The quarter-finals of Euro 2024 have arrived, with previous tournaments providing some incredible examples of what a quarter-final should be.
Keeping this in mind, let’s take a look back at some of these memorable encounters, from England’s heroics in 1996, to the Danish breaking Czech hearts in 2020.
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Euro 96: Spain 0-0 England (England win 4-2 on penalties)
The first game of this look at great quarter-final occasions wasn’t exactly a classic in terms of the football, but you’d be very hard pressed to find an England fan that doesn’t immediately reflect on this one with great fondness.
Most notably, Euro 96 was the first edition of the tournament to introduce the quarter-final stage, after the switch to a 16 team format.
Following a successful showing in their group that included a 4-1 thrashing of the Netherlands and a famous 2-0 victory over Scotland, the Three Lions returned to Wembley to face Group B runners-up Spain in the last eight.
La Roja came into the game following a group stage campaign that saw them draw with Bulgaria and France, before managing to pick up a 2-1 victory over Romania in Leeds that sealed their passage into the knockout rounds.
The match itself proved to be a close-fought encounter, with two Spanish goals being disallowed thanks to the offside flag, whilst the tournament hosts were unable to break down Spain’s defence and continue scoring goals to the level they did in the group stage.
This meant that the contest would be decided by the dreaded penalty shoot-out, the same thing that had caused the English so much heartbreak at the 1990 FIFA World Cup.
This time however, they were determined to alter their fortunes, something that they just about managed in style, with Alan Shearer, David Platt, Stuart Pearce and Paul Gascoigne all scoring from the spot, with Pearce’s in particular being seen as redemption for that infamous night in 1990.
Meanwhile, David Seaman’s heroics between the sticks would prove to be vital, with the Arsenal keeper saving Miguel Nadal’s deciding penalty to send his country through to a Wembley semi-final against old foes Germany at Wembley, a game that would become famous for different reasons.
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Euro 2004: Portugal 2-2 England (Portugal win 6-5 on penalties)
The next game on this trip takes us to Portugal and to Euro 2004, a tournament that had just about everything.
Hosts Portugal had managed to finish top of their group following a shock defeat to underdogs Greece in the opening game, before a victory over Russia and a 1-0 triumph over Iberian rivals Spain turned their fortunes around.
England had been through a similar style of group stage, coming up short by narrow margins in their opening game against France as a result of a Zinedine Zidane masterclass, before victories over Switzerland and Croatia ensured they finished as runners-up in the group.
The two teams arrived in Lisbon knowing that this game’s winner would undoubtedly be considered a favourite to go all the way, though the pressure would be particularly strong for A Seleção as the hosts.
Michael Owen’s early opener for the Three Lions would be cancelled out by an 83rd-minute equaliser from Helder Postiga before goals in the extra-time period from Rui Costa and Frank Lampard sent the game all the way to penalties.
The shoot-out would be a long and dramatic one, with both teams missing crucial kicks.
However, England’s Darius Vassell (who replaced an injured Wayne Rooney after just 27 minutes) would see his sudden death penalty saved by a gloveless Ricardo, before the goalkeeper would score the winner to send his nation through to the semi-finals and seal another penalty heartbreak for England.
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Euro 2008: Portugal 2-3 Germany
This next game takes us to Austria and Switzerland and Euro 2008, with the latter of the countries being the host for this classic game between two of this edition’s favourites in the historic footballing city of Basel.
Portugal came into the game after a successful group stage, finishing top of the pile after victories over Turkiye and Czechia, but a 2-0 loss to Switzerland in their final game would sour the mood heading into the knockout stages.
Germany would also suffer a defeat in their group, with a 2-1 loss to Croatia finding itself sandwiched between triumphs over Poland and Austria, a factor that meant Die Mannschaft could only finish as runners-up, setting up a mouth-watering quarter-final.
The game itself lived up to all the expectations on it, with the Germans racing into a 2-0 lead during the first half thanks to Bastian Schweinsteiger and Miroslav Klose, before Nuno Gomes reduced the deficit for the A Seleção before the half-time break.
However, Michael Ballack would restore Germany’s two goal lead before a late goal from Helder Postiga restored some hope of a photo finish, but ultimately did very little to help Portugal mount a comeback, condemning them to a last eight elimination and sending the Germans to a semi-final against Turkiye.
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Euro 2008: Croatia 1-1 Turkiye (Turkiye win 3-1 on penalties)
Let’s stay at Euro 2008, but make the trip over to Austria and Vienna, for this underrated game between Croatia and tournament dark horses Turkiye.
As group winners, the Croats would manage a perfect record against Austria, Germany and Poland, allowing them to make a clear case as one of the tournament’s favourites going forward into the knockout stages.
The Turks on the other hand couldn’t have been further from being a favourite, but a good recovery following their opening loss to Portugal in which they went on to defeat Switzerland and Czechia, the latter of these being with 10 men, comfortably saw them finish as runners-up in their group.
Despite a largely uneventful 90 minute period, extra time proved to be the opposite right at the most crucial time, with Ivan Klasnic’s header seemingly sending Slaven Bilic’s team through to the last four, before Semih Senturk changed that with a volley in the last kick of the game.
The resulting penalties would prove disastrous for Vatreni after misses from midfielders Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic set the tone, before Mladen Petric saw his penalty saved by Rustu Recber to make sure that Arda Turan, Semih and Hamit Altintop’s penalties did enough to send their team through to the semi-finals.
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Euro 2020: Czechia 1-2 Denmark
Euro 2020 was a tournament that was worth the year’s delay after the Covid-19 pandemic, with it providing plenty of incredible stories, perhaps none more notable than Denmark.
In a campaign defined by the team’s unity after the collapse of Christian Eriksen in their opening fixture against Finland, the Danes managed to finish as runners-up in their group before comfortably defeating Wales by a 4-0 scoreline in the Round of 16.
As for Czechia, they would advance as one of the tournament’s best third placed sides in the group stage, with a victory over Scotland and a draw with Croatia enough to send them through to face the Netherlands, defeating them 2-0 in the Round of 16.
As the two teams competed against each other for a coveted semi-final place, De Rød-Hvide found themselves two goals in front at half-time thanks to efforts from Thomas Delaney and Kasper Dolberg, before the Czechs got one back almost immediately after the restart, thanks to in-form forward Patrick Schick to set up an exciting half.
However, Denmark’s determination and pride helped them hold on, allowing them to seal their place in the semi-finals, with a trip to Wembley to play against England being their reward for continuing to defy the odds.
