From Denmark's fairytale win in 1992 to a golden goal winner, our writers share their fondest moments from the tournament
1) Spain 4-3 Yugoslavia at Euro 2000
The truth about football writers is that, as a rule, we don't tend to like late, dramatic winners too much. On-the-whistle match reports have been prepared, deadlines are looming and then, just as the final whistle is about to be blown, something happens that changes the entire story.
But then there are the moments you know you will remember for the rest of your life. Spain versus Yugoslavia, at the Jan Breydel Stadium in Bruges, had a place in the last eight as its prize. Except Spain back then were very different to the team we see now. Forget the modern-day perception of the World Cup winners, with their pass-them-to-death brand of football. The Spain of Euro 2000 were relentless under-achievers, a team with a reputation for losing their nerve in the big competitions, playing brilliantly in the buildup (they scored 42 goals in the Euro 2000 qualifiers) then choking when it really mattered.
Yugoslavia led three times. There were only 15 minutes to go when Slobodan Komljenovic made it 3-2 and, at that stage, Spain were straying dangerously close to the point of ignominy. Their opponents had been playing with 10 men since the 64th minute, when Slavisa Jokanovic was sent off. Spain had lost their opening group match 1-0 to Norway, then struggled to beat Slovenia. It was threatening to be another limp exit from a major tournament.
What followed was one of those rare moments that reminded you of the speed at which sport can take its participants on the journey from excruciating lows to exhilarating highs.
In the first minute of stoppage time Spain won a penalty and Gaizka Mendieta rolled it in for 3-3. Even then, it didn't seem to matter a great deal. Norway and Yugoslavia were going through, and Spain were being eliminated. The referee was looking at his watch, the Yugoslavia supporters were whistling for full-time.
Then everything seemed to go into slow motion and, suddenly, Sergio Agüero was running through the QPR defence … well, he wasn't, but it was probably the closest international football has to what happened at the Etihad Stadium on 13 May. The ball is pumped into the penalty area, the knockdown falls to Alfonso Pérez, who draws back his left foot and lashes it towards goal. It hits the turf first, shoots up and then suddenly it is in the bottom corner – and it feels like every Spanish player, substitute and coach are celebrating in one big scrum.
Spain, true to form, went out to France in the quarter-finals but, for all the brilliance they have served up since, it is doubtful anything compares to the drama of that night in Belgium. It was, in short, the most implausible feat of escapology this tournament has ever seen. DT
2) Scotland 0-2 Germany at Euro 92
No country does the near miss quite like Scotland. The hubristic fiasco of Argentina '78. Czechoslovakia taking advantage of Dave Mackay's absence in 1961 to bully the near-world-class team of Baxter, White, Law and St John out of a ticket to Chile. Jim Leighton teeing one up for Brazil at Italia 90, just when it looked like Scotland would finally make it past the first round of a major tournament. Patrick effing Kluivert.
But their closest scrape with glory, inexplicably oft-forgotten, came at Euro 92. This would be Scotland's greatest hour, not that they'd have anything much to show for it. It was their first ever Euro finals, and little was expected of them, having been lumped in a group with reigning world champions Germany, and defending European champions Holland. When asked for a rundown of Scotland's strengths before the tournament, Franz Beckenbauer replied: "None visible."
The cheeky bugger. Scotland may not have been the second coming of Brazil '70, but they had a squad they'd kill for these days: Andy Goram, Richard Gough, Paul McStay, Stuart McCall, Gary McAllister, Ally McCoist, Gordon Durie, Brian McClair, Pat Nevin. The team went toe to toe with Holland in their opening match, John Motson noting at one point how Marco van Basten was "second best to Gough all the time at the moment, being absolutely outplayed". Sure enough, the Scots shipped a late Dennis Bergkamp goal, meaning they had to avoid defeat against the Germans in their second match to stay alive.
They lost 2-0, a wholly unjust scoreline which, it can be reasonably argued, was at least four goals out of whack. Scotland came flying out of the box, pre-empting tiki-taka by nearly two decades, keeping hold of the ball pretty much for the entire opening half hour. McStay swivelled through 270 degrees on the edge of the German area to set up McAllister, who saw his shot brilliantly saved. McAllister, fresh from guiding Leeds to the title and full of confidence, then sent a glorious dipping volley inches wide from the edge of the area. Dave McPherson, perhaps understandably for a rangy defender, sent a half-volley wildly off target when it was easier to score.
Scotland created five chances in the opening 17 minutes, and 12 throughout the whole game. But none fell to McCoist, while Germany's rare sorties upfield bore fruit; they went one up on the half hour through a Karl-Heinz Riedle snapshot, then made it two early in the second half when Stefan Effenberg's cross took an absurd deflection off Maurice Malpas, and spawned its way into the far corner, looping in a preposterous parabola over the stranded Goram.
