1. England (1996)
ENGLAND HAVE NEVER been as close to winning another major competition since they hosted the newly-expanded 16-team European Championships 20 years ago.
The Three Lions fans sang about football coming home and spurred on by the crowd, England very nearly repeated their success of their counterparts who won the World Cup on home soil 30 years previously.
Captained by Tony Adams, there were leaders all over the pitch most notably Stuart Pearce and Paul Ince, on top of the attacking threat of Paul Gascoigne, Teddy Sheringham and Alan Shearer. Not to mention the baby-faced Gary Neville, Sol Campbell and Robbie Fowler aiming to make their international breakthrough.
Managed by Terry Venables, England made a stuttering start with a draw against Switzerland but memorable victories over Scotland and Netherlands resulted in a nation falling in love with its team once more.
The quarter-final victory over Spain in a penalty shootout helped the side, and Stuart Pearce in particular, exorcise a few demons from Italia 90 but England were denied a place in the final by their old foes Germany, once more on penalties, with Gareth Southgate replacing Pearce as the villain of the piece.
England squad:
David Seaman, Gary Neville, Stuart Pearce, Paul Ince, Tony Adams, Gareth Southgate, David Platt, Paul Gascoigne, Alan Shearer, Teddy Sheringham, Darren Anderton, Steve Howey, Tim Flowers, Nick Barmby, Jamie Redknapp, Sol Campbell
Steve McManaman, Les Ferdinand, Phil Neville, Steve Stone, Robbie Fowler
Ian Walker.
2. Portugal (2004)
Not many people would have backed the final of the tournament to be a repeat of the opening match, much less to have the same outcome, but that’s exactly what happened.
On the back of winning the World Cup with Brazil, Luiz Felipe Scolari came in to lead Portugal in their home tournament with the vastly experienced Luis Figo and Rui Costa in attack along with the new kid on the block, 19-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo.
After losing to Greece in the opening match of the competition, Portugal bounced back with victories over Russia and rivals Spain to top the group.
Scolari’s men overcame England in the quarter-finals in one of the most dramatic matches of the competition that went all the way to penalties despite Sol Campbell thinking he won the game for England (again).
After defeating England, a wondergoal from Maniche against a Dutch team containing Edwin van der Sar, Jaap Stam, Marc Overmars and Ruud van Nistelrooy helped Portugal to their first ever major final.
However, 2004 was to be Greece’s year. Led by Otto Rehhagel their disciplined approach combined with their devastating impact from set pieces ensured that the Greeks pulled off one of the biggest shocks in football history.
Portugal squad:
Ricardo, Paulo Ferreira, Rui Jorge, Jorge Andrade, Fernando Couto, Costinha, Luis Figo, Petit, Pauleta, Rui Costa, Simao Sabrosa, Quim, Miguel, Nuno Valente, Beto, Ricardo Carvalho, Cristiano Ronaldo, Maniche, Tiago, Deco, Nuno Gomes, Moreira, Helder Postiga.
3. Netherlands (1976)
This tournament, hosted by Yugoslavia, was the last that went straight into the semi-finals with just four teams taking part. It was also the first competition to be held in Eastern Europe.
The Netherlands were captained by 29-year-old captain Johan Cruyff and were in the middle of introducing the world to Total Football, but while their World Cup final defeats in the 1974 and 1978 are well documented, the European Championships sandwiched in the middle is rarely mentioned by comparison.
Defeat to eventual winners Czechoslovakia in Zagreb in the semi-finals in a fiercely contested tie left the talented Dutch side frustrated once again, although they did bounce back to beat Yugoslavia to finish third in the competition.
Netherlands squad:
Piet Schrijvers, Wim Suurbier, Wim Rijsbergen, Adrie van Kraay, Ruud Krol, Johan Neeskens, Wim Jansen, Johnny Rep, Johan Cruyff, Willy van de Kerkhof, Rob Rensenbrink, Wim van Hanegem, Ruud Geels, Jan Peters, René van de Kerkhof, Peter Arntz, Jan Ruiter, Jan Jongbloed, Kees Kist, Wim Meutstege, Henk van Rijnsoever, Jan van Deinsen.
4. Italy (2000)
The Azzurri entered the knockout stages of Euro 2000 with a 100% record after victories over Turkey, Sweden and co-hosts Belgium.
Further wins over Romania and the other co-hosts Holland meant the Italians had only conceded two goals before the final thanks to one of the strongest defences in the tournament which included Fabio Cannavaro, Alessandro Nesta, Paolo Maldini and Gianluca Zambrotta.
The Italians looked to be heading towards victory and another clean sheet, against France in the final before Sylvain Wiltord grabbed a dramatic stoppage-time equaliser.
David Trezeguet smashed home the winner in extra time to make it a World Cup and European Championship double for the French.
Italy squad:
Christian Abbiati, Ciro Ferrara, Paolo Maldini, Demetrio Albertini, Fabio Cannavaro, Paolo Negro, Angelo Di Livio, Antonio Conte, Filippo Inzaghi, Alessandro Del Piero, Gianluca Pessotto, Francesco Toldo, Alessandro Nesta, Luigi Di Biagio, Mark Iuliano, Massimo Ambrosini, Gianluca Zambrotta, Stefano Fiore, Vincenzo Montella, Francesco Totti.
5. West Germany (1984)
France will be looking to replicate their Euro 1984 success this year, when they were led by inspirational captain Michel Platini and his record-breaking tally of nine goals to European Championship glory on home soil.
It was the performance of West Germans though that disappointed so many though, just two years after they had reached the World Cup final.
They were captained in the 1984 tournament by the vastly experienced Karl-Heinz Rummenigge but the squad also contained an array of stars as well as an up-and-coming Lothar Matthaus and the prolific Rudi Voller.
A stoppage-time defeat to Spain in the final group match proved pivotal after the Germans opened their campaign with a scoreless draw against Portugal and a victory over Romania.
Two years later they would again taste defeat in a World Cup final, this time to Diego Maradona’s Argentina.
West Germany squad:
Harald Schumacher, Hans-Peter Briegel, Gerd Strack, Karlheinz Förster, Bernd Förster, Wolfgang Rolff, Andreas Brehme, Klaus Allofs, Rudi Völler, Norbert Meier, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Dieter Burdenski, Lothar Matthäus, Ralf Falkenmayer, Uli Stielike, Hans-Günter Bruns, Pierre Littbarski, Guido Buchwald, Rudolf Bommer, Helmut Roleder.
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