UK's ITV to show ALL of Euro 96 in May... giving fans chance to relive all drama

  /  autty

Gareth Southgate - the whole of England is with you.

Three Lions fans may not be able to cheer on their manager and players in the Euros this summer but they can take a trip down memory lane to the summer of '96 via the ITV Hub and ITV 4.

The broadcaster has dug into its archives to air all 31 games of the competition which saw England knocked out in the semi-finals to Germany.

It was of course Southgate who missed the decisive spot-kick but he finally put that omen to bed when his side beat Colombia on penalties in the 2018 World Cup.

1996 is the last time England made it to the semi-finals and hosted the European Championships with stars such as Alan Shearer, Paul Gascoigne and Teddy Sheringham all in the ranks.

Shearer finished the tournament as leading goalscorer, finding the net five times while Sherringham scored twice.

England were in a group with the Netherlands, Switzerland and rivals Scotland.

Managed by Terry Venables, the Three Lions played all three group games at Wembley but could only draw against the Swiss in their first outing.

But the second game against Scotland kicked off their tournament. England beat the Scots 2-0 in a game that is widely remembered for an outstanding solo goal from Gascoigne.

In the final game England were leading the Netherlands 4-0 but conceded a late goal scored by Patrick Kluivert.

It proved to be crucial for Scotland who ended up beating the Swiss 1-0 in their final game. This meant both they and Holland had the same number of points and goal difference but Scotland went out on goals scored.

Had England kept a clean sheet they would have had a superior goal difference and progressed to the quarter-finals.

Venables' side went on to beat Spain on penalties in the next round with Shearer, David Platt, Stuart Pearce and Gascoigne all scoring to take them through.

Only Germany stood in the way of England making the final at Wembley. An early goal from Shearer was soon cancelled out by Stefan Kuntz and after extra-time England had to face penalties once more.

The same four who had scored against Spain all stepped up, in exactly the same order, and all found the back of the net.

A brave Southgate took the fifth and sadly we know what happened next.

It was tears for the heroes in grey but Euro '96 is remembered as one of the most entertaining and close competitions of recent history which is why ITV have decided to show the classic encounters.

Paul Mortimer, Head of Digital Channels & Acquisitions, said: 'Nothing brings the country together like Euro fever, and with this year’s tournament postponed to 2021, we’re giving our audience a chance to relive one of the all-time great sporting events, Euro ’96.

'Thanks to the ITV Hub and ITV4, there’ll be no shortage of vintage football classics for fans to indulge in over the next few months.'

All 31 games from the tournament will be available on the ITV Hub in May while ITV 4 will show the five England games.

Related: England Gareth Southgate Paul Gascoigne
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