even more unbelievable how this England team did not achieve more, scholes, gerrard, beckham, lampard, cole, owen and rooney at their peak, terry, rio.. astonishing
spaace That’s what I always thought...it’s like a true dream team with only STAR players! That was also the problem probably. You cannot have a midfield with four attacking midfield generals.
firstly, this wasn't the only tournament this "golden generation" failed at. secondly, Greece won the tournament but were hardly dominant outside of this tournament, thirdly, England did not play Greece. i do not understand the relevance of your comment
Greece really buggered this tournament up for a lot of teams. Czech Republic were a lot of fun to watch, France played well in the group stages and couldn't figure Greece out, Spain went home and The golden Generation of Portugal lost to them twice! Imagine if England had played them, probably would've lost to a 1-0 Charisteas goal and the press would've ridiculed them.
Fat Apples I know! The stars they were is the problem too, they all played as individuals for England and not as a team. This team had no where near the team spirit and togetherness the current England team as. Many of these players admitted there was club rivalry involved and they all kept in groups in the dressing room.. like prison gangs. Just look at the crucial Rooney goal in 1st half stoppage time to put us in front, only Beckham and Scholes go to join him celebrate (all Man Utd players)
bob hope, i don't think so, they really played well and gave their best but the pressure "ate" them at the worst possible moment... at both EURO 2004 and WC 2006 they lost in penalties to Portugal, if they had cooler heads they would win medals at both of these tournaments already and England would not have to wait until 2018 for another big tournament semifinal. This team from 2004-06 was much better than the current one.
I agree the players were better, you could put that down to more experience. Current team were the youngest there was at the world cup says it all. Lets see how things go for the future, i am sure within four years other players will emerge and some current players will drop out.
Cause they faced one of the best if not the best Portugal team ever aswell. Remember Porto 2004? A team full of portuguese players that dominated the Champions LEague, thats the main backbone of this team, you can add Ronaldo, Figo (old but gold), Rui Costa and others. It was a really close game, between the 2 best teams of the tournament. I dont count Greece as the best cause all they did was defend 90 minutes and score on a fucking corner in the final.
For those who wonder about why this England generation couldn't win anything: In 2000s, there were so many stronger teams. Italy with Buffon, Cannavaro, Maldini, Nesta, Zanetti, Zambrotta, Gattuso, Pirlo, Del Piero, Totti. Brazil with Dida, Cafu, Roberto Carlos, Juninho, Kaka, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Robinho France with Barthez, Thuram, Abidal, Makelele, Pires, Desailly, Vieira, Zidane, Henry, Trezeguet So I don't think it's weird that England didn't win anything in that period.
David James spent most of his career stood with his hands on his hips & with a look of bewilderment on his face, can't believe he was our No. 1 for a long while
Damn. England had 10 world class outfield players. Unreal. ''Baby'' Wayne Ronney was virtually unplayable in the tournament. WHY did he have to get injured WWWHHHYYYY !
I know everyone talks about Rooney in this match/tournament, but bloody hell Lampard was playing well. That chip over the Croatia midfielder to get Rooney immediately on the front foot in the build up to England's third was delightful.
Loved that tournament, I was convinced England would get to the final, Rooney was brilliant, typical English luck he got injured against Portugal, we were on top until he went off
Winning international tournaments is all about making a well rounded TEAM. England have always had this stupid obsession about one superstar carrying the whole team. It can't be done and usually messes up the English psyche and approach to international football. That is 'typical England's downfall. Square pegs, round holes, to fit some so-called superstar or 'once in a generation' player into the limelight. Build him up and then knock him down. It's toxic.
Greece winning euro 2004, despite the incredible players that were active in this tournament (look up the squads from England, Portugal, France, Netherlands , Czech in 2004 etc), remains the biggest surprise in the history of football, even more so than Denmark 92, that team had still some world class players like Laudrup brothers, but Greece 2004, a team of players barely good enough to play in the European subtop. Just a mystery to this day.
@@dalmatia1 Exactly. Nearly every goal Greece scored was a header from a free kick and then they just got everyone behind the ball and were very physical. They hardly created anything. I still don't know how they beat the Czech Republic who were probably playing the best football of any team in the tournament and beat Holland 3-2 in an absolute classic.
