It has been 55 years since England won their first semi-final tournament. This victory put England on the brink of World Cup glory, and left one of the greatest players in history in tears.England won the 1966 World Cup on its own soil. Before that, England had been eliminated from the World Cup group stages twice and never made it to the finals of any European Championships.The Three Lions beat one of the pre-tournament favorites in Portugal under Eusebio, which made it seem easy. But the 55 years that have passed since the semi-finals were a tale of heartbreak for the nation.Gareth Southgate can do more than he did in 2018, and lead England to the next level. Here are some ideas that he might enjoy. And what mistakes to avoid.1966 World Cup - England 2-1 PortugalImage: Eusebio, in tears after losing to England at 1966 World Cup, left the field.England's semi-final in the tournament was a great game against a Portugal team that is full of attacking talent.Eusebio, one the greatest players of all time joined a four-man attack with Jose Augusto Jose Torres Antonio Simoes. They had already scored seven goals on their way to this stage, including four in a stunning 5-3 victory over North Korea in quarter-finals.England's victory over Argentina in the last eight was marred by controversy around Antonio Rattin's dismissal for dissenting at the first half and allegations of bias towards the referee. This led to the Three Lions bus being attacked by the Argentine team as it left the ground.The Observer called the game an "international incident", but no such contention was found in the next round.Alf Ramsey bravely put Nobby Stiles on man marking duty for Eusebio. It was akin trying to chase a shadow but it worked. Bobby Charlton's excellent effort helped England to lead at the half-hour mark. Portugal was pushing for an equaliser and he doubled their score."Oh when saints, march in," boomed the crowd of 90,000. They were not dissuaded when Stiles handball allowed Eusebio, the host, to reduce the deficit by half. This was the first goal conceded by the hosts in the tournament.England prevailed. Stiles' man-marking job was finished with Eusebio leaving in tears as he walked to the dressing room. England's counter-attacking football won, and West Germany was awaiting in their World Cup debut final.Euro 1968 - Yugoslavia 1 EnglandAlf Ramsey congratulates Bobby CharltonEngland had plenty to see in Florence, but the heat of June in Italy did not do the World Cup holders any favors. They were facing a side that they had never defeated on foreign soil.England's reputation for being a disciplined team was challenged by Yugoslavia. They bullied them from the beginning and ended Ramsey's side fighting for half of the game's chances.Rajko Mitic, their coach, claimed that Yugoslavia had the best team since the one he played in more than a decade ago.Geoff Hurst, Stiles - who was the hero at Wembley two year prior - were both injured in an unfortunate friendly with West Germany the week before. This had already condemned England's first defeat anywhere in Europe for five years.In the lead-up to the match, one headline ran in the national newspapers: "England in danger" Dragan Dzajic (still considered one of the country's greatest footballers) outwitted Bobby Moore to reach long balls in behind, chest it down, and beat Gordon Banks just five minutes later.The Guardian's report from Italy stated that "The Yugoslavs covered prevented any but the occasional half chance." "The simple fact is that the Yugoslavs seized this one real chance in this tough and bruising match."England's night turned sour when Alan Mullery was the first England player sent off. He was dismissed in retaliation for Dobrivoje Trivic. As the frustration of the world champions was growing, their relationship with semi final defeats started to resemble the disappointment they are used to.Mullery explained later what had happened. He said that every Yugoslavian spent the entire game kick-kicking us. Trivic was the worst. He started to rub his studs all over my calf. Blood began pouring out so I turned around, kicked him in his nether regions.World Cup 1990 - England 1-1 West Germany (3-4 penaltiesImage: Terry Butcher consoles Paul GascoigneEngland's first penalty shootout. It was impossible to have foreseen how devastating this loss to Germany would be over the next few years. England lost four of five subsequent tournaments in the same way.There was much drama even before spot-kicks as England traveled to Turin and Italy to face the best team in world football.Bobby Robson, who was leaving the game, said that "we outplayed most impressive team" as he reflected on the end of his managerial reign and the game his side certainly did not deserve to lose.England was not surprised to make it this far. England had to play extra time to beat Cameroon, Belgium and Egypt in what was seen as a fair side of the knockout draw. England's win in 90 minutes against Egypt was narrowly 1-0.The Daily Express's line the next day was "I cannot think of a more honorable way for this England soccer team and their embattled, and frankly erratic manager Bobby Robson to take their leave from the peaks of soccer."England was first to the field, but couldn't find a way through. England fell behind at the hour mark due to Andreas Brehme’s extremely fortunate deflected goal. Fans at home wondered if those extra two hours would be too much. The players were also curious.Gary Lineker later said, "We were exhausted." His side pushed their opponents to keep pushing and eventually found a way through nine minutes after the striker.Extra-time was a sign of the German side's freshness, and a tired challenge by Paul Gascoigne earned him an appointment that would see him out of the final. This left him in tears.Both teams hit the post before the game moved to penalties. England was eliminated in the most difficult of circumstances by Stuart Pearce's misses at 12 yards and Chris Waddle’s misses.Euro 1996 - England 1-1 Germany (3-4 penaltiesImage: Gareth Southgate missed England’s decisive penaltyEngland's win at Euro '96 brought the footballing public back together after a disappointing Euro '92 performance and a failure altogether to reach World Cup '94.This is without mentioning the hole that their squad dug when they crashed a plane returning from a Hong Kong trip.It was a win over Scotland that is always savoured and a 4-1 defeat of the Netherlands that pushed the memories of England bringing in small numbers for meaningless friendlies during the two years prior to the tournament out of the way.The Three Lions were able to win a penalty shootout victory over Spain in the quarter finals. However, the Semi-final match with Germany was a repeat of the previous.England was just inches from winning the tie, when Alan Shearer's low pass evaded a sliding Gascoigne. The game ended in penalties and the nation crossed its fingers.Pearce put aside his troubles six years ago as he converted his spot kick in emphatic fashion. However, Gareth Southgate's timid effort to convert his spot-kick was repulsed by Andreas Kopke. Andreas Moller was left to strike the decisive blow and end England's hope of winning the European Championship on their home turf.World Cup 2018 - England and Croatia (after extra time)Image: John Stones & Jordan Pickford display their despairFast forward 22 years, and Southgate was leading England to their next semi-final as manager.England's side had made it to the final four thanks to a dramatic penalty shoot-out win over Colombia and a simple quarter-final victory over Sweden in Russia. But Croatia was too strong for them.England looked like they might win the night with Kieran Trippier's goal. But Croatia's second-half strike by Ivan Perisic brought them level. They won it through Mario Mandzukic.England missed chances to extend their lead following Trippier's first goal. But Croatia slowly took over the game and outplayed England in central midfield where Luka Modric (Ivan Rakitic, Marcelo Brozovic) ruled.England's players were overcome by the end whistle. However, the run to the four remaining games was beyond expectations and set the stage for a third run to the four remaining rounds of a major tournament three years later.Southgate is determined to bring England back to glory by winning the trophy this time.
