The best international tournaments (since 1992)
As Euro 2020 approaches in a fit of nostalgia I’ve ranked all the international tournaments since 1992. 1992 serves as a convenient start point as my footballing conscience begins with the 1994 World cup and the 1992/93 season arguably saw the birth of the modern game as both the Champions League and the Premier League started. There is a summary of the top 5 followed by a fuller list!
5. Euro 2008
Euro 2008 was a great fun tournament. Winners, Spain, employed a vertical form of tika taka before it became more tedious in its later slightly bloated imperial phase. In 2008 La Roja thrillingly cut team to pieces with their razor sharp Villa and Torres front line ahead of a tantalisingly creative midfield. Luis Aragones taught Europe a new way to play football which Pep Guardiola and Vincente Del Bosque would take to differing but logical conclusions . Spain’s opponents in the 2010 final, Holland, were perhaps also a more exciting version of their evolved self in 2008. Holland thrashed both of Word Cup 2006s finalists Italy and France, 3-0 and 4-1 in the group stages, in a perhaps un-Dutch, but nevertheless, compelling counter attacking style that foreshadowed the excess of the notorious De Jong and Van Bommel double pivot two years later. Holland had their comeuppance for their aberration from their traditional style in their meeting with Russia in the quarter final who were managed Dutchman Guus Hiddink. It was Russia who showed the traditional Dutch virtues of appreciation of space and dizzying passing combinations by winning 3-1 after extra time in one of the great international tournaments performances. Andrei Arshavin became the talk of europe as his tore into the Dutch defence, while Russia played football seeming simultaneously from the future and the automated Soviet past. This was however prove to be a mirage as Spain, who were to be the real heirs to the future, eased past them in the semi finals. Another semi finalist Turkey had embarked on one of the most absurd runs ever seen. Heading into the closing stages of their final group game against Czech Republic, Turkey were set to exit the tournament losing 2-0 before goals in the 75th, 87th and 89th minute took them through. What happened in the quarter finals was no less improbable. The Turks had kept heavily fancied dark horses Croatia quiet until the 119th minute when Ivan Klasnic had seemingly put Croatia through. In stoppage time of extra time however, Semih Senturk equalised before Turkey prevailed on penalties against a shell shocked Croatia who missed 3 out of their 4 penalties. In the semis Turkey faced a Germany side, who caught between two awakenings of becoming fun in 2006 and an exciting young team in 2010, reverted to type becoming a kind of bellweather, ‘if you want to win you’ll have to get past us’ type of team. As such the Germans knocked out this Turkey team, despite a late flurry. They had also seen off Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal in the quarter finals. When they met Spain in the final they stepped aside for the coronation of what was to become one of the great all time international teams. Euro 2008 featured some classic matches, generally expansive football and the promotion of attacking play which precipitated the late 2000s transition from Mourinho to Pep Guardiola football and deserves its place among the great international tournaments, despite being perhaps let down by the lack of real competition for a great Spain team.
4. World Cup 94
If one man and one month encapsulates the tempestuous brilliance of a World Cup then surely it is Roberto Baggio from June 17th to July 17th 1994. The reigning world player of the year had entered USA 94 in an uneasy compromise with Italy manager Arrigo Sachi. Baggio the brilliant soloist, was paired up with Sacchi, the conductor of well tuned orchestras where every component part served their role to the wider picture. As such in Italy’s second game against Norway, when the Azzurri hit trouble following goalkeeper Gianluca Pagliuca’s 21st minute red card, it was Baggio who was sacrificed to be substituted, much to his disbelief. For the rest of the tournament however it was Baggio who dug a prosaic Italian team out of repeated holes. To consider the raw facts. In the last 16 facing Nigeria, Baggio scored an 88th minute equaliser to force extra time, before putting the Azzurri through with a winner in the 102nd minute. In the quarter final Baggio again scored in the 88th minute, this time a winning goal against Spain. In the semi final Baggio got both against Bulgaria in a 2-1 victory. This strain had however took its toll on Baggio who appeared in the final with his leg heavily strapped, struggling with injury and was a shadow of his usual self as Italy battled to a 0-0 draw. In a cruel twist of fate it was Baggio himself who missed the deciding penalty in the shootout. Has a player ever had a more Shakespearean World Cup? Baggio was not the only star to shine as football sought to conquer the new world. Romario got 5 goals and led an otherwise uninspired Brazil to their 4th World Cup trophy, Hristo Stoitchkov was brilliant in winning the golden boot and guiding unfancied Bulgaria to the semi final, including a memorable win over holders Germany in the Quarter final. Gheorghi Hagi led a thrilling Romania team to the last 8 via an epic 3-2 last 16 victory over Argentina. In other memorable moments Paul McGrath put in a staggeringly good defensive performance against Italy in the group stages and Oleg Salenko got 5 goals in one game against Cameroon. 1994 was also the tentative last twitch of the Maradona body on the world stage, who still showed he had the class in his left boot even if the physique was unwilling before exiting the tournament after failing a drugs test. While perhaps lacking any truly great teams, USA 94 was a tournament where, fittingly in the home of Hollywood, the individual put their name up in lights.
