The 20 Most Entertaining England Games of All Time

It's not easy being an England fan. The heartbreaking defeats stick in the mind just as prominently as the well-deserved victories, and the Three Lions all too often fall short of the nation's expectations. 

However, the national team have been a part of plenty of thrilling encounters over the decades, which have provided entertainment—regardless of the outcome.

Here's a selection of the 20 most entertaining England games of all time. Be sure to leave your thoughts and suggestions in the comments below. 

England 4-1 Netherlands, June 1996

This writer's personal favourite England game memory was the final group stage match of Euro 96 against The Netherlands. 

Both teams needed only a draw to progress to the quarter-finals, but the Three Lions turned on the style in front of a rapturous Wembley crowd. The highlight was England's third goal, which came as Paul Gascoigne passed to Teddy Sheringham on the outside of the box, and Teddy unselfishly laid off another pass for Alan Shearer to smash home. 

The game instilled England fans with the belief that they could win a major trophy for the first time in 30 years, once again at the hallowed London stadium, Sadly, it wasn't to be.  

Argentina 2-3 England, November 2005

One of England's most entertaining friendly performances came against one of their biggest international rivals in 2005 at Switzerland's Stade de Geneve.

Hernan Crespo gave Argentina the lead just after the half hour mark, but Wayne Rooney connected with a David Beckham knock-down shortly afterwards. England trailed 2-1 late into the game following Walter Samuel's poorly defended header.

Sven Goran Eriksson's gamble of supplementing Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney up front soon paid off, as Owen scored two late headers in the 86th and 90th minutes to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. 

England 4-2 Czechoslovakia, April 1990

In the build-up to Italia 90, England hosted Czechoslovakia in a friendly at Wembley, in what was Paul Gascoigne's second England cap.

Apparently not fully trusted by manager Bobby Robson—and not assured of a spot in the World Cup squad—the Geordie hero certainly earned his stripes in this match, setting up two and scoring a brilliant goal of his own to put a smile on his manager's face. 

England 2-2 Greece, October 2001

In the final match of their 2002 World Cup qualification campaign, England knew they needed to beat Greece or match Germany's result against Finland to automatically qualify for the tournament and avoid a potentially tricky playoff match with Ukraine. 

After a nervous 90 minutes, the Three Lions found themselves 2-1 down to the Greeks with time rapidly running out.

But cometh the hour, cometh the man. After several unsuccessful free kicks in regular time, David Beckham slotted home a career-defining dead ball to secure a vital if a little undeserved, point at Old Trafford. Ninety minutes of frustration in this match were quickly turned around by a flash of entertaining elation.

Germany could only draw with Finland, meaning England had earned their place in Japan and South Korea in the most dramatic fashion possible. 

Germany 1-5 England, September 2001

After a shaky start to the 2002 World Cup qualification campaign, in which they were beaten by Germany at Wembley, England delivered an utterly joyous victory over their bitter rivals at the Olympiastadion in Munich on September 1 2001.

A magnificent Michael Owen hat-trick, in addition to Steven Gerrard's first international goal and a late Emile Heskey strike, inflicted Germany's second-ever World Cup qualifier home defeat in emphatic fashion.

The win put England three points behind the shell-shocked Germans with a game in hand and a vastly improved goal difference. 

After the game, Franz Beckenbauer said: "I had never seen an England team playing better football. They had pace, aggression, movement and skill. It was fantasy football."

England 3-2 Scotland, August 2013

Bar the exceptions on this list, England friendlies (and, to be honest, most other international friendlies) are tepid affairs.

Scotland's most recent visit to Wembley, however, was a breathless encounter from start to finish, with both teams pressing like there was much more on the line than just pride.

The world's oldest international rivals hadn't met in 14 years before this rainy August night, and Scotland came out with the intent of causing an upset, taking the lead twice and threatening to take all the spoils.

The England hero of the day, however, was Rickie Lambert, the former beetroot factory worker who scored with his first touch in his international debut at 31 years of age. 

West Germany 3-2 England (AET), June 1970

There was no shortage of brilliant matches at the 1970 World Cup, but one of the most enthralling games was the rematch of the previous final between England and West Germany.

