The following is a recount of manager T Venables' (with apologies to current England manager, Terry Venables) decisions and tactics as he guided England's national soccer team in the 2000 European Championship campaign in Wizard Games' Goal! 2.0, a shareware game of international soccer management.
England has been drawn in Group E along with Belgium, Northern Ireland, and Yugoslavia. With their runner-up position in the 1996 European Championship in Germany, and their 3rd place finish in the 1998 World Cup in the USA, England are favourites to qualify from this group. Yugoslavia is accessed to be their greatest threat, and was the team that England beat to third place in the last World Cup.
England v Eire (friendly) - I decided to go for a 4-4-2 formation instead of the more defensive 5-3-2 used at the World Cup. Ireland dominated the match, having more of the possession and territory, but our 3 strikes at goal all counted, with our top scorer, striker E Hedges bagging two. A battling performance gave us a 3-1 victory at Wembley.
Belgium v England - with a key centre-back, A Dillinger, out because of a booking in the friendly with Ireland, I decided to stick to the winning 4- 4-2 formation as there were not enough capable centre-backs in reserve to go to 5-3-2. Belgium is suffering from a lack of confidence due to recent poor results. England summarily destroyed them, with Hedges stealing the limelight with a hattrick. A 3-0 finish gave us a valuable win at Brussels, and our first points of the qualifying campaign. England is on a roll, the press and fans are happy, and morale is high.
Denmark v England (friendly) - I decided to rest Hedges as he wasn't fully fit. P Merson, our next highest scorer, took his place in Copenhagen. The robust Danes packed their midfield in a 4-5-1 formation, and our 4-4-2 style had some difficulty coping. Vilfort scored for Denmark and they went in at half-time with a 1-0 advantage. 15 minutes into the second half, I was ready to bring on Hedges for A Smith, the centre-forward, and replace Dillinger, who was having a poor game, with rookie M Macleod, another centre-back. But Larsen scored another for the Danes before the substitution could be made, so instead of Smith coming off, I took L Kempster, a central midfielder, off. The 4-3-3 formation didn't rescue the game, and England suffers its first defeat. Meanwhile, Yugoslavia also hammered Belgium 3-0 in Belgrade.
Italy v England (friendly) - playing in Rome is going to be difficult. The Italians have a very strong defence, so I decided to play with three in attack, with Merson, Smith, and Hedges starting. I may have underestimated the Italian attack, as Signori and Schillaci quckly put Italy 2-0 up within 10 minutes. Merson pulled one back, but Signori added another. Merson scored another just before half-time, and the lads went in for the breather with a winning chance still there. Considering the potent Italian strike force, I ordered the lads to sag-back-to-box instead of stand ground for protection. However, all it accomplished was allowing Signori to complete his hattrick. Putting on I Wright, another striker, for Smith failed to reap dividends. Merson did put the ball in the Italian goal in the dying minutes, but was judged offside. A 4-2 defeat for England; things are not looking well. Meanwhile, M Wright, a centre- back, and A Shearer, a striker, who were pivotal in the World Cup side, announced their retirements form the international scene.
England v Greece (friendly) - with Merson and Smith both tired, I had no choice but to go back to 4-4-2 with Hedges and Wright as twin strikers. Greece had 3 players sent of in the first half! With only 8 men left, a massacre was on hand. However, England could only get a 1-0 half-time lead, courtesy of Hedges. I took out S Gary, the defensive midfielder and sent on S Norris, the forward midfielder, and ordered everyone to go all out to get goals and boost morale. Alas, I was furious with the lads, the score remained 1-0, and towards the end, I was even contemplating the unthinkable - what if Greece scores?
Northern Ireland v England - with trepidation, we head to Belfast for our second group match. Our regular goalkeeper, N Martyn, who had missed the last 3 games, is back to full fitness, as is the team captain, C Hughes, a central midfielder. Playing 4-4-2, we fought tooth and nail and scrapped a 1-0 victory, with Merson the only scorer. It was also the third time in a row that Merson has been named Man of the Match. Things are getting a bit better.
