Six England players for whom Euro '96 doesn’t evoke such happy memories
- Paul Okey
- 23 March 2022
With UK and Ireland in line to host the European Championship in 2028, we look back to the last time England staged the tournament - and the players for whom it was a case of so near, yet so far.
Euro 96 evokes great memories in those of us old enough to have been around last time these shores played host to a major football tournament.
Britpop was at its peak, every day was sunny and England played vibrant attacking football that saw them come up just a Gazza stud's length away from the final, which obviously we would have won.
Alan Shearer was the tournament's top scorer, Teddy Sheringham was in his prime, Darren Anderton wasn't injured and Steve McManaman had the fans on the edge of their seats every time he picked up the ball. And as for Jamie Redknapp, his 39-minute involvement has grown into the stuff of legend.
Of course, those rose-tinted reminiscences conveniently erase a turgid draw against Switzerland, a stop-start performance against Scotland that was only rescued by a moment of sheer genius from Paul Gascoigne and the rioting that followed the penalty shootout defeat to Germany.
It is probably remembered a little differently too by the six England players who were named in an original squad of 27 by manager Terry Venables but missed out when the final 22 were announced. Planet Sport looks back on England's Euro 96 nearly men.
Mark Wright
Mark Wright's switch to sweeper was the catalyst for England's run to the semi-final of Italia '90.
However, he missed Euro '92 due to an Achilles injury and was to suffer further injury heartbreak in 1996.
Having forced his way back into the England reckoning in the April of 1996 following a two-year absence the Liverpool defender suffered a knee ligament strain 12 minutes into a friendly against Hungary and was ruled out of the tournament. He never played for England again.
Peter Beardsley
Beardsley was another for whom Euro '96 proved the end of their international career.
The Newcastle United playmaker was 35 when the axe fell and knew the writing was on the wall having seen Nick Barmby, 14 years his junior, being increasingly favoured by Venables.
The news of his omission came two days after Beardsley had earned the last of his 59 caps for his country, coming on for the last 14 minutes of a 3-0 win over China.
Beardsley scored nine goals and supplied six assists in his ten-year England career - figures that would have been much higher if not for his wilderness years under Graham Taylor.
Ugo Ehiogu
Ehiogu was 23 when Euro '96 came around and came into contention late off the back of some impressive performances for Aston Villa.
He made his debut in the win over China, coming on for the final 14 minutes but he was always considered a long shot to make the final 22.
Tipped as a future England captain by ex-Villa boss Ron Atkinson, Ehiogu had to wait until 2001 for his next taste of international action, coming off the bench and scoring in a 3-0 win over Spain. He made just two further substitute appearances for the Three Lions.
Dennis Wise
Wise had made his England debut in 1991 but it wasn't until Venables took charge of the team that he became a regular squad member.
Employed in a defensive midfield role, Wise came on as a 65th-minute substitute in England's final home friendly before the tournament, his seventh appearance of Venables' reign.
However, he was a surprise omission when the squad was cut down.
He went on to make nine further appearances for England, the last of which came in a 0-0 draw with Finland in 2000.
Jason Wilcox
The Blackburn Rovers winger won his first cap in the friendly against Hungary and almost capped his debut with a goal inside the first 60 seconds, hitting the crossbar with a header.
Despite an impressive performance, Wilcox failed to make the starting line-up for the subsequent games against China and Hong Kong and found himself out in the cold when the final squad was announced.
He had to wait three years for his next taste of England action, coming on for four minutes in a 2-0 friendly defeat to France and picked up just one more cap, against Argentina in 2000.
Rob Lee
The Newcastle midfielder had seen his club's dreams of Premier League glory go up in smoke in the most dramatic of circumstances as the Magpies blew a 12-point lead to cede the title to Manchester United.
Lee's international career had only begun 19 months previously but the 30-year-old had played in every England match for which he had been fit in the 1995/96 campaign.
So his failure to make the final 22 was a further kick in the teeth for a player described as the best midfielder in England by his club manager Kevin Keegan.
He was to return to the fold under Glenn Hoddle and went on to make 21 appearances for his country.
However, while we were sunning ourselves, recreating Gazza's inconic celebration and singing about Jules Rimet still gleaming, Lee was another England player licking his wounds. He has since described his omission as the worst moment of his career.
