The best England goal ever and the best celebration! The epic Euro 96 encounter against Scotland at Wembley by the men who were there

  • England beat Scotland 2-0 at Wembley in the Euro 96 group stages
  • Alan Shearer opened the scoring for the hosts with a header
  • England goalkeeper David Seaman saved a penalty from Gary McAllister
  • Paul Gascoigne scored a stunning goal to seal victory for the hosts 
  • Jamie Redknapp, Darren Anderton, Steve McManaman, Stuart McCall, Colin Calderwood, McAllister, Ally McCoist, Colin Hendry and Craig Burley remember the game 20 years on

Twenty years have passed since England and Scotland clashed at Euro 96 but memories of David Seaman's penalty save, Paul Gascoigne's goal and the wild Wembley celebrations still trigger an emotional recall for those who were part of this epic showdown...

 

Jamie Redknapp: 'It was both the best moment of my career and the worst. I started on the bench and it wasn't going very well, then Terry Venables told me I was going on and I don't know if I've ever felt better on a football pitch. Then broke my ankle and after that, injuries became so difficult to cope with.'

England's Jamie Redknapp (left) passes the ball as Scotland's John Collins gives chase

England's Jamie Redknapp (left) passes the ball as Scotland's John Collins gives chase

Darren Anderton: 'The nerves at the start were up there with anything I remember. We'd not been to the World Cup in '94, played no qualifiers and suddenly we were in the tournament and started badly with a draw against Switzerland. 


'There was a lot of grief and abuse about the way we'd prepared because we'd been to Hong Kong and there was the dentist's chair and stories about damage to the plane on the way back.

'Scotland was probably the perfect game, a classic case where it doesn't matter how well or how badly you're playing. It was boiling hot and I remember looking up during the national anthems and seeing my Mum, pointing at Rod Stewart. My Dad's Scottish, but he was supporting me that day.'

Steve McManaman: 'One thing that sticks with me was how much everyone got behind us. When we left our hotel, there were fans lining the streets, waving us to the stadium. When we got to Wembley, the atmosphere was incredible.

'You were playing against these lads every week and it was more of a derby game. It was by far the biggest England game I'd played in at that point. 

'We knew we had the better squad but that didn't guarantee anything. From the first whistle, I knew it was going to become a fight. The tackles coming in were harder, the football was more frantic.'

England fans show their support at Wembley during the Euro 96 clash with Scotland

England fans show their support at Wembley during the Euro 96 clash with Scotland

Anderton: 'We didn't play great in the first-half. We thought Scotland were a team we should beat but we hadn't created much. The game lacked quality. We gave it away, they gave it away.'

Stuart McCall: 'We were coming off at half-time, down the concrete slope and the crowd was groaning a bit. Suddenly there was a clatter of studs, someone running behind me and I turned round quickly. I thought there'd been some trouble. It was Gazza, who said: "Here, give this to your little girl," and took his shirt off.

'We were both at Rangers and I'd given this TV interview where I said my daughter loved Gazza and wanted a 3-3 draw with a hat-trick for me and a hat-trick for him. I wasn't one for collecting shirts but I asked him for it before the game. 

'Darren Jackson who played with him at Newcastle had asked him as well. I went in the dressing room and hid it under my bag. I didn't want anyone to see it.'

Scotland's Stuart McCall in action during the famous encounter at Wembley in 1996

Scotland's Stuart McCall in action during the famous encounter at Wembley in 1996

Anderton: 'Jamie came on for Stuart Pearce and we changed the system at half-time. Terry wanted an extra man in the middle of the park so we could get on the ball. He usually gets those things right, he certainly did that day.'

McManaman: 'It showed what a good manager he was. He wasn't scared to make a big decision. He was a very proactive coach. He switched to a back three. Redders actually played very well that day.'

McCall: 'As we're walking back out, lots of people in the tunnel were shouting about England's change. "Fifteen for three. Who's that? What's that mean?" We were trying to work out what they were doing. It took us time to work it out. In that time the game changed.'

Redknapp: 'I don't like to boast but I felt so sharp that day. I was at the peak of my career. I kept it simple, kept passing the ball to a white shirt, and it worked. 

'Steve McManaman was one of my best mates at Liverpool and all I had to do was get the ball to him and get us playing. We went 1-0 up through Alan Shearer following a training-ground move.'

England's Steve McManaman (left) controls the ball as Scotland's Tosh McKinlay looks on

England's Steve McManaman (left) controls the ball as Scotland's Tosh McKinlay looks on

Colin Calderwood: 'The cross came from Gary Neville and Gazza made a run and I came away from Shearer at the back stick. I'm not saying I would've stopped him but, as we moved, the ball went over our heads. I couldn't get back. That was the first goal. I still cuss myself about it. But you've always got to take the danger closer to the ball, that's the rule.'

Anderton: 'The game changed, opened up. Andy Goram made a save [from Teddy Sheringham] and Seaman made a save [from Gordon Durie].'