England v Romania (friendly) - Martyn isn't fit again, I guess he's getting old. C Woods will be between the posts for this match. The strike force will also be relatively new, J Barnes and I Wright. During the match, N Webb, a central midfielder, was injured, and with half the reserves unfit, I had no choice but to throw in Macleod, so we went from 4-4-2 to 5-3-2. Nevertheless, England prevailed, winning 3-1 with goals from Wright (2), and Barnes.
England v Yugoslavia - the crunch game, it was important that we win this match, otherwise we will just make life difficult for ourselves. Playing 4-4-2, we went behind to a Susic goal, but after a half-time pep-talk, Hedges scored 2 goals to give us the lead. It was then that I decided to take out Hughes, who wasn't fully fit, and send on Macleod to defend our lead with the 5-3-2 formation. Gary was injured later and Norris, also not match-fit, had to come on. The lads hung on for a crucial 2-1 win. This meant we collected full points from all our group matches at the halfway stage.
Sweden v England (friendly) - Sweden has packed 5 into their midfield, so I opted for the 4-4-2 formation to battle them in the middle. My star striker Hedges is injured, but Merson is back, and partners Barnes up front. As expected, the Swedes had a better share of the game in front of their home fans, but the lads played with tenacity, and 13 minutes from time, Merson slipped one past their goalkeeper for our fifth consecutive win.
England v Belgium - Belgium was lacking in confidence, so England was expected to brush them aside with ease. Instead, the Belgians took the fight to us, closing down our boys and denying them space. There were a lot of niggling fouls, and in fact, Belgium had more chances, and were it not for some heroics by our goalkeeper Martyn, they could well have embarrased us at Wembley. It was still goalless with 20 minutes left when I sent in Barnes for Norris in a desperate attempt to win the match. It looked like we had to share the points until K Walker, our left fullback, popped up in the last minute to score the winning goal. What a relief!
England v Northern Ireland - for the first time in many matches, I could start my two best strikers, Hedges and Merson, who have scored 42 goals between them. Such a fearsome strike force should get a few more today. Northern Ireland stunned us with a goal from Clarke on the half-hour, but Hedges equalised before half-time. Captain Hughes struck in the second half, but Black made it 2-2 15 minutes from time. 6 minutes later, Gary ensured our 100% record with a superb strike. Now all we need to do is to avoid defeat in Belgrade to qualify.
Yugoslavia v England - The tension was high in Belgrade, and increased when Vujovic scored in the 8th minute. Now we couldn't sit back and soak their attacks. Steven was sent off later in the first half, and with only 10 men to grab an equaliser, things were bleak. When there were only 10 minutes left with the score still 0-1, I desperately sent on untried centre-forward O Street in place of the effectively shackled Barnes. Street probably scored the most important goal of his career in the 88th minute, which sealed a 1-1 draw for us and propelled England to the championship finals.
P W D L F A pts England 6 5 1 0 11 4 11 Yugoslavia 6 3 2 1 9 3 8 Northern Ireland 6 1 1 4 4 9 3 Belgium 6 0 2 4 1 9 2
Holland, the reigning world champions, are to host the finals. England have been drawn in Group A along with Russia, Germany, and Austria. This is the tougher of the two groups, with Germany being the defending champions and Russia having gone through their qualifying campaign with a 100% record and a goal tally of 16-0! Group B comprised Holland, Scotland, Greece, and France. Germany and Holland are the strongest in their groups, and the other semi-finalists are likely to be decided in the Russia v England and Scotland v France matches. But Germany has not been playing well, scrapping through to the finals coutesy of Wales' shock 1-0 defeat of Italy in Rome in the final match of their qualifying group.
England's series of friendlies before the finals went very well, with some newer players shinning. A 1-0 win over Italy at Wembley was followed by a 4-0 demolition of Sweden at Stockholm. The boys then stuttered to two draws, 2-2 against Czechoslovakia at Wembley, and 1-1 away to Malta. Two more wins followed, 3-1 at home to Belgium at home and 5-0 at Luxembourg. The players are confident, and when the time came to select the squad of 20 to go to Holland, I decided to base my selections on the individual morale of the players. I had noticed that our wins during the friendlies seem to be correlated with the overale morale of the team.
