England’s UEFA European Championships history is a tale of unfulfilled promises and occasional abject failure. From the inability to qualify for the two tournaments in the miserable 1970s to the limp efforts either side of FIFA World Cup Italia ’90, England have largely failed to get to grips with the Euros, notable exceptions in 1996 and 2004 notwithstanding.
The European Championships began in 1960 – 30 years after the first FIFA World Cup – and England were among the teams that didn’t enter the competition, which operated along lines that would be unusual today. Four years later England entered the qualifying process but failed to reach the finals after losing out over two legs against France in the preliminary round. Spain went on to win the competition in 1964 after pulling out of the previous tournament for what can best be described as “political reasons”.
With this site named after him, it would be inappropriate to kick off the England Greats feature with anybody other than legendary World Cup winner Nobby Stiles. Stiles’ England career was relatively short but during his national team tenure he enjoyed amazing success with both England and Manchester United, the club he supported as a youngster and represented for the majority of his playing days.
Supporting the England national football team from a fresh perspective.
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