Overview of England at the UEFA European 2021 Championship
The UEFA European Championship is one of the major competitive international football tournaments, first played in 1960. The finals stage of the tournament takes place every four years, with a qualifying competition beforehand. The sixteenth tournament was held across Europe in 2021 (postponed from 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic).
The England national football team first attempted to qualify for the finals of the tournament in 1964, having declined to enter in 1960. They first qualified in 1968, and have since participated in the finals on ten occasions (with an upcoming eleventh participation in 2024), including in 1996, when they were the host nation and thus did not need to qualify.[1][2][3]
England's best performance at the finals was a runner-up finish at Euro 2020, when they lost the final to Italy on penalties at Wembley.[4][5] They had a third-place finish in Italy in 1968, when only four teams competed in the finals tournament, and reached one further semi-final in 1996, losing to Germany, also on home soil and on penalties.[6] The team reached the quarter-finals on two other occasions, losing to host nation Portugal on penalties in 2004 and to Italy in Ukraine in 2012, also on penalties.[7][8][9]
England were eliminated in the round of 16 by Iceland in 2016. On the other four occasions (1980, 1988, 1992 and 2000), they did not progress beyond the group stage.
*Draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out.
**Red border colour indicates tournament was held on home soil.***Third place includes all tournaments where England reached the semi-finals following Euro 1980 as the third place play-offs were scrapped from the following editions of the tournament.[15]
Correct as of 20 November 2023, after the qualifying match against North Macedonia
^The match, originally scheduled for 21:45 local time, was delayed 15 minutes to prevent overlap with the other Group D match between Ukraine and France, which had been delayed due to rain.[19]
References
^"When Saturday Comes - Classic matches ~ England v USSR, Euro 68 & 88". Wsc.co.uk. 9 July 2012. Archived from the original on 1 July 2016. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
^"Euro 1968: Alan Mullery's moment of madness". BBC Sport. 12 May 2012. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
^Surlis f, Patrick (1 June 2016). "Remembering Euro 96: Jamie Redknapp, Darren Anderton, Stuart Pearce and Steve Howey | Football News". Sky Sports. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
^"Italy 1–1 England, aet (3–2 on pens): Donnarumma the hero as Azzurri win EURO 2020!". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 11 July 2021. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
^"Euro 2020 final: England beaten by Italy on penalties". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 11 July 2021. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
^Mark Ogden (6 June 2016). "Euro 2016: Don't let Euro 96 fool you, England are generally terrible at the European Championships | International | Sport". The Independent. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
^"BBC SPORT | Football | Euro 2004 | Portugal break England hearts". BBC News. 24 June 2004. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
^"England 0-0 Italy (2-4 on pens)". BBC Sport. 24 June 2012. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
^"Euro 2012 analysis: Peerless Pirlo exposes England". BBC Sport. 25 June 2012. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
^England were defeated by France in a two-legged elimination round. Ramsey took over from Winterbottom between the two legs.
^Although England did not qualify for the finals, they reached the last eight of the competition. Only the last four teams progressed to the finals.
^Hoddle managed the first three qualifiers, while Keegan managed the remainder of qualification and the finals campaign.
^Capello managed the qualification campaign. He resigned before the tournament and was replaced by Hodgson.
^The tournament was held in 2021 in 11 cities in 11 countries. England's Wembley Stadium hosted all but one of England's matches.
^"Why does Euro 2016 have no third place playoff? Why Wales will come home before final". Archived from the original on 14 July 2019. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
^Moore, Glenn (24 June 1996). "Fortune favours brave England". The Independent. Independent Print. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
^Moore, Glenn (27 June 1996). "Shoot-out breaks England hearts". The Independent. Independent Print. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
^"Full-time report France-England" (PDF). Union of European Football Associations. 11 June 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
^Dawkes, Phil (15 June 2012). "Euro 2012: Sweden v England". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation.
^"Full-time report Sweden-England" (PDF). Union of European Football Associations. 15 June 2012. Retrieved 15 June 2012.
^"Full-time report England-Ukraine" (PDF). Union of European Football Associations. 19 June 2012. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
^"Full-time report England-Italy" (PDF). Union of European Football Associations. 24 June 2012. Retrieved 24 June 2012.
^"Full Time Summary – England v Russia" (PDF). UEFA.org. Union of European Football Associations. 11 June 2016. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
^"Full Time Summary – England v Wales" (PDF). UEFA.org. Union of European Football Associations. 16 June 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
^"Full Time Summary – Slovakia v England" (PDF). UEFA.org. Union of European Football Associations. 20 June 2016. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
^"Full Time Summary – England v Iceland" (PDF). UEFA.org. Union of European Football Associations. 27 June 2016. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
^"Full Time Summary – England v Croatia" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 13 June 2021. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
^"Full Time Summary – England v Scotland" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 18 June 2021. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
^"Full Time Summary – Czech Republic v England" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 22 June 2021. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
^"Full Time Summary – England v Germany" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 29 June 2021. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
^"Full Time Summary – Ukraine v England" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 3 July 2021. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
^"Full Time Summary – England v Denmark" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 7 July 2021. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
^"Full Time Summary – Italy v England" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 11 July 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 July 2021. Retrieved 11 July 2021.