Russia v England - our strike force isn't fully fit, expecially key striker Merson. It may be wiser to use him as a substitute in the 2nd half. Centre-forward Smith will accompany Wright in attack. Given the Russians' strength in midfield, I decided to counter with a 3-5-2 formation, playing 3 centrebacks and no fullbacks. The match was tight, Smith opening accounts while Dobrovolsky leveled. The 2nd half saw the same pattern, Wright put us ahead and Kaprovich brought it square again. Final score was 2-2. With Germany also drawing 2-2 with Austria, all teams are completely level after one match. In Group B, Scotland caused a sensation by whipping Holland 4-0.
England v Germany - neither of us can afford to lose. Germany is simply oozing strenght in all departments, but the chink in their armour may be their low morale. Expecting a tight game, I stick to the 3-5-2 formation. The game is again tight, Voeller put the Germans ahead while Wright equalised. We finished the 1st half level. Unfortunately, the day wasn't ours, and Reidle grabbed the winning goal in the 2nd half. Our fate now depends on what happens in the other matches. Russia defeats Austria 2-0, and if their final match with Germany ends in a draw, both Germany and Russia will be through to the semi-finals no matter what we do in our final game against Austria.
England v Austria - our prayers are answered, Germany beats Russia 3-1. This means that if we beat Austria by two goals, we will qualify for the semi-finals. Of course, the same goes for the Austrians. I revert the team back to the 4-4-2 formation. We get a splendid start to the game, E Howard, the defensive midfielder, and Wright put us 2-0 up within 20 minutes. In the 2nd half, Wright scores again and substitute Merson ensures that we finish second in the group with a last minute goal. 4-0 to England, and now for a semi-final with arch-rivals Scotland, who has astounded everyone by winning all 3 matches in Group B. Holland, shockingly, fails to qualify for the semi-finals following a 1-0 defeat by France.
Group A P W D L F A pts Austria 2 Germany 2
Germany 3 2 1 0 7 4 5 Russia 2 England 2
England 3 1 1 1 7 4 3 England 1 Germany 2
Russia 3 1 1 1 5 5 3 Russia 2 Austria 0
Austria 3 0 1 2 2 8 1 Russia 1 Germany 3
England 4 Austria 0
Group B P W D L F A pts Holland 0 Scotland 4
Scotland 3 3 0 0 7 0 6 France 0 Greece 0
France 3 1 1 1 1 1 3 Greece 0 Scotland 2
Holland 3 1 0 2 3 6 2 Holland 0 France 1
Greece 3 0 1 2 1 5 1 France 0 Scotland 1
Holland 3 Greece 1
Scotland v England - what a match this will be, the rivalry between these two teams goes way back to the 19th century. If only it could have been the final instead! England is more or less at full strength, so I opt for the 4-4-2 system which Scotland is using too. A typical British game evolved, with fast and furious action. McCoist scored first for Scotland, and they finished the 1st half with that advantage. Merson equalised for us, and the match ended 1-1 at the end of 90 minutes. A lot of players were feeling the effects of the tough match. Scotland handled it a little better, and a shot by McStay in the 112th minuted ended our dreams of European glory. Scotland now goes on to challenge the reigning European Champions, Germany, who had beaten France 2-0 in the other semi-final.
France v England (3rd place match) - in the play-off for 3rd and 4th positions, a double from Merson following the opening goal by Durand gave England a 2-1 victory and 3rd place in the 2000 Championships. Merson and Wright are now joint top scorers in the competition with 4 goals each, prior to the final.
Germany v Scotland (final) - Scotland's dream of upsetting favourites Germany received a tremedous boost when McCoist scored early in the 1st half, but it was shortlived as Sammer replied for Germany midway through the half. The 2nd half saw the dream vanish as Reidle scored the second goal for the defending champions. Scotland never looked like coming back into the game as the Germans virtually controlled the match after that. Reidle had the ball in the net another time but was ruled offside. Germany are thus crowned European Champions for the 2nd consecutive time. McCoist joins England's Wright and Merson as the joint top scorers with 4 goals each.
Venables will subsequently win the 2002 World Cup in Bolivia with England, carving out a record 11 consecutive wins in the process, starting from the friendly matches before the finals ... but that is another story.
This recount is Copyright (C) 1994 by Sir Launcelot du Lake for GameBytes. All rights reserved.