2018 World CupEnglandTest

England Penalty Shootout Record at Major Tournaments – Part 1: from Germany Déjà vu, to Spanish joy

There is real optimism and loud excitement brimming around the country.

As you all know, England have reached a World Cup Semi-final for the first time since 1990, after a remarkable victory over Sweden. That result followed another moment of history: On Tuesday night, they also won their first ever World Cup penalty shootout against Colombia. Against all the odds. The spiral of missed opportunities were forgotten instantly as Gareth Southgate became a national hero overnight.

In this article, I will review every penalty shootout England have ever contested at a World Cup or European Championship. I will also provide a link so you can refresh your memory.

West Germany 1 England 1-West Germany win 4-3 on penalties (World Cup 1990, Semi final)

England scraped narrowly through their group at this tournament, and support was high as the nation reached the semi finals. A goal for Andreas Brehme was cancelled out by Gary Lineker, and the match eventually went to penalties. Most of the opening six penalties were absolutely clinical: Lineker and Brehme scored first, and were quickly followed by Peter Beardsley, Lothar Matthaus, David Platt and Karl Heinz Riedle.

However, England were defeated as they missed their next two. Bodo Illgner denied Stuart Pearce, and then Chris Waddle blasted one over the bar. Olaf Thon had kept his nerve to tuck his own spot kick away. Despite real progress for England, this defeat breathed new life into the historic rivalry, as English fans were left to shake their heads.

Spain 0 England 0- England win 4-2 on penalties (Euro 1996 Quarter-final)

England hosted the tournament of course, and this provided an even larger motivation for a nation looking to win a major competition for the first time since 1966. The Three Lions sailed through their group: Paul Gascoigne’s individual brilliance against rivals Scotland was the obvious highlight.

In the quarter-finals, they played Spain, and the match ended goalless after 120 minutes. Alan Shearer tucked the first penalty away, but Fernando Hierro hit the top of the crossbar. The next four penalties were converted, as David Platt, Guillermo Amor, Stuart Pearce and Alberto Balsue scored.  Gascoigne scored his penalty next, and a miss from Miguel Angel Nadal secured England’s place in the Semi-finals. Although, the joy was short lived.

Germany 1 England 1- Germany win 6-5 on penalties (Euro 1996 Semi-final)

The positivity of the shootout win was swiftly ended: Germany defeated England on spot kicks for the second time at a major competition in 6 years. The match itself saw Alan Shearer and Stefan Kuntz score, but no one could find a winner. The match is well known for the infamous Paul Gascoigne miss, at a time where Germany couldn’t have responded.

Every England fan remembers what happened next, none more so than the current England manager himself. All ten of the opening penalties were scored: Shearer, David Platt, Stuart Pearce, Gascoigne, and Teddy Sheringham were on target.

For the Germans, Thomas Häßler, Thomas Strunz, Stefan Reuter, Christian Ziege and Kuntz were successful. In sudden death, Gareth Southgate then hit a weak penalty which didn’t reach its target.  Andreas Kopke made the save. The chance was left to Andreas Moller to win the game, and he didn’t waste it. England were out, and Germany were in the final.

This conclusion has made the recent success of England even more special for Southgate.

Argentina 2 England 2- Argentina win 4-3 on penalties (World Cup 1998, Round of 16)

England struggled through their group in 1998, and finished below Romania. This instigated a tricky round of 16 clash against Argentina.

Michael Owen scored a tremendous solo goal as an 18 year old, and David Beckham was infamously sent off. The Argentinian goals were scored by Gabriel Batistuta and Javier Zanetti. Alan Shearer scored England’s other goal.

Sergio Berti and Shearer scored the opening penalties. However, the next two were interestingly missed. David Seaman saved Hernan Crespo’s effort, whilst Paul Ince had the exact same result. The shootout remained level, as Juan Sebastian Veron and Paul Merson scored.

The trend continued, as Marcelo Gallardo and Owen were nerveless. Roberto Ayala finished, but David Platt missed decisively to knock England out.

Stay tuned for part two, as I begin to focus on the more recent failures, and then what happened in Russia, 2018.

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