3. World Cup 2006
2006’s great strength was the plethora of strong, evenly matched teams. There were perhaps 9 teams (Holland, Spain, England, Brazil, Argentina, Germany, Portugal, France, Italy) who went into the tournament harbouring realistic hopes of triumph. This meant that the latter stages was littered with high equality, epic encounters. 2006 was not the year of the underdog. Tournaments often start on a bang with an exciting group stages before stuttering with cautious football or mismatches in the latter stages. 2006 arguably got stronger as the tournament went on. The last 16 saw Zidane come back to inspire France past a good Spain side, Holland and Portugal fought out the battle of Nuremberg and ten man Italy snuck past a gutsy Australia side with a last minute penalty. In the quarters Zidane was again utterly brilliant as France knocked out favourites Brazil, while Germany beat Argentina on penalties in a thrillingly tense encounter. The semi finals saw one of the all time great World Cup matches as Italy triumphed over a German side seeing something of a Renaissance from the workman like Germany of old into a thrillingly vulnerable team, roared on by a enthralled host nation. In one of the most memorable finals imaginable Zidane completed his story arc in dramatic fashion. Zidane had developed from washed up star on the brink of retirement to raging against the dying of the light to harness the old magic one last time, to his moment of madness when he head butted Marco Materazzi as he was sent off in his final appearance. Italy ultimately triumphed on penalties but this was a knockout stage you could not take your eyes off for a moment. While perhaps not featuring an abundance of goals, only 3 of the 15 knockout matches went into the final minutes not being a goal away from everything changing.
2.Euro 2000
Euro 2000 had all the fun, drama and quality of Euro 2008 but with a more compelling supporting cast. Winners France were a brilliant side, as good as any we have seen, with a rock solid defence, a true all time great player Zinedine Zidane in arguably the form of his life and a thrilling verticality with the pace of Henry and Anelka up front. Despite this brilliance France tended to make life difficult for themselves and eschewed the safe route to success. The French required golden goals in both the semi final and final, accompanied indeed by an equaliser deep into injury time of the final to even force the extra time which saw them triumph. Italy and Holland pleasingly stuck to national football stereotypes. This was never more evident than in the semi final when Italy, the Machiavellian kings of pragmatism met a beautiful but vulnerable Dutch team. Italy went down to ten men on 34 minutes and doggedly stuck to their defensive task in one of the great 0-0 draws. Holland utterly dominated, missed two penalties in normal time and ultimately lost in the shootout that was rounded off by a Totti panenka as he told his team mates, “now I will do the spoon.” The other semi finalists Portugal finally saw the flowering of their golden generation. 2000 represented Luis Figo at the peak of his powers in Ballon d’or winning form, as along with Manuel Rui Costa Portugal dazzled. This was never more evident than in coming back from 2-0 down to beat England with ease 3-2 in the group stages. Elsewhere in the groups, Spain pulled off an absurd feat of escapology in scoring in the 4th and 5th minutes of injury time to secure the 4-3 victory over Yugoslavia they needed to qualify. Euro 2000 was the peak of a number of teams and came in the middle of a more attacking era of European football before the cynicism of the 2000s took hold.
1.France 98
While some of the great teams at France 98 may arguably have peaked two years later at Euro 2000, to paraphrase Sir Alex Ferguson… lads…it’s a World Cup, and France 98 takes a worthy spot on top of the charts. And what a World Cup it was. 1998 had all the depth of 2006 but at arguably a higher level and with more dangerous outsiders. Holders Brazil were able to boast Ronaldo at his thrilling pre injury peak alongside an emerging Rivaldo. France had maybe the strongest defense ever seen on the world stage alongside the mercurial talents of Zidane, Holland saw the international flowering of the great Ajax Champions League winning generation of 1995 plus Dennis Bergkamp , Italy had Maldini, Cannavaro and Nesta in defense…England added Michael Owen and David Beckham to a great Euro 96 team while Argentina boasted a frontline of Gabriel Batistuta and Ariel Ortega. It was not just the established nations who shined. Croatia made it to the Semi finals while featuring an extravagantly talented line up featuring Zvonimir Boban, Robert Prosinecki and golden boot winner Davor Sukur. While Germany were not at their best, they made for pleasing fall guys in the quarter finals where they were taken apart by a wonderful Croatia performance. Elsewhere Nigeria, Chile and Denmark all provided thrills. This mass of great teams led to some of the best games the World Cup has ever seen. England’s 2-2 draw with Argentina was a classic worthy of that fixtures linegage as Michael Owen exploded onto the world scene with a stunning goal and David Beckham was dramatically sent off and embarked on a road to eventual redemption. In the quarter finals Argentina played out a pulsating tie with Holland that was decided in the last minute by one of the great goals by Bergkamp (Dennis Bergkamp, DENNIS BERGKAMP) . In turn Holland’s tie with Brazil in the semis lived up to the hype. While the final was far from a brilliant game, the narrative around Ronaldo’s pre game illness providing a compelling and dramatic backdrop and came to gratifying culmination four years later. France 98 had absolutely everything, great players, great teams, great shocks, great goals, great storylines and great games.
The full list
1998
2000
2006
1994
2008
1996
2014
2018
2002
2004
2016
2010
2012