The way Rooney made the keeper dive to his left by shaping to shoot that way and by 'giving him the eyes' then calmly slotting it the other side is pure genius.
He was a really good keeper, but everyone always felt he had one complete mess up or brain fade moment in him in any given match. He played so long, for so many good teams - the odd thing is that his peak was probably in the mid 90s "Spice Boys" era at Liverpool but he had to wait almost another decade to become England No.1.
Owen was the best English striker of the modern era. Positional play, link up and assist. I hope to see another "Michael Owen" for England in the future.
This young Rooney was truly amazing. 18 years old. Fearless. I had a T-shirt that was like a panini sticker of Wayne Rooney celebrating this second goal in this match. I don’t think people who weren’t there wouldn’t believe how good we believed Rooney could be at that time.
Yeh best version of Rooney...total street baller .Shame his game changed to more of a target man in the mid to later years .He was still very good ...but him here was outstanding .
Eng are lucky to be in the final .. except Colombia their opponents are not so tough.. they have faced Belgium in the group .. lost to them .. Croatia will be in the finals.
Wow this would be a group of death if they replayed today, France, Croatia, England and Switzerland are currently the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 6th highest ranked teams in Europe
That was prime England. Never had better team. Even not in the final vs. Italy 2021. Proud that we scored at least 2 goals vs. this incredible Team 🇭🇷❤
Respect to you and your country. Croatia have had fantastic team spirit ever since. I enjoyed visiting too, on both occasion to Pula. Maybe we'll meet in the knockout stages again 🏴❤
They were amazing players in their own right... Problem was that they didn't work well together as a team. Too many star players trying to compete amongst themselves for the spotlight. With a team like that they should have done better. Not necessarily have to win anything but be more convincing as they tried.
yeah exactly that English team was really very good, the problem is there were a lot of good teams back in the day, like Portugal with Ronaldo, Figo, Deco, Rui Costa, so it could go either way and unfortunately for England it went Portugal's way at that tournament. Nonetheless, I still believe that this team from 2004-06 had much more talent that the current English team. You cannot even try to compare players like Trippier, Lingard, Alli, Henderson to Beckham, Scholes, Lampard, Gerrard...
I think it was Neville and Lampard who said that the defining moment in this tournament was Rooney getting injured. They said it affected the morale of the whole team because Rooney was truly unstoppable at the time. I don't doubt England would have at least made it to the final with him fit.
For some reason people (well, English people) love to bash Erikson's England, but this tournament they were great, the team was balanced, tough and full of quality. I'm not English (Italian) but I think England was actually the best team, they just lacked a bit of luck, which is always needed to win tournaments. England - Portugal should have been the final.
@@eFMe-fk1xh Thank you for your generosity. England struggled to play Gerrard, Lampard, Scholes and Beckham all at the same time. If only we’d had a clone of Gattuso! Best wishes.
Rooney was stunning that night. What a performance!
6 ปีที่แล้ว +58
The real Rooney, before he became a shadow of himself. The problem with this England line-up, while talented individually, they never played that well together as a team.
And I think that's because tactically they were poor. They should have played 4-3-3 to allow more width in midfield and more space to operate generally. And the team should have been built around Paul Scholes as the pivot, and Gerrard or Lampard should never have been on the pitch at the same time. In fact substituting Gerrard for Lampard, or vice versa, on say 60 minutes would have allowed for the team to have more endurance and longevity within a tournament. Instead Sven tried to cram them all in into a system that made them awkward and slow. Plus would have been a lot better with a little more pace in the midfield. I put the majority of their failure down to tactical sterility and the inability to put team before ego, and a coach afraid of bruising the fragile egos of millionaire superstars who on their own were often not as good as they were made to look by other, usually foreign, players.
Shadow of himself = went on to become England's all time leading scorer and Manchester United's all time leading scorer. Yeah, he really went downhill from this..FFS some people.
I always thought if Rooney hadn't gotten injured they would've won this tournament. He was on fire. It was the turning point in the match vs Portugal. Also think Scholes retiring was a lot bigger of a deal than people realised at the time. He was such a solid midfielder for England.
