Group B
First time for ENGLAND a great possibility England, the only European na on to have won the FIFA World Cup but not li ed the Henri Delaunay Cup, could have had more recent success had it not been for penalty shoot-outs. Memorable EURO match
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ngland's recent record in major tournaments could have looked very different had it not been for penalty shoot-outs. Since losing on spot kicks to West Germany in the semifinals of the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy, they have been eliminated by that method from five further tournaments – three UEFA European Championships (1996, 2004 and 2012) and two World Cups (1998, 2006). It means the 1966 World Cup triumph on home soil remains their only final appearance, although Roy Hodgson's team, group stage fallers at the 2014 World Cup, should travel to France in confident mood having qualified for UEFA
EURO 2016 with ten wins out of ten. England are alone among Europe's World Cup-winning nations in failing to capture the Henri Delaunay Cup. Indeed, they are yet to reach a UEFA European Championship final, having come closest in 1996, when they hosted the event, only to be denied by Germany in a semi-final penalty shoot-out defeat at Wembley. They also reached the last four – as world champions – in 1968, but otherwise the competition has brought few happy memories. In the four eight-team final tournaments from 1980 to 1992, England were unable to reach the knockout phase, failing to qualify altogether for the 1984 edition in France. EURO '96 apart, they have also struggled to make an impression in the 16-team finals, going out at the group stage in 2000 and suffering elimination in qualifying for the 2008 tournament. On the other two occasions, in 2004 and 2012, respective quarter-finals with Portugal and Italy both ended in shoot-out disappointments.
RUSSIA’s planning for 2018 World Cup Since the break-up of the Soviet Union – the inaugural winners of the UEFA European Championship, in 1960, and runners-up in 1964, 1972 and 1988 – Russia have been regular qualifiers for the four-yearly continental gathering, but only once have they made it through the group stage. That was in 2008,
Memorable EURO match 10 July 1960: Soviet Union-Yugoslavia 2-1 (AET) Ponedelnik's 113th-minute strike in Paris captured the first EURO title. Did you know? Aleksandr Kerzhakov's two goals against Azerbaijan in a friendly on 3 September 2014 took him past Vladimir Beschastnykh (26 goals) as the all-time top scorer for post-Soviet Russia.
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UEFA EURO 2016 FRANCE magazine
when Dutchman Guus Hiddink's attractive side reached the semi-finals. In post-Soviet days they qualified for the FIFA World Cups of 1994 and 2002, and again for Brazil 2014. UEFA EURO 2016 qualification was achieved as Group G runners-up after new coach Leonid Slutski, a mid-campaign replacement for Fabio Capello, oversaw wins in each of the team's last four matches. As part of the Soviet Union, Russia helped win the inaugural competition in 1960. A side containing FC Dinamo Moskva goalkeeper Lev Yashin and FC Spartak Moskva's Igor Netto beat Yugoslavia 2-1 in the final; striker Viktor Ponedelnik scored the extra-time winner. The USSR were runners-up to Spain in 1964, lost the 1972 final to West Germany and suffered more showpiece woe in 1988 as a Ukrainianaccented team went down 2-0 to the Netherlands. Since playing under the banner of
21 June 2004: Croatia-England 2-4 Two Wayne Rooney goals helped England come from behind to book a quarter-final berth. Did you know? England have only ever won one knockout fixture at a EURO final tournament – ironically on penalties, against Spain after a 0-0 draw on home soil at Wembley in 1996.
BEST RESULT: semi-finals 1968, 1996 COACH: Roy Hodgson LEADING SCORERS: all-time – Wayne Rooney (51); current – Wayne Rooney (51) MOST APPEARANCES: all-time – Peter Shilton (125); current – Wayne Rooney (109) ASSOCIATION FORMED: 1863 NICKNAME: Three Lions
BEST RESULT: winners 1960 (as Soviet Union) COACH: Leonid Slutski LEADING SCORERS: all-time – Oleh Blokhin (42 for Soviet Union); current – Aleksandr Kerzhakov (30) MOST APPEARANCES: all-time – Sergei Ignashevich (114); current – Sergei Ignashevich (114) ASSOCIATION FORMED: 1912 NICKNAME: None
the CIS in 1992, Russia have struggled to repeat past glories. They earned one win in nine finals games in 1992, 1996 and 2004 and failed to qualify in 2000, before a welcome return to form in Austria and Switzerland where they reached the semi-finals. UEFA EURO 2012 brought another group stage exit, despite opening with a 4-1 defeat of the Czech Republic and a 1-1 draw with co-hosts Poland. Needing just another draw, they lost 1-0 to Greece.