McCall: 'I've crossed the ball to Gordon Durie and he's brought down by Tony Adams. It was a penalty, I think, fair enough. There were no complaints.'

Alan Shearer edges clear of the Scottish defence to put England 1-0 up in the second half

Alan Shearer edges clear of the Scottish defence to put England 1-0 up in the second half

Calderwood: 'It is the defining moment. We miss the penalty and almost straight away they go up the other end and score. All in a couple of minutes. If we'd scored the penalty we wouldn't get beat. That's football. No-one will remember us being decent in the first-half.'

Gary McAllister: 'It always comes down to the penalty. That will never go away. It's something I have to live with. I still get wee flashbacks about it. There's no doubt in my mind that if I'd scored we'd have won and we'd have gone through. But I missed and we never recovered. Paul Gascoigne scored the dentist's chair goal and that was it.'

Ally McCoist: 'I should've taken the penalty. Not taking it is the biggest regret of my career, without doubt. We decided before the game who'd be taking it. And that was a mistake, one I vowed never to repeat in my playing, coaching and managerial career. Sometimes it takes the bigger man to walk away.

'I'm not saying Gary McAllister wasn't having a good game but the penalty-taker should be someone who really fancies it. Someone who is 100 per cent confident and really wants to take it. 

'I was that guy. I might have missed it but if we levelled, we would have beaten England. We so fancied it. England were under massive pressure and you could see they were vulnerable.

'People say I'm talking nonsense but I tell you that ball moved ever so slightly as Gary went to strike it. Uri Geller claimed he made it move. I've never met Uri Geller but I wish there had been some way to shoot down that helicopter he was hovering in over Wembley.'

Scotland's Gary McAllister strikes his penalty towards goal but David Seaman saves it

Scotland's Gary McAllister strikes his penalty towards goal but David Seaman saves it

McAllister: 'Uri Geller must look out for my name in the media. He's still convinced his powers moved the ball. I did something in an Italian magazine during Euro 2016 and the penalty came up. I mentioned Uri Geller and next thing he sent me a text.'

[Geller's text said: 'Hi Gary, Uri Geller here. I read you mentioned me. Look, I'm willing to motivate and inspire your team to win. This way I can give you back what I took away to be equal.]

Anderton: 'When David Seaman made the save we went from "Oh no, not again" to "Oh yes, we've won, what a goal". That minute or two is what I remember most.'

McCall: 'Gary McAllister gets vilified but it was a great save. He puts it where you'd want to put it and he gets an arm up. Every penalty miss seems bad but that was a top-class save.'

McAllister holds his head in dejection after missing a penalty while England players celebrate

McAllister holds his head in dejection after missing a penalty while England players celebrate

McManaman: 'If they'd scored, everything would have changed. We were one-up but we hadn't been dominating. With another 1-1 draw, would we have gone on to beat Holland as we did? But then when David made the save, we went up the other end and Gazza does what he does.'

Anderton: 'Teddy knew where I'd be – we'd played together for years - and Gazza made the run. It was a matter of putting it into that area. I was facing the play and it wasn't a difficult ball, but Gazza didn't have to break his stride. He lifted it over Colin Hendry and still had the calmness to finish.'

Redknapp: 'It was the best goal England have ever scored – and certainly the best goal I've been on a pitch to witness. Gazza's ability to knock it over Colin Hendry's head then volley was pure genius. 

'It was the best celebration, too! Gazza told us beforehand to get ready to do the dentist's chair if he scored. He got the bottle and McManaman, Shearer and I all ran over. 

'That picture has pride of place in my house. I have very few pictures from my career but that one always makes me smile.'

Paul Gascoigne scores a stunning goal for England as Colin Hendry looks on

Paul Gascoigne scores a stunning goal for England as Colin Hendry looks on

McManaman: 'I remember joining in the attack, chasing him up the field and seeing him lob the ball over Colin Hendry. That was him, wasn't it? What a goal. He was a bit special, wasn't he? We go 2-0 up and suddenly everyone has this feeling that we're the best team in the world.'

Anderton: 'Gazza loved it because Andy Goram was his team-mate at Rangers. He was buzzing. He saw the water bottles and pointed. 

'He'd been getting so much stick in the papers after the dentist's chair. With Gazza everything was over the top in a positive or a negative way. He answered it in the right way. 

'He loved football; loved winning, loved being the genius he could be with a ball. It felt like a moment of magic. That was it, I knew we'd won the game.'

Colin Hendry: 'People still like to tell me I got turned by Gazza, but that's life. Some people do it, thinking it will get to me, but I can't understand that. 

'I didn't curl up and die after Euro 96. I went on to win more medals in my career. It's happened to better and more worthy footballers than me and it took arguably England's most talented footballer of all time to do it to me.'

England players celebrate by recreating the dentist’s chair that caused a furore in Hong Kong

England players celebrate by recreating the dentist’s chair that caused a furore in Hong Kong

The original 'dentist chair' incident in 1996 

The original 'dentist chair' incident in 1996 

McCall: 'The lads on our bench told me England had the boards out ready to take Gazza off when the penalty was given. His number was up. We score the penalty and we're level and Gazza is off. He saves it and bang, it's the goal of the tournament.

