THE positivity of the start only made England’s fall harder to stomach.
Opening Euro 2000 against a talented Portugal side of Luis Figo – who’d win that year’s Ballon d’Or, Rui Costa and Nuno Gomes, Kevin Keegan’s Three Lions raced to a 2-0 led within 18 minutes of play.
There was good reason for optimism at the tournament, too. Many of the stars who would form what was later dubbed England’s “Golden Generation” – David Beckham, Michael Owen, Steven Gerrard – were beginning to shine. And those young talents were able to rely upon the steady leadership and experience of the likes of Tony Adam, David Seaman and Alan Shearer. England’s squad, it seemed, was deep, versatile, varied and primed for success.
After the heart-breaking end to the World Cup two years prior, having lost of penalties to Argentina in the last 16 after Beckham’s infamous red card, in Eindhoven on the evening of 12 June things looked to be falling into place for England.
Of course there's also Euro 2000 in tomorrow's update. Here's England's squad – including Nigel Quashie pic.twitter.com/pwzHtTPItM
— Dave Black (@cm9798) May 30, 2015
But harbingers of the debacle to follow were not difficult to discern in the time between France ’98 and the European Championships held in Holland and Belgium.
From Glenn Hoddle being sacked as manager after disparaging remarks about disabled people to a patchy qualifying campaign that saw them finish second in their group having managed just three victories in eight games, England, once again, were doing things the difficult way.
Even the two-legged qualification play-off triumph over arch rivals Scotland left something of a bitter taste. A 2-0 win at Hampden, with Paul Scholes twice a scorer, was ultimately enough to seal progress to the finals. But a second-leg 1-0 defeat on home soil in the last-ever meeting between the two old enemies at the original Wembley Stadium left a bitter taste.
So when England collapsed against Portugal, seeing their two-goal lead obliterated by goals from Figo, Joao Pinto and Nuno Gomes, the wheels were in motion for a major-tournament embarrassment second only in recent years to the failure to qualify for the 1994 World Cup.
“It was a great moment. I think all of Portugal still remembers that match and that fantastic comeback,” striker Gomes told The Herald recently. “Managing to turn the game around in the way we did, with an amazing atmosphere and three goals. For me, personally, being able to score the winner, which was my first goal for the full national team, is a moment I’ll remember forever.”
Classic Euros Goals
Figo vs England at Euro 2000
— Classic Football Shirts (@classicshirts) June 3, 2021
Consolation for England came from that fact that Germany, the reigning European champions and frequent English tormentors, were even worse, eventually finishing bottom of the group. In the second set of group-stage matches, a Shearer header gave England a 1-0 victory and a modicum of revenge for shootout eliminations at the 1990 World Cup and Euro ’96.
But the hope that the Germany win fostered was soon killed dead.
A draw with Romania, winless in their first two games, was all but sure to be enough to secure England’s safe passage to the quarter-finals. And for 88 minutes in Cherleroi, a hard-fought point was within the Three Lions’ grasp, with Shearer and Owen both on the scoresheet and the game locked at 2-2 since Dorinel Munteanu equaliser early in the second half.
But as the seconds ticked toward full time, Phil Neville’s clumsy lunge brought down Viorel Moldovan. Ionel Ganea converted the spot kick, sending England home at the earliest possible juncture.
“There was just utter disbelief in the dressing room,” England striker Kevin Phillips told the Set Pieces in 2021. “Romania were a good side, but this was England, we shouldn’t have lost to them. Portugal had quality and we obviously knew all about Germany. But it was quiet, there was some anger from senior players venting their frustrations.
“The overarching feeling was that we’d let the nation and ourselves down – it doesn’t really get any lower than that as an England player.”
Shearer decided to retire from international football after the tournament, an inglorious end to a fine England career. Less than four months later, after losing 1-0 at home to Germany in the last game before Wembley would be torn down and rebuilt, Keegan resigned as manager.
The dawn of the year 2000 might have represented hope, progress and innovation for the wider world, but in football terms, it was England’s annus horribilis.