Probably the best game the Scholes/Gerrard/Lampard trio had. Still amazing how Sven was so convinced only those few years ago than English players could only play in a 4-4-2.
Only because Rooney dragged defenders out of position. It freed up the space for Lampard and Scholes to get further forward. That's ultimately why England were not the same after Rooney came off injured after 30 minutes against Portugal in Quarter final match in 04
Great rivalry between these two teams. England got us here, we struck back and knock them back out of the euro in front of 90000 souls. They whooped ur asses and did the same to us for the world Cup. And then there was mandzukic and sending them home. Great rivalry so far a slight edge for Croatia based on the wc semifinal. Now we'll see what euro will bring, it will be a great match again for sure
Great players but little to zero chemistry in midfield. There was little to no buildup play & more of individual long range/try your luck efforts coz of the uncoordinated attack. Players didn't seem to know what their team mates intend to do. Spain 08-12 on the other hand with way more talented options in mid didn't miss a beat. David Silva, Xavi, Iniesta & Xabi Alonso played like a dream and guys like Fabregas & Carzola came off the bench and fit right in.
Not because they were good but because of luck. These players accomplished nothing before 2004 and nothing after 2004. Football is not a sport for Greeks but sometimes errors in the nature happens
I've never come close to feeling as excited about an England player as I was about Rooney pre-July 2004. It felt great to genuinely believe that we had somebody who could well end up being the best player in the world. People would've laughed at you back then if you'd said this would be the last better-than-average game Rooney would have at a tournament. They'd also laugh if you'd said this would be the last better-than-average game Rooney would have in a competitive game against a decent team but I think you can argue that is the case as well! I don't think you can blame injuries for his subsequent nightmares for England because he was still great for United for most of the 9 years after this, albeit not quite as great as he was before his injury against Portugal. He's got more medals and records than most players would ever dream of having and history will only remember him as a great player but I will always remember those great perfomances in 2003 and 2004 and think of what England fans expected from Rooney over the next dozen years and compare it to what we actually got! If his mostly-terrible last three years at United were a huge disappointment, his post-Euro 2004 England career was a tragedy!
As I write this, it’s the summer of 2021, the day of England's quarter final against the Ukraine. What strikes me is the number of comments talking about how amazing it was to have Gerrard, Lampard and Scholes in the same team. I can’t think of a formation, apart from maybe 2-6-2, that allows you to play all of those players in their most effective positions. Southgate wouldn’t do this. As a manager who favours the system over the personnel, he’d play one or two of them and make sure that he was putting square pegs in the appropriately shaped holes. It may be a bit dull, but it’s proving to be quite effective.
This was England's "golden generation" which would leave behind a legacy of failure vs an average Croatia team which still included France 98 veterans Igor Tudor and Dario Simic but without its first choice keeper at the time Stipe Pletikosa. A lot has changed 14 years later masked by the fact a lot of world football's old guard have crashed out early or did not qualify at all!
Remember scholes being unbelievable in this game, just ran the show when he came inside...how on earth can you put one of the greatest midfield players in the left wing???
@@4231jerome True but scholes was by far the best, you have to play your best player to succeed..... Lampard was a wonderful player but nowhere best the quality of scholes
Nick Deakin can’t say I disagree with your assessment of scholes, but I think would have been a really tough position to be in, as England coach for that generation. Leave scholes, gerrard, lampard or beckham out of the team and you’re going to get crucified by the English media. Then if you play them all, at least one has to play out of position.
For everyone who thinks this team should have won a tournament - they always lacked a world-class goalkeeper and a center defensive midfielder. It's hard to win a tournament without those.
This wasnt our best Croatian team, back then, far from it lol, I mean it was the best we could offer in that 2004, but this England team, this was in my honest opinion THE BEST English team of all time, and I dont understand how this team didn't win anything, greets to England from Croatia.
Rooney was superb here, was this his peak? He obviously did great things with United but this version of Rooney was the best for me and I don’t think he maximised his potential
Corona has me here... I see many of you talking about how this was England's golden generation, but I really believe another one is coming soon with the Euros and World Cup coming up.
