Euro 2000
Today England play Germany for the first time in four years (a 0–0 friendly draw at Wembley), for the first time in an international tournament since the 2010 World Cup (that ghost goal) and forthe first time in the Euros since my focus today … Euro 2000.
If some consider England too conservative and defensive at Euro 2020 then we should perhaps consider Euro 2000. England had some genuine stars in Beckham, Scholes, Shearer and Owen. The starting XI was so strong that there was no room for a young Steven Gerrard in the Germany game (well, we did have Dennis Wise, so its understandable). We were managed by Kevin Keegan whose approach to defensive tactics was similar to his approach to riding bikes.
In the first game we went 2–0 up against a superb Portugal. Could we hold on? Could we balls. It ended, predictably, 3–2 to Portugal and we were already up against it when we faced Germany with both teams needing something to have a chance of getting through the groups. What followed was two out of form and out of sorts teams slugging it out to be the least rubbish. We were the least rubbish that day and we were delighted about it.
It would be harsh on the current England crop to suggest exact parallels with today’s game but there are some inevitable comparisons. The goal was a typical header by England’s talismanic but out of form centre forward. For Alan Shearer, do we read Harry Kane?
After that game in Charleroi though it was back to circus-as-normal as Keegan’s gung ho charges proceeded to give away a 2–1 lead against Romania and then, in the 89th minute, decided to throw away the 2–2 draw that would have seen us finishing above the Romanians in 2nd place in the group. Phil Neville with an unforced error to give away a penalty, a trick he would later repeat on Twitter with some sexist “banter” before he’d be given the honour of leading our country’s elite female footballers.
World Champions France would go on to lift the trophy against Italy with a golden goal from David Trezeguet, long before the tall French striker would have to come to terms with the fact that he was second placed on Google behind an Egyptian midfielder whose mates decided that he looked like him.