'Only one person on the pitch could have scored that goal. You have to appreciate it. I'm sure those England players who couldn't stop Diego Maradona at the World Cup in Mexico look back and say it was an outstanding goal. 

'You have to be big enough to say it was great skill by a great player. I wasn't too keen on the celebration, mind you.'

Calderwood: 'It was a special goal. I can't say I enjoyed it because of the consequences for us. Unfortunately, they do the celebration and that's replayed more than the goal and that makes it worse.'

McManaman: 'We must have talked about it in the hotel in the build-up but you just never expect it is going to happen. How could you plan it for a game of such magnitude? But then that was Gazza and there we were behind the goal, doing everything instinctively. 

'That result kick-started everything for that tournament. We left the stadium feeling on top of the world. It was one of the best days I had with England, without question.'

Gascoigne's strike is regarded by many as the greatest England goal in history

Gascoigne's strike is regarded by many as the greatest England goal in history

Redknapp: 'It was so great to be involved in such an occasion but it was bittersweet. With five minutes to go, disaster struck when McAllister tried to chip the ball over my head and I landed awkwardly. 

'I was having an x-ray at Wembley and all I could hear was "It's coming home" ringing around the stadium. I knew I'd be missing the rest of the tournament.'

Craig Burley: 'There were about 10 minutes to go when Craig Brown says to me: "Right, you're going on, get ready". I'm thinking: "Brilliant, here I go. Let's turn this around." And then he said: "Left-back". I came on for Tosh McKinlay. 

'I had to ask myself if I was hearing right. We're 2-0 down, we need to win, I'm a midfielder and I'm coming on at left-back. I remember thinking it was insane. And no, it didn't work.'

Redknapp is helped off the pitch after suffering an ankle injury late in the match

Redknapp is helped off the pitch after suffering an ankle injury late in the match

Calderwood: 'The only bit of atmosphere I remember was at the end of the game with that song going off. That was the start of it as a terrace anthem and it got them going in the tournament.'

Anderton: 'It was a huge relief, an amazing feeling. No-one left early and when the whistle went and the song came on, the crowd started singing "Football's Coming Home". It was absolutely incredible.'

McCall: 'We're on the bus, and Coisty gets out Gazza's shirt and he's showing it off. I said: "Call yourself Scottish. I can't believe you took the shirt from someone who has just scored one of the greatest England goals ever". 

Darren Jackson must've got his third shirt. Coisty said: "Ah, you're just jealous". So I reached into my bag. I said: "Nah, I got one the one he started in but if he'd scored that goal in this shirt I wouldn't have taken it."

Gascoigne and Ally McCoist (left), then Rangers team-mates, swap shirts after the match

Gascoigne and Ally McCoist (left), then Rangers team-mates, swap shirts after the match

Calderwood: 'It was sombre on the drive back to the hotel in Warwickshire. We had a couple of drinks and then turned in. We trained the next day.'

Anderton: 'Terry didn't want to let us out, so we went back to the hotel and he invited the families in and we spent the next day with our families. 

'His man-management was the best. The pressure had been ridiculous and the relief was shown in the way we played in the 4-1 win against the Dutch.'

McCall: 'Our last game was against Switzerland at Villa Park. We were winning, Coisty scored a cracker and England were 3-0 up. We needed one more goal and were going for it. 

'Then England scored a fourth and we were through, so we put another man in defence. Then Patrick Kluivert scores through Seaman's legs and we're out on goal difference. Typical, another glorious failure.'

Burley: 'We were in, we were out, we were in and we were out. Everybody talks about Coisty's wonder goal. Nobody remembers the four he missed from about six yards before that.'

Hendry is gutted as Scotland's 1-0 win over Switzerland is not enough to seal progression

Hendry is gutted as Scotland's 1-0 win over Switzerland is not enough to seal progression

Hendry: 'I told my wife Denise to book a holiday as far away as possible and we ended up in Mauritius. We travelled Club Class with all the trimming and got a helicopter to the hotel and there was a red carpet waiting for us, covered in petals. We walked through the door and the hotel staff clapped us all through. It was like a movie.

'The hotel manager had set up a television in prime position for me to watch the rest of the tournament. We'd gone to the other side of the world but I couldn't escape Euro 96. 

'As it turned out, it was great. I ended up with the hotel staff watching England lose the semi-final to Germany, with Gareth Southgate missing his penalty.'

Anderton: 'We should have won it. We'd played so well and looking around the changing room you realised what a good team it was. We thought those moments would happen again. The worst thing is people don't expect us to get to the semi-final anymore.' 

Stuart Pearce consoles Gareth Southgate after his penalty miss as England were knocked out

Stuart Pearce consoles Gareth Southgate after his penalty miss as England were knocked out

 

Interviews by Matt Barlow, Dominic King, James Restall, Gary Keown, John Greechan, Brian Marjoribanks, and John McGarry.