By Mitch Phillips
DUESSELDORF, Germany (Reuters) – In terms of performance, if not points, England have had a wretched start to Euro 2024, but they, along with a host of others, have shown previously that fans should not be too quick to write off their prospects on the back of a grim group stage.
England’s greatest triumph, winning the World Cup in 1966, came after they were panned for a feeble opening goalless draw against Uruguay, with manager Alf Ramsey setting a 58-year template for justifying the team’s efforts in the face of media criticism.
In the 1986 World Cup dire England lost to Portugal and drew 0-0 with Morocco. Only after injuries and a suspension did coach Bobby Robson finally set fan-favourite Glenn Hoddle free and they were transformed, exiting unluckily in the quarter-finals via Diego Maradona’s “Hand of God” goal and brilliant second.
It was a similar story four years later as, after two uninspired draws, England scraped past Egypt to leave Robson purring about topping the group having scored two goals – the same as this year’s Euros team.
Something of a player revolution then changed England’s tactics and two weeks later they were a penalty shootout defeat to West Germany away from the final and are held up to this day as the country’s “next-best” after the Boys of ’66.
England’s Glorious Summer of 1996 is now remembered for Paul Gascoigne’s spectacular goal against Scotland, a peerless win over the Netherlands, and another agonising semi-final shootout defeat by the Germans as football did not quite “come home”.
However, that Euro campaign also started with a dour draw against Switzerland at Wembley that had the media knives out to hammer the players for their nightclub capers before the finals.
England were hardly tearing up trees on home soil again in Euro 2020, again managing only two goals in an unimpressive group stage before finding their feet and reaching the final for the first time.
In the semis they beat Denmark, who had produced their own spectacular turnaround after losing their first two games.
In 1992 the Danes did even better, winning the Euros despite starting with a draw and a defeat at a tournament they were not even supposed to be in until Yugoslavia’s exclusion.
At Euro 2016 Portugal started with three straight draws to scrape through as a best third-placed team then found their way and went on to win a major tournament for the first time.
MEMORABLE TRIUMPHS
At the World Cup some of the most memorable triumphs had the most humble of beginnings, with Argentina twice recovering from being scorched by their media to win or reach the final.
Their opening loss, as holders, to Cameroon in 1990 was one of the sport’s great shocks but they edged through in third place and went on to lose the final to Germany.
In 2022 their defeat by Saudi Arabia was statistically rated the biggest upset in World Cup history, but nobody was talking about that a month later when Lionel Messi lifted the trophy.
Italy’s emotional triumph in 1982 began with drab draws against Poland, Peru and Cameroon that had their media demanding the removal of recently recalled forward Paolo Rossi.
Cue a hat-trick for the striker against Brazil, two goals in the semi and the opener in the final victory over West Germany and he was suddenly the nation’s darling.
Spain’s greatest triumph also had inauspicious beginnings in 2010 as the European champions lost their opener to Switzerland and stuttered past Honduras and Chile before hitting their stride to win the World Cup for the first time.
The most recent, and arguably, most startling turnaround came at this year’s African Nations Cup, where heavyweight hosts Ivory Coast lost their last group game 4-0 to tiny Equatorial Guinea.
After sacking their coach they went through as the last of the best third-placed finishers and in the round of 16 needed a shootout to get past Senegal before finding form and going on to defeat Nigeria – who beat them in the group stage – in the final.
England, of course, have not even lost in Germany, advancing as group winners on five points, leaving coach Gareth Southgate clearly bamboozled by the underwhelmed response of their fans and media.
He knows that will all be forgotten should they somehow turn into an attacking force and go one better than last time and win the trophy. It has been done before.
(Reporting by Mitch Phillips, editing by Ken Ferris)
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