first five kicks before Andreas Köpke saved from Gareth Southgate. Andreas Möller showed no mercy and sent Germany to a final against the Czech Republic which they would win via a golden goal. England have to wait 25 years for their next semi-final opportunity, with the Southgate boss leading his side’s quest to finally get better.
