Not only the Euro 2020: Why England fans are afraid, that their team will take the lead

The defeat of England in the final of the Euro tournament 2020 she broke millions of hearts against Italy, football ended at home instead of Rome. However, the defeat was tragic – and any penalty shootout defeat is a Shakespearean tragedy by standards – it only reflected the pattern, which was part of the English football team's performances at major tournaments: tendency to lose the match after that, which was in charge . NO, it's not just a coincidence. It often happens with English teams, that before the Euro final 2020 many fans expressed hope, that England will not get an early lead. No, England does. And England lost.

It's not the first time, what happened. And one has suspicions, that unless there are some changes in strategy and approach, it won't be the last either. This 'lead first then lose' phenomenon has haunted English football teams for over half a century. Seems to seem to be, that it disappeared in the eighties, but he returned and now apparently booked a bed and breakfast. NO, England don't always lose crucial matches, in which he leads, but the vast majority of their losses in the knockout stages or in crucial tournament matches were marked by, that they actually led for a while, before they let the advantage slip.

If that sounds hard to believe, consider the following:

World Championships 1970: The folly of taking Bobby away

Defending champions England led Germany in the quarter-finals 2: . And then Franz Beckenbauer v 70. minute behind Germany he pulled one of them to 2: 1. By all accounts the worst rotation, which has ever happened in football, England coach Alf Ramsey dropped Bobby Charlton, to "save" him for the next match. The sting has completely gone out of England's attack, Beckenbauer was suddenly the order of the day and Germany won 3: 2.

Euro 1992: David put it on the record, but …

The loss against Germany seemed a one-off, but then England entered their final group game at the Euros 1992 and needed a win against Sweden, to ensure progress to the next round. David Platt blew them up, when he scored in the fourth minute. And then it went terribly wrong, as Sweden came back to win 2: 1. England were eliminated.

Euro 1996: When he almost returned home

This is a tournament, which current England gaffer Gareth Southgate would prefer to forget. England team, riding the high of excellent performances and the wave of "It's coming home", made it to the semifinals of the tournament. And he ran into old rivals Germany. England started perfectly, when Shearer scored in the third minute. However, Germany equalized through Kuntz, with the victory they held on through the breaker, Southgate missed the penalty.

World Championships 1998: Owen leads, Becks sees red and England are bleeding

After a reasonably good group performance – despite a surprising loss to Romania – England faced Argentina, which has become one of the most fascinating rivalries in modern football, courtesy of the Falklands War and Maradona's 'Hand of God' goal. Argentina took an early lead, but Alan Shearer quickly rose to England's level. And a few minutes later, Michael Owen scored one of the greatest goals in World Cup history, as he slalomed past a number of Argentine defenders, to give England the lead. It was all pear-shaped after that. Not only, that Argentina equalized on the stroke of half-time, but David Beckham was also sent off for a stupid lunge at Diego Simeone. England bravely stood behind the referee, but it lost there.

Euro 2000: Leadership position, more losses … and again

In the group with Portugal, England knew Germany and Romania in one of the toughest groups of the tournament, that they have a tough job ahead of them. And they literally let the qualification slip through their fingers. They were leading in their opening group game against Portugal 2: , but in the end they lost 3: 2. Victory 1: against Germany got the English back into qualification. When they led at half time against Romania 2: 1, with the goals of Shearer and Owen it seemed, that participation in the next round is imminent. Unfortunately, it slipped again and Romania ran out of winners 3: 2, thanks to a last-minute penalty.

World Championships 2002: Brazil was ten, but perfect

Maybe this was a tournament, on which the "England can't stay in the lead" theory began to take shape. After a fairly effective qualification to the quarter-finals against Brazil, England got off to a great start, when Michael Owen gave them an early lead. Brazil equalized and then went through with a spectacular goal from Ronaldinho. Ronaldinho was expelled in 57. minutes, but England could not get back into the game, which led to the spread, that the team could not close decisive matches.

Euro 2004: Another wasted lead from Owen

Another quarter final. Another quick lead through Michael Owen (who now had to think, does it have a hex on it) and another lead wasted. This time the opponents were Portugal. England played heroically (despite losing the rampant Rooney to injury) and even equalized in extra time after extra time, but again it ended in a losing tie.

Euro 2016: Cold feet against icy opponents?

Just as many assumed, that England had learned to hold on to the lead (or lose, if they would not accept them, some cynics would counter), the team's old weakness surfaced again. And this time it led to one of the biggest upsets in football history. England, which played against the Iceland team, who enjoyed participating in the tournament and surprised himself by doing so, that he reached the stage of the last sixteen, took the lead through Wayne Rooney's penalty in the fourth minute. The fans sat down and awaited the ceremonial goal. They weren't wrong, they scored two more goals twenty minutes ago. But Iceland surprisingly scored both. The Minnies held their advantage 2: 1, to achieve a glorious victory.

World Championships 2018: Despite Trippier, Croatia stumbled

The Gareth Southgate era began to take off at the World Cup 2018 and the team easily qualified from their group. The specter of "lead and lose" surfaced briefly during the match against Colombia v 16. kole, when Colombia equalized late on, to cancel opener Harry Kane, but England won the shootout this time. A win in the quarter finals 2: over Sweden sparked the semi-final against Croatia. And the curse struck again. Kieran Trippier gave England the fifth minute and the team seemed to have a good lead, until Croatia jumped out later in the match, which equalized in normal time and then won in extra time. Although the performance of the English team was generally praised, there were some concerns, as the team let the lead slip again in the decisive game …

Euro 2020: Gareth is brought to the gate

England became the final of a major tournament for the first time 55 years. Many have actually seen, that they are equally popular against the Italian side, as if they were too old. In front of a raucous crowd at Wembley, England got off to an ideal start. In front of a rabid crowd, Luke Shaw scored in the second minute, which gave England the lead. Seems to seem to be, that the cup is coming home, but then Rome had other ideas. The old curse struck again. England led. And lost again.