Scotland kept battling, Bodo Illgner dealing with a long shot by McStay, parrying a header from Gough, and smothering a burst from McClair. They won 14 corners to Germany's two. Riedle ended the game with a broken beak, Guido Buchwald's skull swathed in bandages. But it was not to be. Scotland had to make do with a valedictory 3-0 win over the CIS in their final group game, before leaving for home.
Cynics can point the finger at chances spurned, but these were two genuinely undeserved defeats. Factor in the one resounding victory, albeit in a dead rubber, and this was by some distance Scotland's best showing in a major finals. Their best ever team by definition, then? Well, why not? Although with that conclusion comes the uncomfortable truth that the greatest ever Scottish national side was forged not by a Jock Stein, Alex Ferguson, Tommy Docherty or Matt Busby – but by the much derided middle-management pen-pusher Andy Roxburgh. So much for the legend of the granite-tough Scottish manager, then. SM
3) England 0-1 Republic of Ireland at Euro 88
You never forget your first time. Nor the anticipation and apprehension that precede it. Will you go all the way and celebrate glory? Or suffer an early and humiliating exit? I may only have been 15 in June 1988 but already I was well versed in the ways of the world. The Republic's lot, I knew, was to be denied admission to major tournaments through a villainous amalgam of misfortune, incompetence and skulduggery.
Even when a shock development for once went in our favour – as already-eliminated Scotland won in Sofia to send the Republic to Euro 88 instead of Bulgaria – it was impossible to shake the suspicion that we were simply being set up for an even bigger fall than before. This fear deepened with the realisation that two of the country's stalwarts – Mark Lawrenson and Liam Brady – would miss the tournament through injury and suspension. The draw hinted further at a diabolical conspiracy when it revealed that our first opponents in our first ever big international tournament would be … England. For years Irish football had struggled to emerge from the shadow cast by its burly neighbour and now, when at last we made it on to the international stage, just look who was waiting there to put us straight back into our cardboard box. Tens of thousands of Irish fans travelled to Stuttgart to watch the match and no matter how much bravado and beer they had inside them, you can be sure the dominant thought prior to kick-off was "please God don't let it get too embarrassing".
It got embarrassing. But not for Ireland. The first sign that things would go in favour of Jack Charlton's team came when Bobby Robson granted the Irish manager's greatest wish and left Glenn Hoddle on the bench. The one passer who could be expected to regularly pick the Irish defence apart was omitted in favour of Neil Webb, who made no impression in an area that, in the first half, was largely controlled by Paul McGrath, Ronnie Whelan and Ray Houghton. What's more, England could not get their wingers, John Barnes and Chris Waddle, into the game as Ireland doubled up on them and forced the English to try to play through the middle. Ireland were looking comfortable. Ish.
Meanwhile, England, with Terry Butcher missing from central defence, panicked every time Ireland launched the ball into their box, most notably in the sixth minute, when Mark Wright and Gary Stevens collided with each other as they attempted to repel a long free-kick from Kevin Moran and then Kenny Sansom frantically booted a would-be clearance almost straight up into the air. This was slapstick stuff and Houghton delivered the perfect punchline by nutting the ball into net from 12 yards.
After an hour Robson finally introduced Hoddle. He soon changed the game, continually dinking splendid passes into the path of Gary Lineker, who was too fast for the Irish defence. But Lineker (who, it later emerged, was suffering from hepatitis) was having a rare off day – and Irish goalkeeper Packie Bonner was enjoying the best of his career. Six clear chances fell to Lineker but all his shots were either saved or wayward. It was not totally one-sided – Peter Shilton had to made a smart block from Houghton, while Whelan skimmed the bar with a fine volley – but an English goal was looking inevitable. Only in the final minutes, when Bonner produced yet another improbable save from Lineker, awkwardly pushing a shot on to the post and wide, could we truly believe that Ireland were going to do it. And when we did, it felt every bit as good as we'd been led to believe. PD
4) Denmark 2-0 Germany, Euro 92 final
In the 1980s it was easy. At major tournaments you followed the home nations and one other team to which you took a shine, usually because they had a right-back who could engage the roof of the net from 40 yards. At Euro 92 that changed. Arsenal fans followed Sweden because of Anders Limpar; those with an affinity to Leeds wanted France to do well because of their Gallic hero Eric Cantona. And Manchester United supporters had an eye on Denmark (Peter Schmeichel) and the CIS (Andrei Kanchelskis).
There had been isolated examples before – Jesper Olsen, Jan Molby, John Sivebaek, Glenn Hysen, Ludek Miklosko, Rachid Harkouk – but this was the first time a number of key foreign players were based in England. As in so much else (squad rotation, a deeper second striker, counterattacking), Sir Alex Ferguson was ahead of his peers in his purchase of high-class overseas players. It made for a novel viewing experience, especially when Denmark – who were only in the tournament because of the war in Yugoslavia – rode their luck all the way to the final. Until then, the only time we'd had a vested interest in a European Championship final was on the Amiga. It was an exhilarating awakening to football's globalisation.
