Euro 1968
The year that football nearly came home … again
We all know England’s most successful Euros, right? Euro 1968.
Things were so different back then. There was just the two years of hurt, with England going into the tournament as World Champions and the finals tournament was still made up of only four teams.
What makes England’s achievements (technically) better than Euro 1996? They had a third place play off, which England won against the Soviet Union thanks to goals from Bobby Charlton and Geoff Hurst. England qualified for the tournament by combining the results of the 1966–67 and 1967–68 Home Championships. Scotland actually won the 1966–67 version by beating England at Wembley but wins against Wales and Northern Ireland in 1967–68 and a draw against Scotland was enough for England to qualify for Italy 1968.
If you think that Euro 2020 is exciting — prepare to be knocked sideways. There was a grand total of 5 games at Euro 1968 with a remarkable 7 goals scored. An average of 1.4 per game. Goals goals goals! If that’s not exciting enough for you then Italy won their semi-final tie against the Soviet Union, after 120 goalless minutes, when Italian captain Giacinto Facchetti guessed correctly on a coin toss. Penalties perhaps aren’t so bad.
For England, Sir Alf Ramsey still couldn’t find a place for Jimmy Greaves in his starting line-up despite Greavsie’s incredible scoring record for Spurs at the time. In the only game in the tournament that really meant anything for England, they drew a blank, going down 1–0 to Yugoslavia in the semi-final, a game that is best remembered for Alan Mullery setting an unwanted record, becoming the first England player to be sent off, after he kicked Dobrivoje Trivis in the nuts.
The gaffer’s reaction? “I’m glad somebody retaliated against those bastards” and he paid Mullery’s £50 fine for him. Different times!
