Euro 96 Revisited – England reach semi-finals after penalty shootout victory over Spain

I thought that I would give writing an article from a couple of days after seeing the game would work out for me. I thought that it would be a little bit like the articles that you would read in a newspaper on a Monday, so the writer has extra time to reflect on what they’ve seen. I hope you enjoy it.

Six long years of pain, anguish and self-blame were obliterated on Saturday with one almighty kick of a ball.

Stuart Pearce was able to lay the ghosts of the World Cup Semi-Final shootout to rest from six years ago.  His penalty in the shootout victory over Spain on Saturday helped England to a 4-2 victory.  Despite David Seaman’s penalty save from Miguel Nadal to win the shootout, the Quarter Final was only about one man.

Stuart Pearce’s penalty typified who he is as a person and player.  Rather than shy away and let his team mates take penalties, Pearce put himself forward to take a kick.
It showed bravery and strength of character, going up to take responsibility for his country and having full confidence in his ability to score.

The celebration showed the release of the burden of the miss against West Germany six years ago in Turin.  His raw emotions were there for all to see.  And how we celebrated along with him!

In truth, England rode their luck in this Quarter Final.  Spain deserved more and should have won the game.  They had the ball in the England net twice, only for the goals to be disallowed for offside.  Replays proved the linesman’s decision to be incorrect on both occasions.  A collective sigh of relief went up around Wembley on both occasions when the referee cut the Spanish celebrations.

England were without Paul Ince, their tough-tackling midfielder.  ‘The Guv’nor’ picked up a second yellow card of the tournament in the previous game against Holland and this caused Terry Venables to shuffle the pack.
Former captain David Platt was brought in to replace of Ince and had a good game.  He was also one of the four England players who scored in the penalty shootout.

The game on Saturday was nothing like the exciting, attacking performance against Holland five days before.  Alan Shearer was closed down by a resilient Spanish defence, but still managed to create two chances but was unable to get anything from them.

David Seaman blocked an effort from Javier Manjarin but other than that, the only time Spain challenged was the two occasions that the linesman flagged them offside.

Extra-Time saw England make a triple substitution, with Nick Barmby and Steve Stone making their debut in the tournament.  Liverpool’s Robbie Fowler also came on for Teddy Sheringham to make his second appearance of the Championships.  The trio couldn’t make any difference and the game went to penalties.

England were up first and Alan Shearer scored before Fernando Hierro blasted his penalty against the crossbar.  Advantage England.

David Platt then scored to give England a two-goal lead before Guillermo Amor halved the deficient.  Then came Stuart Pearce’s moment to shine.

Pearce strode down the pitch from the centre circle with a walk of purpose.  His face was one of focus and concentration, he knew what was needed of him.
His penalty was hard and low, past the despairing dive of Spain’s Andoni Zubizarretta and into the bottom left hand corner of the net.  He lived up to his nickname of ‘Psycho’ as he punched the air, shouting his delight and relief with sinew stretching in his neck and arms as he shouted and clenched his fists.

After Pearce’s penalty, the job was only half-done.  The Wembley crowd could sense blood now and England were going in for the kill.
Right Back Alberto Belsue scored for the Spanish to take the score to 3-2 before the cocksure Paul Gascoigne thumped in England’s fourth.  England’s second penalty hero was now ready to take centre stage.

David Seaman dived to his left to bat away Miguel Nadal’s penalty and in doing so, sent England into the last Semi-Final.  He leapt to his feet before being swarmed by his team mates and Wembley roared.

The penalty shootout victory will no doubt take the attention away from a poor England performance in the two hours of play proceeding it.  One man who won’t let anything slip though is methodical coach Terry Venables.  He and his backroom staff will have their work cut out before Wednesday’s Semi-Final with Germany.

The Germans beat Croatia 2-1 at Old Trafford yesterday and look everything like all German sides seen before.  The efficient, well-organised team will give England very few chances to entertain their fans in the Wembley crowd.

It could be another nail biter on Wednesday if England are to reach their first Final in 30 years and stand any chance of ending their 30 years of hurt.

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