EURO on this day: 15 June
Saturday, June 15, 2024
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On this day: Paul Gascoigne's memorable goal for hosts England against Scotland lit up the 1996 finals, while Turkey pulled off an incredible win in 2008.
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Scotland 0-2 England
(Shearer 53, Gascoigne 79)
1996 group stage, London
Paul Gascoigne's unpredictability brought problems but it was an essential part of his greatest work with a ball at his feet – perhaps no better demonstrated than by his memorable goal against Scotland that lit up EURO '96.
With the tournament hosts grimly holding onto a 1-0 lead, grateful for David Seaman's save to deny Gary McAllister from the penalty spot moments earlier, 'Gazza' took centre stage.
He collected a Darren Anderton chip on the edge of the box, flicked the ball over Colin Hendry with his left foot, ran round him as the defender stumbled and volleyed past Andy Goram with his right. "Mr Paul Gascoigne: An Apology," said a Daily Mirror editorial.
Turkey 3-2 Czech Republic
(Arda Turan 75, Nihat Kahveci 87 89; Koller 34, Plašil 62)
2008 group stage, Geneva
The teams kicked off with identical records, meaning a draw would have necessitated a penalty shoot-out to decide who took second place behind Portugal, and that situation was only avoided by an astounding late turnaround by Fatih Terim's side.
The Czech Republic struck first through Jan Koller's thumping header, and when Jaroslav Plašil turned in Libor Sionko's cross they looked to be easing through. Turkey gave themselves a fighting chance thanks to Arda Turan's low effort, but there seemed only a slight risk of a shoot-out conclusion.
Enter Nihat Kahveci. The forward capitalised on a Petr Čech spill to draw his team level then strode through to hammer an unerring finish past the goalkeeper to cap a crazy finish in Geneva.
Other EURO fixtures on 15 June
1980 group stage: Belgium 2-1 Spain
1980 group stage: England 0-1 Italy
1988 group stage: England 1-3 Netherlands
1988 group stage: Republic of Ireland 1-1 USSR
1992 group stage: Scotland 0-2 Germany
1992 group stage: Netherlands 0-0 CIS
1996 group stage: France 1-1 Spain
2000 group stage: Sweden 0-0 Turkey
2004 group stage: Czech Republic 2-1 Latvia
2004 group stage: Germany 1-1 Netherlands
2008 group stage: Switzerland 2-0 Portugal
2012 group stage: Sweden 2-3 England
2012 group stage: Ukraine 0-2 France
2016 group stage: Russia 1-2 Slovakia
2016 group stage: Romania 1-1 Switzerland
2016 group stage: France 2-0 Albania
2020 group stage: Hungary 0-3 Portugal
2020 group stage: France 1-0 Germany