It's often thought that Sir Alf Ramsey's squad in Mexico was even stronger than the one he won with four years earlier, and victory seemed to be on the cards when Alan Mullery and Martin Peters gave them a 2-0 lead with only 20 minutes left on the clock.

However, Helmut Schoen's Germany pulled off one of the most remarkable World Cup comebacks of all time by bringing the score to 2-2 and extra time, where Gerd Muller volleyed into an empty net for the winner.

Prime Minister Harold Wilson blamed for the defeat and the subsequent lull in public enthusiasm for his defeat in the general election four days later. 

France 2-1 England, June 2004

England started their Euro 2004 campaign with a loss to the reigning champions, but it was a thrilling encounter.

Frank Lampard's header looked like it would ensure victory right up until injury time, in spite of the fact that David Beckham missed a penalty with 15 minutes to go.

However, Zinedine Zidane converted a free kick in the 91st minute, and followed up two minutes later from the penalty spot.

Even an apparent bout of sickness before taking the penalty couldn't stop Zizou from earning Les Bleus three points.  

Germany 1-2 England, November 2008

Fabio Capello brought a team made of predominantly of reserve players to Berlin's Olympic Stadium in 2008 to face a near-full strength Germany side. The Italian manager was seeking his fifth consecutive win in a row, but all signs pointed to his first taste of English disappointment.

However, John Terry headed a late winner in a brilliant match, in which the Germans only scored as the result of a defensive mix-up.

It was Die Mannschaft's first defeat in Berlin for 35 years, and a thoroughly optimistic manner for England to conclude the year 2008. 

England 3-0 Poland, June 1986

One of England's finest performances at the 1986 World Cup came on June 11 in Monterrey, when Gary Lineker scored a brilliant hat-trick against Poland in the final group stage game to ensure progression to the knockout rounds. 

Of course, England's joy at the Mexican tournament was quashed in the quarterfinals by the Hand of God...

Argentina 2-1 England, June 1986

England's 1986 quarterfinal against Argentina was a heated affair for many reasons: It took place not long after the Falklands War, it was held in the summer heat of Mexico City's famous Azteca stadium and it featured one of the most contentious goals of all time.

The first half saw plenty of chances from both sides, but the scoring was opened in the 51st minute by Diego Maradona, who punched the ball over Peter Shilton. The officials saw nothing wrong with the 5ft 5in Argentinean out-jumping a goalkeeper eight inches taller than him and the goal stood.

To compound the misery, Maradona then proceeded to score one of the greatest individual goals of all time four minutes later. 

An 81st-minute consolation from Gary Linkeker wasn't enough to prevent the Albiceleste from progressing to the final and lifting the trophy. 

England 1-1 (4-3) West Germany, July 1990

England's first World Cup semi-final appearance since 1966 came against the team they had defeated at that tournament, West Germany. The Three Lions pulled out their best display of the entire tournament, but failed to seriously threaten the German goal in the first half. 

A deflected Andreas Brehme free kick opened the scoring at the hour mark, but Gary Lineker forced extra time with an equaliser that helped slightly lower the nation's collective blood pressure.

That blood pressure soon sky rocketed, however, as England found themselves in a shoot-out that ended with misses from Stuart Pearce and Chris Waddle. 

The loss prompted Gary Lineker to give his famous quote: 

"

Football is a simple game. Twenty-two men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans always win.

"

Yugoslavia 1-4 England, November 1987

Playing on a muddy field in November in Southeast Europe doesn't sound conducive to a classic match, but England put on a valiant performance in their Euro 88 qualifier in Yugoslavia.

The Three Lions needed to avoid defeat to ensure a place in West Germany the following summer and Peter Beardsley needed just four minutes to get off the mark. Rather than defend the lead, England went for it even harder, with John Barnes, Bryan Robson and Tony Adams making it 4-0 in the first 25 minutes. 

Later in the game Srecko Katanec scored a consolation, which proved to be the only goal conceded by England in the entire qualification process. It was a good time to be an England fan.  

