After the resignation of Graham Taylor, the 'people’s choice' Terry Venables took over the role as England manager. Terry Venable's reign commenced on the right foot as he recalled Peter Beardsley and selected a crowd pleasing football team. His first match in charge was against the European Champions, Denmark which was a fine 1-0 victory. Life after Taylor did not seem bad at all, when England won their following match 5-0 against Greece. England did not need to qualify for the 1996 European football Championships as they were hosting the tournament. Their preparation went well, as they had handsome victories against Switzerland and Japan on their way to Euro 96. Their first match did not go according to plan; they drew 1-1 with Switzerland, despite a very encouraging goal by Alan Shearer to give England the early advantage. England were outstanding in their memorable encounter against Scotland, they won 2-0, with David Seamen brilliantly saving a penalty and Paul Gascoigne scoring one of the greatest ever goals in the European Championships. It was all set up for their great football performance against Holland. They won 4-1 in one of their best every display's. Two goals a piece for Teddy Sheringham and Alan Shearer started off the party which went on all night around England as they beat the Dutch 4-1. They deserved to beat Spain in a penalty shoot out in their quarter final match as they played so well in their previous matches. Stuart Pearce exhausted the ghosts of his penalty miss six years before, as he thumped into the goal a brilliant penalty in the shoot out against Spain. England's performance in their 1-1 draw against Germany was heroic; they took an early lead as Alan Shearer became Euro 96 top goal scorer with his fifth goal. Kuntz equalized for the Germans, and the match went into extra time. Darren Anderton and Gascoigne came close to clinching victory for England however they lost in the penalty shoot out as Gareth Southgate missed his penalty. England heartbreakingly went out of Euro 96 and Venables left the post as English manager. Glenn Hoddle took over as manager after Euro 96 and made immediate changes to the England squad. He brought in David Beckham in his first match in charge in an easy 3-0 victory over Moldova. Two more great results against Poland and Georgia followed and it was all set up for their clash at Wembley against Italy. Hoddle controversially started with Matt Le Tissier, and received much criticism as they lost 1-0 as Zola scored the winning goal mid way through the first half. England improved during the year as they brilliantly beat Poland away from home 2-0 which was followed up by a fantastic 2-0 victory over Georgia at home. England's tour in France in the summer of 1997 went well as they won the mini tournament and were now confident of progression to the 1998 finals. England played Moldova at Wembley in September 1997; it was preceded by a one minutes silence in memory of the death of Princess Diana. England turned on the style in a great 4-0 victory, Gascoigne put on his best performance for years and scored and Ian Wright was in sparkling form scoring two of their goals. England only required a point against Italy to qualify for the 1998 world cup finals, a goalless draw meant England were through and Hoddle was now a favorite in England.
England got off to a flying start, comfortably beating Tunisia 2-0, goals by Alan Shearer and Paul Scholes. Despite Michael Owen scoring in their following match against Romania, they lost 2-1 and this meant the football match against Colombia was vital. England beat the Colombian's 2-0, a 25 yard free kick by Beckham and a Darren Anderton goal sealed victory for England. England played Argentina in their second round match and it proved to be an intense affair, the night was remembered for a great goal by Michael Owen and the sending off of David Beckham, after extra time the score line was 2-2 and England lost on penalties as Paul Ince and David Batty missed their penalties. England went home knowing that if they had beat Argentina they may have had a great chance of winning the tournament. After the resignation of Graham Taylor, the 'people’s choice' Terry Venables took over the role as England manager. Terry Venable's reign commenced on the right foot as he recalled Peter Beardsley and selected a crowd pleasing football team. His first match in charge was against the European Champions, Denmark which was a fine 1-0 victory. Life after Taylor did not seem bad at all, when England won their following match 5-0 against Greece. England did not need to qualify for the 1996 European football Championships as they were hosting the tournament. Their preparation went well, as they had handsome victories against Switzerland and Japan on their way to Euro 96. Their first match did not go according to plan; they drew 1-1 with Switzerland, despite a very encouraging goal by Alan Shearer to give England the early advantage. England were outstanding in their memorable encounter against Scotland, they won 2-0, with David Seamen brilliantly saving a penalty and Paul Gascoigne scoring one of the greatest ever goals in the European Championships. It was all set up for their great football performance against Holland. They won 4-1 in one of their best every display's. Two goals a piece for Teddy Sheringham and Alan Shearer started off the party which went on all night around England as they beat the Dutch 4-1. They deserved to beat Spain in a penalty shoot out in their quarter final match as they played so well in their previous matches. Stuart Pearce exhausted the ghosts of his penalty miss six years before, as he thumped into the goal a brilliant penalty in the shoot out against Spain. England's performance in their 1-1 draw against Germany was heroic; they took an early lead as Alan Shearer became Euro 96 top goal scorer with his fifth goal. Kuntz equalized for the Germans, and the match went into extra time. Darren Anderton and Gascoigne came close to clinching victory for England however they lost in the penalty shoot out as Gareth Southgate missed his penalty. England heartbreakingly went out of Euro 96 and Venables left the post as English manager. Glenn Hoddle took over as manager after Euro 96 and made immediate changes to the England squad. He brought in David Beckham in his first match in charge in an easy 3-0 victory over Moldova. Two more great results against Poland and Georgia followed and it was all set up for their clash at Wembley against Italy. Hoddle controversially started with Matt Le Tissier, and received much criticism as they lost 1-0 as Zola scored the winning goal mid way through the first half. England improved during the year as they brilliantly beat Poland away from home 2-0 which was followed up by a fantastic 2-0 victory over Georgia at home. England's tour in France in the summer of 1997 went well as they won the mini tournament and were now confident of progression to the 1998 finals. England played Moldova at Wembley in September 1997; it was preceded by a one minutes silence in memory of the death of Princess Diana. England turned on the style in a great 4-0 victory, Gascoigne put on his best performance for years and scored and Ian Wright was in sparkling form scoring two of their goals. England only required a point against Italy to qualify for the 1998 world cup finals, a goalless draw meant England were through and Hoddle was now a favorite in England.
England got off to a flying start, comfortably beating Tunisia 2-0, goals by Alan Shearer and Paul Scholes. Despite Michael Owen scoring in their following match against Romania, they lost 2-1 and this meant the football match against Colombia was vital. England beat the Colombian's 2-0, a 25 yard free kick by Beckham and a Darren Anderton goal sealed victory for England. England played Argentina in their second round match and it proved to be an intense affair, the night was remembered for a great goal by Michael Owen and the sending off of David Beckham, after extra time the score line was 2-2 and England lost on penalties as Paul Ince and David Batty missed their penalties. England went home knowing that if they had beat Argentina they may have had a great chance of winning the tournament.