England have reached the final of the European Championship 2022 for women after beating Sweden 4-0 in their semi-final at Bramall Lane.
The final at Wembley, where Sarina Wiegman’s team takes on Germany, will be the fifth major tournament contested by the men’s or women’s national teams.
1966 World Cup Final: England 4 West Germany 2
Sir Geoff Hurst’s hat-trick propelled Sir Alf Ramsey’s men to victory in England’s first major final on home soil at Wembley.
The two sides were locked at 2-2 and dragged into overtime until Hurst’s strike gave England the lead in what are still controversial circumstances.
Soviet linesman Tofiq Bahramov helped concede the goal and insisted the ball had crossed the entire goal line after bouncing off the crossbar, but television footage remains unclear.
England went on to take the triumph, with Hurst hitting the ball into the top corner, greeted by commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme’s immortal narration: “Some people are standing on the pitch, they think it’s all over, it’s now! “
1984 European Championship Final: England 1 Sweden 1; total score after two legs. Sweden won 4-3 on penalties
England reached the final of the inaugural Women’s European Championship but fell painfully short in a penalty shootout.
A two-legged affair saw the first clash take place in Gothenburg, where the hosts won 1-0 thanks to the effort of Pia Sundhage.
Linda Curl dragged England back into the reckoning in a 1-0 second leg win at Luton’s Kenilworth Road.
However, Curl and Angela Gallimore missed from the spot as Sweden had the upper hand.
Euro 2009 final: England 2 Germany 6
The English women advanced to the final and defeated the Netherlands in the semi-final after extra time.
But Helsinki’s showdown against Germany proved a step too far in the event.
The Germans hammered England 6-2, with Birgit Prinz and Inka Grings both scoring twice.
Karen Carney and Kelly Smith scored for England, but the Lionesses were overwhelmed and overpowered.
Euro 2020 final: Italy 1 England 1; Italy won 3-2 on penalties
Gareth Southgate became England’s most successful coach since Ramsey by sending the Three Lions to the European Championship final, which has been rescheduled for 2021 due to the pandemic.
Luke Shaw’s early goal sent England into dreamland, but Leonardo Bonucci equalized in the second half for an increasingly influential Italy.
The Azzurri then made it through the shootout, with Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka all missing penalties.