Schmeichel had enjoyed a good if not spotless tournament. He was probably at fault for Holland's first goal in the semi-final, but more than made up for it with a decisive save from Marco van Basten in the penalty competition. Despite an outstanding debut season at Manchester United, he was not necessarily recognised as the best keeper in England never mind the world. Tony Coton had been picked ahead of him in the PFA Team of the Year. (Mind you, and this is quite absurd, Schmeichel only made that team in two of his eight seasons at United.)
After the final, there was very little doubt that he was a truly great goalkeeper. He made three outstanding saves, yet there was so much more to his performance than that: he radiated a rare certainty that empowered Denmark and made the Germans think the unthinkable. By the end, he was catching crosses one-handed like Pat Jennings without a care in the world. Schmeichel was so obviously in the zone that he should have had a forcefield around him. Instead, all he had was a shocking goalkeeping top that looked like a fluorescent Blockbusters board.
Schmeichel didn't quite manager a Gold Run of saves, but three was enough. The first came at 0-0, after eight minutes, when he flew from his line to get a touch on Stefan Reuter's attempted dink. The others came at 1-0 to deny Jürgen Klinsmann. For the first, a few minutes after John Jensen's eye-popping opening goal, Klinsmann whipped a beautiful shot towards the far bottom corner from the edge of the box. Schmeichel, showing stunning elasticity, dived full-length to his right to fingertip. "Good save," said John Motson on the BBC. The co-commentator Sir Trevor Brooking, usually comfortable on the fence, urgently corrected him. "It was a great save. One of the saves of the tournament."
After 73 minutes Schmeichel made another immense save. Klinsmann towered over two defenders to thump a header at goal from six yards, and Schmeichel leapt majestically to palm it over the bar. This time Motson called it right: "Oh great save Schmeichel!" Klinsmann turned away with the look of a movie character who has put 20 slugs in his nemesis and still can't kill the goddamn sunovabitch
Moments later, Kim Vilfort made it 2-0 to complete Denmark's amazing victory. It was a fairytale lapped up by the entire country, but United fans probably enjoyed it a bit more than the rest. We kind of knew Schmeichel was the real thing; this confirmed it. In the 20 years since I have never been as proud of a United player at a major tournament as I was that night. RS
5) Holland 1-4 England, Euro 96
It was the summer that Three Lions reached No1, but the finals of Euro 96 started badly for Terry Venables' England, with a 1-1 draw against Switzerland every bit as dispiriting as the goalless stalemate against Uruguay with which Alf Ramsey's side had kicked off the 1966 World Cup. Ten days later that featureless performance was completely forgotten. Having dismissed Scotland with the aid of a Paul Gascoigne wonder-goal in their second group match, England were in better spirits when they came to confront Holland, although few were expecting them to match a side including Dennis Bergkamp, Clarence Seedorf, Ronald de Boer and Patrick Kluivert. The star turned out to be Paul Gascoigne, who gave his finest performance in an England shirt, running his socks off to establish control in the first half before using the platform to demonstrate his mastery of time and space and orchestrate the drive to victory. An Alan Shearer penalty gave them the lead at the interval, and three goals between the 51st and 62nd minutes – two from Teddy Sheringham and another from Shearer, as good a team goal as England have ever scored – finished off opponents who had given Brazil a hard time in the quarter-final of the World Cup two years earlier. Venables' men had one more great performance in them, pushing Germany all the way in a semi-final of high technical quality, furious intensity and unremitting excitement: a match neither side deserved to lose, least of all on penalties. RW
6) France 2-1 Italy (aet), Euro 2000
The euphoria lasted. France were not just delighted to win the World Cup in 1998. There had been relief, too. As hosts they had been tormented and even neutrals felt the stress when the team was defeating Paraguay in extra-time or getting past Italy in a shoot-out. The ease with which Brazil were downed in the final was far from characteristic.
A couple of years later, Euro 2000 was a celebration of finesse and flair that everyone could savour. A look at the record books reminds you of just how many risks France ran. By then, they were a bolder, more expressive side. With the World Cup already in their possession, they had nothing whatsoever to prove.
At times they seemed to tease themselves and, for instance, came second in their group behind Holland, who were co-hosts with Belgium. With that World Cup stashed away, it was as if France needed a fright to jolt them into their best and most intuitive football. In the Euro 2000 final, they did not pull level with Italy until Sylvain Wiltord scored in the fourth minute of stoppage-time.
There was a daredevil tone to France then. The greatness of Lilian Thuram, Marcel Desailly, Zinedine Zidane and others was already understood. Absorbing as the team play could be, individualism was prized as well. There was something rash about the winning goal against Italy in Rotterdam that would have provoked recriminations if the instinctiveness had not been so exhilarating.
When Robert Pires put a cross into the path of David Trezeguet there was ample time to control a ball that was bouncing towards him. The striker preferred intuition, lashing a shot that went in high past the right hand of Francesco Toldo.
It was, quite literally, a show-stopper. With the match in extra time the golden goal rule applied and, in that instant, France were champions. It seemed right that Euro 2000 should come to a close with an unanswerable goal from an irresistible side. KM Read More
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