It was England’s chance to win the Euro Championships on home soil and create history. The English side first scored a 4-1 win over Netherlands in the group stage before winning on penalties against Spain in the quarter-finals. In the semi-final against Germany, played at the iconic Wembley Stadium, Alan Shearer scored for England. Stefan Kuntz equalised for Germany with the match tied at 1-1 in extra time. The penalty shootout saw both the teams scoring the first five penalty kicks. In sudden death, Gareth Southgate took the first penalty for England with German goal-keeper Andreas Kopke making the save from a poor kick followed by German captain Andreas Moller scoring the German penalty kick. Southgate would later feature in a Pizza Hut advertisement along with Chris Waddle and Stuart Pearce, who too had missed penalties earlier for England.
Twin misses by Stuart Pearce and Chris Waddle in 1990 World Cup Semi-final
In the semi-final played at a packed Stadio delle Alpi stadium in Turin, England and Germany were tied 1-1 after the end of regulation time. Extra time would be a dead-locked affair before the teams went into the penalty shootouts. With England shooting first, Gary Lineker, Peter Bearsdsley scored from their spot kicks with Brehme, Lothar Matthaus, Karl Heinz Riedle scoring for the Germans. Nottingham Forest’s noted penalty taker Stuart Pearce, who was nicknamed Psycho, would land his shot against German goal-keeper Bodo Illgner’s legs. With Olaf Thon scoring for Germany, England needed Chris Waddle to score to have a chance. Waddle’s penalty kick flew over the bar into the stands as Germany sailed into the final. “He put the ball into orbit and we were out of the World Cup. I don’t blame anyone but myself. I was the one who missed first and piled all the pressure on him,” Pearce said once in an interview.
Batty, Ince famous misses against Argentina in 1998 World Cup
In a match famous for a young David Beckham earning a red card, England would suffer another heart-break in the penalty shootout, this time against Argentina. Both the teams were tied 2-2 when Beckham was sent off after being fouled by Diego Simone and showing his displeasure. In the penalty shoot-out, David Seaman saved Herman Crespo’s shot to hand England the advantage. But Ince’s shot was saved by Argentina goal-keeper Carlos Roa, who tied the score. Juan Sebastian Veron and Marcelo Gallarodo scored from the next two penalty kicks for Argentina with Paul Merson and Michael Owen also scoring for England. Then Roberta Ayala scored for Argentina, and up stepped David Batty. He was to take the fifth penalty for England. His poor kick was saved by Roa, sparking celebrations from the Argentines. Batty, who had substituted Darren Anderton in extra time, later said it was the first penalty kick he ever took in his career.
David Beckham’s costly misses against France and Portugal in 2004 Euros
David Beckham’s penalty misses against France and Portugal in the 2004 Euro Championships were the only two penalty misses by a player in that tournament. In a group stage match against France, England took an early lead through a Frank Lampard goal before Beckham missed a penalty aimed towards the left against his Manchester United team-mate Fabien Barthez. France would score two late goals through Zinedine Zidane in extra time to set up a 2-1 win. Days later, Beckham missed another penalty against Portugal in the penalty shootout. The Manchester United star kicked the ball high and wide into the stands followed by Darius Vessel missing the sixth penalty. The ball would fetch a 1.8 million bid by a Spanish businessman, as reported by The Guardian, days later.
Lampard, Gerrard and Carragher misses against Portugal in 2006 World Cup
England were looking to avenge their 2004 Euro quarter-final loss against Portugal in the 2006 World Cup quarter-final. The England team had the likes of David Beckham, Steven Gerrard and Michael Owen in their ranks. The quarter-final saw both the teams playing a goalless draw before the penalty shootouts. Frank Lampard missed England’s first penalty with Simao Sabrosa scoring for Portugal shooting first. Owen Hargreaves scored the second penalty for England after Hugo Viena missed his shot. Armando Petit missed the third penalty for Portugal followed by Frank Lampard missing his shot with both the teams again tied. Helder Postiga converted his spot kick followed by Jamie Carragher missing his spot kick. Cristiano Ronaldo scored the winner for Portugal as England’s quarter-final curse continued.
