David Beckham’s Greece free-kick, Jude Bellingham’s Euros acrobatics and the 25 best England moments of the 21st century so far – ranked

The sign of a real football genius is an ability to produce audacious acts in moments of desperation. And things were looking very desperate when England were trailing Slovakia 1-0 in the 95th minute in Gelsenkirchen, staring an embarrassingly early elimination from Euro 2024 in the face.

England had thrown everything at their opponents, seeing a Phil Foden goal ruled out, a Declan Rice strike hit the post and numerous Harry Kane attempts miss the target. But Jude Bellingham refused to go home early and conjured a moment of brilliance when it mattered most, lashing home with a bicycle kick. Not only did it save England, it crushed Slovakia’s resolve. After all, how do you respond to being on the wrong end of a moment of pure inspiration like that? Kane scored in the first minute of extra-time and England squeezed through, thanking their lucky stars for their airborne talisman.

England had taken the easy route in the 2018 World Cup knockout stage and instead of facing Brazil, only Sweden stood in their way of a first semi-final in 28 years. But they still had to get the job done, and they did it by making the most of their secret weapon: Harry Maguire’s massive head.

The defender capitalised on England’s clever work from set-plays to power them into the lead in the first half, choosing the perfect moment to score his first international goal. Dele Alli, also with a header, made sure of the victory in the second half, putting England within striking distance of the World Cup final.

England had not played a World Cup semi-final since 1990 and they soon found themselves in dreamland when Kieran Trippier did his best David Beckham impersonation. The right-back curled a delightful free-kick into the net to give England the lead in the fifth minute against Croatia, and it sparked an excellent opening spell from the Three Lions, who could and should have extended their advantage before half-time.

Ivan Perisic and Mario Mandzukic eventually made them pay, but for a few glorious minutes, England were on their way to a World Cup final, air-lifted by an exquisite dead-ball strike from ‘The Bury Beckham’.

Despite scoring 19 Premier League goals and leading the assists chart with 13, Ollie Watkins was afforded just 58 minutes of football at Euro 2024. Watkins was Southgate’s third-choice striker at the tournament behind Kane and Ivan Toney, but the manager turned to him with eight minutes remaining in the semi-final against the Netherlands. That was all he needed to become a national hero.

Watkins gave England a sense of urgency and with 90 minutes on the clock and extra-time beckoning, he latched on to a pass from fellow substitute Cole Palmer, taking one touch to turn with the ball and the other to slam it just inside the far post. His goal sent England into their first-ever final on foreign soil, but his reward was to be benched again for the showpiece against Spain. Watkins couldn’t help the Three Lions end their long wait for a trophy when he was brought on, but he can be safe in the knowledge that he had got them there.

Ever since beating Spain on penalties at Euro ’96, England were dogged by the accusation they were incapable of beating top opposition in the knockout stages of a major tournament. Their biggest scalps of the 21st century had been Denmark, Ecuador, Colombia and Sweden, hardly international powerhouses. But they finally got that monkey off their backs by beating Germany in the last 16 at Euro 2020, and they didn’t even need extra-time or penalties.

England felt confident going into the game and having home advantage certainly helped. They were the better team and finally turned the screw in the latter stages when substitute Jack Grealish gave them an extra push, playing in Luke Shaw who in turn crossed for Raheem Sterling to fire England ahead. Harry Kane made sure of the win, England’s first against Germany in a knockout game since 1966.

It was a cathartic victory for Southgate, who had missed the crucial penalty in the Euro ’96 semi-finals. He said: “For my team-mates that played with me I can’t change that so it will always hurt, but what is lovely is we have given people another day to remember.”

Since winning the World Cup in 1966, England had reached four semi-finals and lost them all, falling against Yugoslavia, Germany (twice) and Croatia. So there was naturally a huge sense of euphoria when they beat Denmark in Euro 2020 to finally book their place in a major tournament final.

As ever, England did things the hard way, falling behind at Wembley to Mikkel Damsgaard’s sizzling free-kick before equalising thanks to Simon Kjaer’s own goal. Kasper Schmeichel kept denying England to force extra-time, and when the Three Lions earned a controversial penalty, he pushed away Kane’s shot. But the captain got to the loose ball first and England finally had their date with destiny.

England were in their first final since 1966 and back at the scene of that famous triumph, with Wembley in a boisterous mood as fans revelled in being back in stadiums after the coronavirus shutdowns. And in just the second minute of the Euro 2020 showpiece against Italy, Luke Shaw lifted the roof off the stadium when he gave England the lead, scoring on the half-volley to complete a sweeping move. The noise was deafening and England were off to the perfect start.

It proved to be too perfect, as Southgate’s side didn’t know what to do next. The euphoria of the early minutes soon faded and a horrible hangover set in after Italy won the penalty shootout amid the realisation that an opportunity for the perfect triumph had slipped away. But in isolation, Shaw’s goal has to rank among the greatest highs England fans have known, even if it didn’t last long.

Beckham had been hung out to dry by the English media for his role in their elimination from the 1998 World Cup, but the public had slowly warmed to him, and two years later he was named captain. He took the role very seriously, and after being accused of letting his country down against Argentina in France, he carried the nation on his shoulders in an unforgettable final World Cup qualifier against Greece.

Fittingly, the game was at Old Trafford, where Beckham played every two weeks for Manchester United. England only needed to draw to seal their place at the 2002 World Cup, but they twice fell behind and as the game approached injury-time they were trailing 2-1 and heading for an unwanted play-off.

In a scriptwriters’ dream, they won a free-kick in ideal territory for the set-piece extraordinaire. Beckham could not have struck the ball sweeter, curling it into the top corner. It completed the perfect redemption arc and laid the groundwork for Beckham to become what he is today, a national treasure.

“Football is a simple game; 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans win.” So said Gary Lineker after England’s 1990 World Cup semi-final defeat on penalties. Eleven years later, he had to eat his words as England obliterated their old rivals in their own back yard.

Lineker’s phrase perfectly encapsulated England’s inferiority complex with regard to their fellow Europeans, but it was not without justification. Germany had knocked England out of World Cups in 1970 and 1990, as well as Euro ’96. In their previous meeting prior to this penultimate World Cup qualifier, the Germans had won 1-0 in the final game at the old Wembley Stadium, leading to Kevin Keegan announcing his resignation during his post-match interview. Before kick-off in Munich, Germany led England by six points in the group standings and had a superior goal difference of four. And no side had ever managed to beat Germany in a meaningful World Cup qualifier.

The idea that England could beat Die Mannschaft on home soil was outlandish to say the least, but the notion they could wallop them 5-1 was the stuff of fantasy. The game looked to be following the usual script when Carsten Jancker slotted Germany in front in the fifth minute, but England soon got hold of the script and tore it to shreds. Owen equalised later in the first half before Steven Gerrard fired England ahead with a 30-yard daisy-cutter. Owen struck twice more in the second half to complete his hat-trick while Emile Heskey rounded off the barely believable victory, his role in the thumping later immortalised in a chant that goes ‘5-1, even Heskey scored’.