DORTMUND. Cheers, cheers, cheers – after England’s 2-1 (1-1) victory over the Netherlands, it doesn’t matter how exactly the team coached by Gareth Southgate reached this final, whether the 2-1 victory over the Dutch was really deserved thanks to Ollie Watkins’ goal in the 91st minute, or whether referee Felix Zwayer should have called for a handball by the English before the penalty foul on Harry Kane.
It is also irrelevant what style of football you ultimately stand for. The bottom line is that the team has been playing successfully since team manager Gareth Southgate took over in 2016 – even if it took a particularly long time for them to get going at this European Championship. And yet they have to suffer in England. Because they have not been able to take that one big and final step towards the title in their own country since they won the World Cup in 1966. An excerpt:
- European Championship final 2021: Only in the penalty shootout against Italy (2:3, 1:1 aet) did the dream of the title burst.
- World Cup semi-finals 2018: In extra time, Russia lost 1-2 to Croatia.
- European Championship semi-final 1996: Out in a penalty shootout against eventual European champions Germany.
- World Cup semi-final 1990: 3:4 in a penalty shootout against Germany.
The list goes on and on. The 1986 World Cup quarter-final defeat, 1:2, with a goal by Diego Maradona, who spoke of the “hand of God”, is one of them. Just like then, England lost narrowly several times to the eventual world or European champions. There were also numerous defeats on penalties.
Luck, genius and morality
It was not the quality of the players but a bit of luck, a stroke of genius from Jude Bellingham in the round of 16 with his overhead kick to make it 1-1 against Slovakia in the 95th minute and a lot of morale that led England to the final. “Quality is one thing, but the other attributes like character or mentality are something you can’t learn in training. You get them from experience,” said Bellingham. Each knockout game was dramatic in its own way, with England coming back from a 0-1 deficit three times in a row. Something like that had never happened before at a European Championship.
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Image: APA/AFP/ADRIAN DENNIS
Source: Nachrichten
I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