Its just a game, sore head yes. XD Well play to Croatia, things could of been different if we had carried on and took our chances in the first half. But good old England, sat back and tried to hold onto the lead which we all know a big no no. World champions France, the name is probably already on the trophy.
Remember when Croatia beat England twice, untill England not qualified to EURO 2008... I think is a PERFECT REVENGE for Three Lions !! Viva Hrvatska ! 🇭🇷🇭🇷💪
Bambang Akbar England even did the revenge for the FWC 2010, where england beat croatia and croatia didn't drive to the world cup. It's croatias revenge ;)
Yeah, I know about that. That cause Croatia not qualified in South Africa 2010, but since Brazil 2014 Croatia was back to the World Cup, and fortunately this year they can reach semifinal and meet England anymore 😅 So, it's time to beat Three Lions again !! 💪😁 Go Hrvatska ! 🇭🇷
even more unbelievable how this England team did not achieve more, scholes, gerrard, beckham, lampard, cole, owen and rooney at their peak, terry, rio.. astonishing
spaace That’s what I always thought...it’s like a true dream team with only STAR players! That was also the problem probably. You cannot have a midfield with four attacking midfield generals.
If you look at France at they had a dream team as well but they had a proper midfield where you have your Zidanes but also Makelele, Vieira etc
firstly, this wasn't the only tournament this "golden generation" failed at. secondly, Greece won the tournament but were hardly dominant outside of this tournament, thirdly, England did not play Greece. i do not understand the relevance of your comment
Greece really buggered this tournament up for a lot of teams. Czech Republic were a lot of fun to watch, France played well in the group stages and couldn't figure Greece out, Spain went home and The golden Generation of Portugal lost to them twice! Imagine if England had played them, probably would've lost to a 1-0 Charisteas goal and the press would've ridiculed them.
spaace because stupid Sven Groan Erikkson played David James in goal and Paul Scholes on the left which was a stupid thing to do
Rooney, Owen, Scholes, Gerrard, Lampard.... how on earth did that team win nothing!
Fat Apples
I know!
The stars they were is the problem too, they all played as individuals for England and not as a team. This team had no where near the team spirit and togetherness the current England team as. Many of these players admitted there was club rivalry involved and they all kept in groups in the dressing room.. like prison gangs.
Just look at the crucial Rooney goal in 1st half stoppage time to put us in front, only Beckham and Scholes go to join him celebrate (all Man Utd players)
i think rooney wasn't sign for united yet during that time...he joined united in august...
Too big egos, playing for themselves and not a team.
bob hope, i don't think so, they really played well and gave their best but the pressure "ate" them at the worst possible moment... at both EURO 2004 and WC 2006 they lost in penalties to Portugal, if they had cooler heads they would win medals at both of these tournaments already and England would not have to wait until 2018 for another big tournament semifinal. This team from 2004-06 was much better than the current one.
I agree the players were better, you could put that down to more experience. Current team were the youngest there was at the world cup says it all. Lets see how things go for the future, i am sure within four years other players will emerge and some current players will drop out.
This had to be the best England team of all time....on paper! How they could not win anything baffles me.
it's england that's why lmfao xD
Cause they faced one of the best if not the best Portugal team ever aswell. Remember Porto 2004? A team full of portuguese players that dominated the Champions LEague, thats the main backbone of this team, you can add Ronaldo, Figo (old but gold), Rui Costa and others. It was a really close game, between the 2 best teams of the tournament. I dont count Greece as the best cause all they did was defend 90 minutes and score on a fucking corner in the final.
The 1970 team was better on paper...and on grass.
For those who wonder about why this England generation couldn't win anything:
In 2000s, there were so many stronger teams.
Italy with Buffon, Cannavaro, Maldini, Nesta, Zanetti, Zambrotta, Gattuso, Pirlo, Del Piero, Totti.
Brazil with Dida, Cafu, Roberto Carlos, Juninho, Kaka, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Robinho
France with Barthez, Thuram, Abidal, Makelele, Pires, Desailly, Vieira, Zidane, Henry, Trezeguet
So I don't think it's weird that England didn't win anything in that period.
