England progressed their way to the quarterfinals with a win over Columbia in a penalty shootout.

England winning a penalty shootout is something unheard of. Over the years English supporters have suffered the pain of watching their side get knocked out of a major tournament in a penalty shootout. Be it European championships or the World Cup England have had failure most often

Their victory against Colombia was their first penalty shootout win in a World Cup and 2nd overall when European championships are considered. The last time England won a penalty shootout was against Spain in 1996 at the European championship. 22 years is what took England to win another penalty shootout at a major tournament.

Let us talk about the 6 times England football team crashed out of major tournament via penalty shootout:

Against West Germany, 1990 FIFA World Cup

The last time England reached the semi-finals of a World Cup before 2018 was 28 years back in Germany.

An English side led by Manchester United midfielder Bryan Robson went to Germany in a bid to win England’s 2nd world title. They started the tournament quietly with 2 draws and therefore needing a win from their final group game match against the African side Egypt. English centre-back Mark Wright scored to the winner to take England to the last 16.

England battled Belgium in a tight round of 16 match which went beyond 90 minutes to added extra time. It seemed like the match was going into penalty shootout but David Platt came out of nowhere to score for England in the 119th minute to take his nation into the quarterfinals.

If their last 16 clash was tough then their quarterfinal encounter with Cameroon just upped the ante. Roger Milla had guided his nation into the quarterfinals and was on a roll. David Platt opened the scoring before Cameroon before 2 quick goals to take the lead but England had a young lad in the name of Gary Lineker in their ranks who scored 2 goals, 1 in the added extra time to take England to the semi-finals of the world cup.

Their next opponents were the hosts West Germany. The old rivals contested an evenly encounter with Germany taking the lead first only for Gary Lineker to step up and level things for his nation. Even extra time couldn’t separate the European giants and the match went on to a penalty shootout and as they say, rest is history. Thus started England’s shambolic display in a penalty shootout at a major tournament.

Against Germany, 1996 UEFA European championships

The 1996 Euros were hosted by England. The hosts started out brilliantly winning 2 out 3 matches and thus topped a tricky group consisting of Switzerland, the Netherlands and Scotland. Alan Shearer, the legendary Newcastle striker was the star man for England in euro 1996 as he ended the tournament as the top scorer.

England reached their first European championships semifinal by defeating Spain in the quarterfinals. Their opponents in the semi-finals were none other than arch-rivals Germany. England started the game with all guns blazing as Shearer scored in just the 3rd minute to give England the lead. But their lead was shortlived as Stefan Kuntz of Germany got one back soon.

Beyond that point, no goals were scored and the game went on to the penalty shootout.

England and Germany both scored their first 5 penalties. Germany did pass the first sudden death and England relied on the current manager of three lions – Gareth Southgate to keep their hopes alive. But some things are never meant to be as the current England manager missed it and England crashed out of the euros.

Against Argentina, 1998 FIFA World Cup

England went to France in 1998 for the FIFA World Cup. A young English side captained by Alan Shearer showed promise in their qualification campaign. Young United starlets Gary Neville, Paul Scholes and David Beckham were part of a vibrant team.

England’s 1998 World Cup campaign is well remembered for David Beckham’s infamous red card against Argentina in the round of 16 clash. The English international reacted out a bit irrationally to a Diego Simeone tackle which led to his red card. England were left with 10 men to play more than 45 minutes and added extra time in their round of 16 encounter.

The match went on to penalties and England’s poor record at penalty shootout continued as Argentina prevailed with a 4-3 score in the shootout.

To this date, people blame David Beckham for their ousting in 1998 FIFA World Cup.

Against Portugal, 2004 UEFA European championships

The 12th edition of UEFA European championships was hosted by Portugal. The competition is fondly remembered by England supporters for the emergence of a young lad from Everton- Wayne Rooney. The English forward burst onto the international scene with 4 goals to his name on the course of euro 2004.

England were grouped with France, Switzerland and Croatia. Zinedine Zidane famously won the group tie for France against England by scoring two stoppage-time goals to complete a sensational comeback after Frank Lampard had put England in front.

Nevertheless, England finished 2nd in their group and qualified for the quarterfinals where they met the hosts Portugal.

The sides battled out an action-packed game in Lisbon. With scores tied at 1-1 at the 90-minute mark, the game went into added extra time. Both teams were able to score in the extra time and thus a penalty shootout was going to determine who’ll progress through the semis.

This was Cristiano Ronaldo’s first major tournament with Portugal and the former Manchester United winger was given the opportunity to have a go in the penalty shootout.

The legendary Real Madrid number 7 did score from the spot as Portugal defeated England to continue their misery in penalty shootouts.

Against Portugal, 2006 FIFA World Cup

England’s golden generation was expected to do wonders at the international level. With the likes of David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Steven Gerard, Frank Lampard, Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand and the list continues forever and ever the English side consisted of legends all around.

But it is fair to they didn’t enlighten the world with their performances. They failed to live up to the hype as England crashed out of yet another major tournament via a penalty shootout. The English side captained by David Beckham met Portugal in the quarterfinals.

The sides played a lacklustre encounter famous for Wayne Rooney’s sending off and the famous Cristiano Ronaldo wink. The then United teammates clashed 62-minute mark as Wayne Rooney was shown the red card for his infamous stamp on Ricardo Carvalho.

England bowed out of the tournament as Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher failed to score from the penalty spot. English fans still mourn over the dreadful exit of their side from the World Cup.

Against Italy, 2012 UEFA European championships

Steven Gerrard led the English side in their Euro 2012 campaign in Poland and Ukraine. The Liverpool midfielder anchored England’s smooth passage to the knockout stage with his dominant presence in the centre of the park.

England had a decent team with Wayne Rooney as their front man. The then Manchester United forward scored in England’s lone win from the tournament in a 1-0 victory over hosts Ukraine.

England faced Italy in the quarterfinals. The Italian side was stronger on paper and proved to be even stronger on the field. Though the Italians failed to score, their superiority over England was evident from the game. With England being able to hold off the Italian attacks, the game went into penalty shootout to decide who will be contesting the semi-final.

The star of the match Andrea Pirlo famously scored a panenka against Joe Hart in the shootout as England crashed out of yet another major tournament on penalties as Ashley Young and Ashley Cole failed to score from the spot.

0 votes