How Many Times Have England Won the Euros

An answer that so many times in history could have changed, but the harsh reality is that England are yet to have a European Championship to their name. After multiple years of near misses, the Three Lions for one reason or another haven’t got themselves over the line at the business end of the tournament. Football Park takes a look some of these so nearly moments, and what went wrong for the Three Lions.

Euro 2020

On this day four years ago, England got the closest they have ever been to winning a European Championship. In typical England fashion, the tournament got off to a rather lacklustre start, with only two goals in our three group stage matches. A tentative and a ‘fear to lose’ mentality was there right from the off, but the Three Lions done the bare minimum to secure a place in the Round of 16.

This is where the quality of opposition increased, as Gareth Southgate’s side faced a strong Germany team. It took two late goals to sneak past the Germans, with Ukraine waiting in the quarter-finals. Now this is the game where England started to stretch their legs and play aggressive, attacking football as we connivingly dispatched Ukraine with a 4-0 victory.

BREAKING: England have reached the semi-finals of Euro 2020 after a 4-0 victory over Ukraine.

More on this breaking story: https://t.co/NOuo1XvgJs pic.twitter.com/HHWF6czTIy

— Sky News (@SkyNews) July 3, 2021

It looked as if we were going to carry this momentum heading into the semi-finals against Denmark, however we reverted to the ‘try and not lose the game’ approach which ultimately diminished any momentum we had from the Ukraine match. After going 1-0 down midway through the first half, the Three Lions gave a swift response and equalised less than 10 minutes later. However it took until extra time to beat the Danes, as Harry Kane scored the rebound of his missed penalty to send England to their first ever Euros final.

What made the occasion even more special was the fact that the final would be held at Wembley Stadium, giving the Three Lions an extra advantage over their opponents Italy. And that’s what transpired at the start of the game, as it took Luke Shaw only two minutes to give the novice finalists the lead. England may have scored to early into the contest, as they looked to sit back on their 1-0 lead, a move which in hindsight was a huge mistake. Italy eventually levelled the scoring at 1-1 in the 67th minute thanks to Leonardo Bonucci being on hand to poke home.

The game went all the way to extra time, and then even to penalties, with Italy looking the team more likely to win the final before the dreaded spot kicks. England's passive approach and fear to lose the game led to an unwillingness to play attacking football and commit bodies forward. This brought us to a penalty shootout, as Italy were taking first it gave them an upper hand before anyone had kicked a ball.

However it was the eventual winners Italy that blinked first, as the Italians missed their second spot kick to give England a chance to take the lead. Harry Maguire was surprisingly next to step up, and took full advantage as he blasted his penalty in the top right corner.

But it went downhill from here, as Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho missed England’s next two penalties, meaning if Jorginho scored Italy would be crowned champions. But there was still a twist in the tale yet, as the penalty proven midfielder uncharacteristically missed his spot kick, as Jordan Pickford guessed the right way to give England a slimmer of hope. Bukayo Saka had the weight of a nation on his shoulders when he stepped up to keep England’s Euros hopes alive, but fired his penalty into the awaiting gloves of Gianluigi Donnarumma.

ITALY HAVE WON THE EURO 2020 ON PENALTIES AGAINST ENGLAND.

IT'S GOING ROME. pic.twitter.com/DPAgVnHyMs

— FootballFunnys (@FootballFunnnys) July 11, 2021

Having led 1-0 during the game and 2-1 on penalties, England will feel that it was their game to lose, which makes this lose even more painful to take. Fans would only have to wait three years to experience another painful exit from the tournament...

Euro 2024

The Three Lions managed to make back-to-back finals and became the first team to ever lose two consecutive Euros finals. That’s the complete opposite of their opponents Spain, who won back-to-back Euros finals in 2008 and 2012.

If fans thought England’s outing in the last tournament was lacklustre and passive, then they had another thing coming when they watched their side limp to the final. I never thought the saying ‘scraping through by the skin of their teeth’ would be an understatement, but somehow England’s performances made it true.

Playing nowhere near the standard of football this side was capable of, but finding a way to reach two finals in four years is both unimpressive and impressive at the same time. But when you’re in a Euros final, it really doesn’t matter how you got there at the time, as all attention is now focused on winning the game at hand. The Three Lions faced Spain in Germany’s Olympiastadion Berlin stadium, with the latter coming into the tie as favourites.

And it was Spain who were first to break the deadlock, as Nico Williams scored two minutes into the second half. Inspired substitute Cole Palmer brought the score to 1-1 in the 73rd minute, giving hope to the Three Lions. Heartbreak then struck for England, as Mikel Oyarzabal gave Spain a late lead which ultimately ended up winning them the tournament.

SPAIN TAKES DOWN ENGLAND 2-1 TO BE CROWNED 2024 EURO CHAMPIONS 🏆🇪🇸 @brfootball

WHAT. A. MATCH. pic.twitter.com/drhrUhZqtM

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 14, 2024

Euro 1968

When rolling back the years we come across England’s third place finish at Euro 1968. Although only four countries played in the final tournament, there was still a qualification process that had to be completed to play in the finals.

The group stages took place between 1966-68, with seven groups of four teams and one group of three teams. Nations played one another home and away, with each group winner advancing to the quarter-finals. England topped their group consisting of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and faced Spain in the quarter-finals. The Three Lions dispatched Spain over the two legs, winning 1-0 and 2-1 to win 3-1 on aggregate.

It meant that the Three Lions had qualified for the finals in 1968, as they faced Yugoslavia in the semi-finals. Unfortunately England lost 1-0 in a tight game, which Yugoslavia only won in the final four minutes of the match. It meant England were pitted against the Soviet Union for the third-place spot, which they won 2-0 thanks to goals from Bobby Charlton and Geoff Hurst.

Why Haven’t England Won Yet?

It’s a question that has been asked for generations, which is never a good sign. A question that shouldn't be a question anymore. But no matter how you dress it up, England fail to deliver when it matters most. Throughout the years the Three Lions have shown that they can get to the semi-finals and even finals of tournaments, but seem to crumple under the intense pressure applied to them in these situations.

Looking back at the two previous Euros, where England managed to reach the final on both occasions, they didn’t exactly play very well leading up to them. It’s this poor form heading into massive matches that has been the downfall of past England teams, as they are unable to generate any momentum or form prior to facing the ‘bigger teams’ of the tournament. This has been evident in both games against Italy in Euro 2020 and Spain in Euro 2024, as the players continued to play with a fear of losing the game. This hindered our most lethal players in attack as they weren’t able to play with freedom and punish the oppositions defences.

Quite often past England managers have picked the best players, not the best team. Striking the balance between selecting the most talented players and choosing the best team is something coaches have struggled with for years. This has ultimately hampered our success at the back end of the Euros, as we face well-oiled teams who are comfortable playing together.