England 2-0 West Germany, March 1975

A quarter of this list consists of ties against West Germany, perhaps proving why this rivalry is so hotly anticipated.

In 1975, Germany were undefeated since they won the World Cup the previous year and England hadn't beaten them since the 1966 Final.

Despite the mud and miserable conditions, England passed the Germans into submission in this friendly, with goals from Colin Bell and Malcolm MacDonald sealing victory at the 100th international to be played at Wembley Stadium. 

Argentina 2-2 (4-3) England, June 1998

England's 750th match occurred on 30th June 1998 against Argentina at the Round of 16 stage of the World Cup in France—and it provided gripping entertainment.

In a match foreshadowed by the English desire for revenge for Diego Maradona's "Hand of God" incident in 1986, two goals had already been scored in the first 10 minutes, with Alan Shearer and Gabriel Batistuta cancelling out each other's spot kicks.

Six minutes later, 18-year-old Michael Owen scored the dazzling solo goal that launched his career, only for Javier Zanetti to equalise shortly before the break.

The second half and injury time brought agony for England: David Beckham became a national villain for kicking out at Diego Simeone and earning a red card, while Sol Campbell had a header disallowed in the dying minutes for a fairly innocuous foul on the goalkeeper.

The look of ecstasy and relief on poor Sol's face when he thought he had scored the winner will stick with this writer for many years to come.

Much like in London two years previously and Italy six years before that, it was a penalty shoot-out that proved the Three Lions' undoing, when Paul Ince and David Batty failed to convert from the spot. 

Portugal 2-2 (6-5) England, June 2004

England finished second in their Euro 2004 group, setting up a tantalising quarterfinal with hosts Portugal at Lisbon's Estadio da Luz. 

Michael Owen needed just three minutes top open the scoring, after which England endured relentless pressure until Helder Postiga levelled 80 minutes later. In extra time, Frank Lampard cancelled out a Rui Costa effort to take it to penalties, where the Three Lions' curse of the spot kick allowed the hosts to progress to a semifinal with the Dutch.

Despite conceding two goals, it was a tremendous defensive display, with England players often piling behind the ball like Greece, but able to offer exciting counter attacks. 

England vs. Scotland, 1996

After stumbling to a 1-1 draw at the opening match of Euro 96 against Switzerland, England needed to prove their worth in the next group game against their fabled rivals to the north.

Following a nervous first half, Alan Shearer got England off the mark with a header in the 53rd minute. Twenty minutes later, Gary McAllister missed penalty, only for Paul Gascoigne to score one of the best England goals of all time at the other end seconds later. 

Croatia 1-4 England, September 2008

Not long after Croatia had denied England a place at Euro 2008 with two qualifier victories, Fabio Capello's new regime returned to Zagreb with a point to prove. And they certainly proved it.

The star of the show was undoubtedly Theo Walcott, who scored a hat-trick in just his second England start. Wayne Rooney also found the net to inflict Croatia's first ever competitive loss in their capital city. 

England 1-0 Cameroon, June 1990

After topping a group in which five of the six games were draws, England progressed in the 1990 World Cup to a round of 16 match with Belgium, which subsequently led to a quarterfinal with Cameroon.

Les Lions Indomptables were the surprise chancers of the tournament. Led by 38-year-old striker Roger Milla, they topped their group after defeating defending champions Argentina and Romania.

After edging out Colombia in the Round of 16 (thanks to a shocking error from crazy goalkeeper Rene Higuita), the first African side to reach this stage led 2-1 before two Gary Lineker penalties settled a nervous affair. 

England 4-2 West Germany (AET), July 1966

Inevitably, the match in which England won the World Cup on home soil has made this list!

Playing a 4-3-3 formation—very unusual for the time—Sir Alf Ramsey's England went down 1-0 to a Helmut Haller strike, only to equalise via Geoff Hurst's head six minutes later.

The match finished 2-2 after 90 minutes, after which Geoff Hurst famously "scored" his goal that deflected from the crossbar. Of course, Hurst sealed the match and completed the only ever hat-trick in a World Cup Final in the dying seconds. 

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