Disappointment for England in Penalties continue
KIEV, UKRAINE – JUNE 24: Gianluigi Buffon of Italy saves a penalty during the UEFA EURO 2012 quarter final match between England and Italy at The Olympic Stadium on June 24, 2012 in Kiev, Ukraine. (Photo by Christopher Lee/Getty Images)
Since winning the World Cup in 1966, there haven’t been many moments where, as a country, the supporters have enjoyed immense success and unforgettable memories.
It seems that winning through penalties is not in the blood of Englishmen. This time too the penalty shoot-out gamble put England out of EURO 2012. In the history of English football, it happened once in the last century, when England moved through to the next round of the championship by winning via penalty shoot out.
The journey of England in world football has been a journey full of high hopes but ultimately many tears, disappointment and in recent years, missed penalties!!
Lets take a look at the England’s disappointment at Euro, whenever the penalty shoot out came into action.
EURO 1996 (England):
Semi-final draw 1-1 against Germany, beaten 6-5 on penalties.
The country got right behind England as that was the year when ‘Football came home’.
England got the perfect start with a 1-1 draw in the opening match against Switzerland, then proceeded to a famous 2-0 success over Scotland, and then a 4-1 thrashing of Holland. It looked like nobody could stop England from lifting the cup.
In the last eight match against Spain at Wembley, the match went into extra-time and to penalties and this was the only time English supporters tasted the victory of penalty shootout, till date.
In the semi-final, England got an early break through thanks to a Shearer header in the opening 5th minute, but failed to take the advantage as Germany equalized a couple of minutes later. After two hours of heart breaking drama, it went into penalties again.
The first five penalty takers were faultless for both teams but in sudden death a save and a goal in favour of Germany sent them into the final.
EURO 2004 (Portugal):
Quarter-final draw 2-2 against Portugal, beaten 6-5 on penalties.
Portugal, in 2004, started the championship as one of the favourites, not only as the host nation, but it was a team mixed with brilliance and class.
Drawn in Group B alongside France, Switzerland and Croatia, England started their campaign with a 2-1 defeat against France, thanks to Zinadine Zidane, who scored twice in stoppage time to ensure the victory.
Wayne Rooney came into the limelight in the next two matches for England, scoring a brace in both games as Switzerland were brushed aside with a 3-0 win and Croatia were edged out 4-2. This set up a quarter-final berth with the hosts, Portugal.
Though Michael Owen’s opening goal inside three minutes gave the English side the start they wanted, manager Eriksson’s plan to hold on to the advantage failed when Helder Postiga headed home in the last ten minutes to take the match into extra-time.
Rui Costa and Frank Lampard scored goals in extra-time, which took the game into the penalties once again.
Beckham and Rui Costa missed penalties but a save by Ricardo and his confidently taken penalty beating David James knocked England out of the championship once again.
EURO 2012 (Poland-Ukraine):
Quarter final draw 0-0 against Italy, beaten 4-2 on penalties.
Having not been able to qualify in the last edition of the EURO, many thought that England will scrape through every match this time round, but their hopes were shattered for another four years.
After a dramatic 90 minutes of attack and defence from both teams, the match went into extra time. It remained goalless and it was once again time for a penalty shoot out.
Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney scored for England from the spot as Ashley Young and Ashley Cole missed their penalties. Mario Balotelli, Andrea Pirlo, Antonio Nocerino and Alessandro Diamanti scored for Italy while Montolivo missed the kick.