With England’s semi-final date with Croatia on Wednesday looming ever larger, we’ve taken a look back at their record in semi-finals at major tournaments.
The Three Lions have made a total of four visits to a final four – twice at the Euros and twice at the World Cup. It’s been 22 years since their last venture this deep into an international competition, and many of their fans will be too young to remember an England squad playing in a game with so much at stake.
Gareth Southgate’s men have put in solid performances this summer and find themselves 90 minutes away from a potential final. The Croatians will be a stern test, however, and nothing can be taken for granted at this stage of the World Cup.
This England team has been making history since arriving in Russia, and have united the nation in support of them – but what does history suggest lies in wait for them in Moscow?
World Cup 1966 - England 2-1 Portugal
England’s first ever semi-final appearance was at home, and they won. Watched by a crowd of over 90,000 at Wembley, Bobby Charlton scored a brace to help overcome a Portugal side whose lone goal was scored by the legendary Eusebio. Charlton opened the scoring by finishing off a counter-attack after a saved shot, and made it 2-0 with a confident finish from 15 yards out in the 80th minute. Eusebio’s goal (the first scored against England at the tournament) came from the penalty spot after Jack Charlton ‘pulled a Suarez’ and used his hand to keep out a Jose Torres header. The win would go on to set up a final with West Germany. We all know what happened there.
Euro 1968 - Yugoslavia 1-0 England
England would not have to wait long for their second appearance in a semi-final as Sir Alf Ramsey’s world champions met Yugoslavia in Florence, Italy just two years after their triumph on home soil. England had missed a number of chances before Yugoslav winger Dragan Džajić gave his team the lead in the 86th minute. This game, however, is less known for the final result and more known for Alan Mullery (pictured, playing for Tottenham Hotspur) becoming the first player in England’s international history to be shown a red card. Yugoslavia had employed rough (to say the least) tactics all game, and Mullery lost his cool in the 89th minute, responding to a blood-drawing, studs-up challenge from Dobrivoje Trivić by turning around and kicking him in a place where you can be sure he felt it! England would go on to beat the Soviet Union 2-0 in the third-place play-off.
World Cup 1990 - West Germany 1-1 England - West Germany win on penalties
England would then have to endure a 22-year wait for another semi-final, and, coincidentally, it came on Italian soil too. Bobby Robson’s iconic team had lit up the tournament with some excellent football, led by the likes of Gary Lineker, Paul Gascoigne, Peter Beardsley and David Platt. But it was to end in tears in one of the most infamous games in the history of England’s national team. Lineker cancelled out Andreas Brehme’s opener and the teams were deadlocked after 30 minutes of extra time, although the image of Gazza’s yellow card (which would have ruled him out of the final had England made it) is perhaps the one that has lived longest in the memory. A Stuart Pearce penalty saved, and one missed by Chris Waddle would seal the fate of one of England’s best ever teams, and they would go on to lose to hosts Italy in the third place play-off.
Euro 1996 - Germany 1-1 England - Germany win on penalties
New Germany, same old England. England’s most recent venture to a semi-final was again on home soil, and more than 75,000 people watched them play Germany on the same ground where they had won the World Cup against the same opposition 30 years earlier. Tournament top scorer Alan Shearer opened the scoring after just three minutes, but Stefan Kuntz equalised just 13 minutes later and rather than bringing back the sweet memories of the 1966 triumph, this game ended up being more reminiscent of the heartbreak of six years previously – 1-1 after extra time, Gazza being booked, England losing a penalty shootout. Oh, and by the way, the man who missed the sudden-death penalty that knocked England out – Gareth Southgate.