Euro 2016: How England have never won their opening match at a European Championships
Roy Hodgson's boys have the chance to do something no other England team has managed against Russia on Saturday night
ENGLAND are aiming to do something they have NEVER done in their history when they take on Russia at Euro 2016 on Saturday night – win their opening match of a European Championships.
Yes, you read that correctly, in all eight European Championship finals that the Three Lions have played in they have never won their first match – totalling four draws and four defeats.
SunSport guides you through how England started in each of their previous Euro campaigns.
Euro 1968 – Yugoslavia 1-0 England
In the semi-final made famous by Alan Mullery becoming the first player to be sent off for England, the Three Lions went down in Florence thanks to Dragan Dzajic's 86th-minute strike. In the ill-tempered clash, Mullery was shown red with one minute remaining for striking Dobrivoje Trivic, or, as Mullery put it: "I just turned around and kicked him in the how's your fathers." However, manager Alf Ramsey stood by his player, he paid Mullery's fine.
Euro 1980 – Belgium 1-1 England
Ray Wilkins put England in front with a delightful lob over goalkeeper Jean-Marie Pfaff in one of the finest goals scored by England at a European Championships – but the joy did not last long – Jan Ceulemans equalised for Belgium just three minutes later.
Euro 1988 – England 0-1 Republic of Ireland
In Republic of Ireland's first match in a major tournament, Ray Houghton struck in the sixth minute to deny England in Stuttgart. The Three Lions, with Gary Lineker up front, would pepper the Irish goal, but stopper Packie Bonner would be more than up for the test.
Euro 1992 – Denmark 0-0 England
Denmark were only in the tournament because Yugoslavia, in a civil war, were disqualified. With just one week's notice to get their squad ready, Denmark would go on to win the tournament in one of the biggest upsets in football history. England, on the other hand, then drew 0-0 with France, lost to the hosts Sweden, and finished bottom of Group A.
Related articles
Euro 1996 – England 1-1 Switzerland
Football came home, but England could not begin Euro'96 - which they hosted - with a victory at Wembley Stadium. Pandemonium ensued when Alan Shearer fired England ahead, but a late penalty from Kubilay Turkyilmaz meant the spoils were shared.
Euro 2000 – Portugal 3-2 England
England came flying out the blocks against Portugal – going 2-0 up in under 18 minutes after goals from Paul Scholes and Steve McManaman, but soon Portugal began to outplay their rivals, with Luis Figo, Joao Pinto and then Nuno Gomes scoring for the Portuguese.
Euro 2004 – France 2-1 England
It was all going so well. Frank Lampard had put England in front and they were closing in on a win over a strong French team. Until Zinedine Zidance curled in a majestic free-kick in the 90th minute. Then three minutes into injury-time, Steven Gerrard's criminal back-pass found Thierry Henry, he was fouled by David James to concede a penalty, and that man Zidane scored again, this time from the spot to break English hearts.
Euro 2012 – France 1-1 England
England's lead, through the unlikely goalscorer Joleon Lescott, lasted only nine minutes before Samir Nasri's sweetly-shot goal from outside the area equalised for France at the Donbass Arewna in Ukraine.
