I went to Wembley with Dad 19 years ago today and saw England enjoy one of their greatest nights at the old stadium against Holland.
Terry Venables’ emerging side battered the fancied Dutch 4-1 in their third Group A fixture at Euro 96. At the time they called it “Orange Night” because of all the orange hats and scarves worn by the visiting fans in a crowd close to 77,000.
England had begun the tournament tentatively with a 1-1 draw against the Swiss but a 2-0 win against the Scots, technically an ‘away’ match even though it was at Wembley, gave England some momentum and had us all singing ‘Three Lions’. Holland were decent – with the likes of Dennis Bergkamp, Patrick Kluivert, Edgar Davids and the de Boer brothers – but you had a feeling it could be England’s night.
Alan Shearer scored twice against the Dutch
It was Teddy Sheringham who sparked the Three Lions into life on a balmy evening, releasing the ball to Steve McManaman in the inside-right channel. Paul Ince surged into the box, using his instep to flick the ball on, and was sent flying by a Dutch defender. Alan Shearer slammed home the spot-kick and we all went crazy.
Early in the second half England had a dreamlike eleven minutes in which they scored three times. Gazza swung in a corner from the left and Sheringham found enough power with his header to beat Edwin van der Sar. Then Gazza helped to create the next, laying the ball on a plate for Sheringham. The Spurs man feinted to shoot and cleverly diverted it to Shearer who drove it in with awesome force.
Paul Ince and Paul Gascoigne celebrate the victory
The Dutch disarray was complete as Sheringham notched his second and England’s fourth after the ‘keeper had pushed out Darren Anderton’s effort.
Substitute Kluivert later scored the consolation goal that kept Holland in the competition while England marched on to a quarter-final meeting with Spain.
Football was coming home.