2008 team with terry, ferdinand, cole, brown, lampard, scholes, carrick, rooney, joe cole in champions league final
Scholes just bossing the midfiled. Absolutely love it.
From Croatia. The english was near dream team. Congratulations 🙋♂️
David James spent most of his career stood with his hands on his hips & with a look of bewilderment on his face, can't believe he was our No. 1 for a long while
So true 😂😂😂
He was absolute garbage. But he played because there was no one else available to kick him out of the team
@@kkunleashed7991 Very true unfortunately, wasn't a big pool of keepers to choose from at all back then
@@hayabusasfightpalace9798 It was him and Paul Robinson that was it. Other then that Scott Carson who is even worse then those two
@@andertonchigoneka9846Chris Kirkland? Richard Wrong? 😂😂😂😂😂
18-year-old Wayne Rooney, My goodness, what a player. I will make sure my next generation carries his legacy . what a legend.
I'm telling you
Kids today will never understand how good prime rooney was
I know I was there
They compare him to aguero
It's easy to forget how good he was when he was young, he was an absolute monster
because this team wasn‘t so good as the english media portrayed. it was only a bunch of overhyped players
@@menkmik you were obviously too young to understand football in 2004.
Damn. England had 10 world class outfield players. Unreal. ''Baby'' Wayne Ronney was virtually unplayable in the tournament. WHY did he have to get injured WWWHHHYYYY !
Yeahh..quarter against portugal..
England did not have a single "world class" player.
@@damirblazevic7364 in what universe did they have 0 you moron
@@damirblazevic7364 bloody butt hurt Croat smashed you again today
@@damirblazevic7364 So by your estimation Croatia have only ever had 1 world class player then
18 years old wayne rooney scored 4 goals in 3 matches. He will be something in the future i guess
Overrated! Fergie'll send him to the championship in no time
U guys know he retired i think
@@Y4463N no still playing
He is retired
Yes, his international cabinet is full of trophies😂😂😂
I know everyone talks about Rooney in this match/tournament, but bloody hell Lampard was playing well. That chip over the Croatia midfielder to get Rooney immediately on the front foot in the build up to England's third was delightful.
Loved that tournament, I was convinced England would get to the final, Rooney was brilliant, typical English luck he got injured against Portugal, we were on top until he went off
04:50 Owen is not Ramires
How old r u now?
Winning international tournaments is all about making a well rounded TEAM. England have always had this stupid obsession about one superstar carrying the whole team. It can't be done and usually messes up the English psyche and approach to international football. That is 'typical England's downfall. Square pegs, round holes, to fit some so-called superstar or 'once in a generation' player into the limelight. Build him up and then knock him down. It's toxic.
That team was too good, rooney out is not a excuse
“Well in this tournament a tru international star is born” Wayne Rooney what a legent he is !!!
England's golden generation here..
To be honest, this was the best team in England.
@LUMPY SKULL it's even on Wikipedia 📄
林祈雨 Well there's only one england team so they would have to be 😂
@@慕容祈雨 🤔
@@Facelessman254 😂😂
Greece winning euro 2004, despite the incredible players that were active in this tournament (look up the squads from England, Portugal, France, Netherlands , Czech in 2004 etc), remains the biggest surprise in the history of football, even more so than Denmark 92, that team had still some world class players like Laudrup brothers, but Greece 2004, a team of players barely good enough to play in the European subtop. Just a mystery to this day.
Yup. One time and never again. 😁
@@LZ-Cro-minatorOne time is still enough.
It was anti-football.
@@dalmatia1 Exactly. Nearly every goal Greece scored was a header from a free kick and then they just got everyone behind the ball and were very physical. They hardly created anything. I still don't know how they beat the Czech Republic who were probably playing the best football of any team in the tournament and beat Holland 3-2 in an absolute classic.
always loves Scholes techniques... intelligent positioning... those first two goals reflected it.
every single his game was joy to watch
What an English team. 🏴 Omg they didn't win but a pleasure watching them all together
Grew up watching these guys these are my true hero’s ❤️🤍❤️🤍
The way Rooney made the keeper dive to his left by shaping to shoot that way and by 'giving him the eyes' then calmly slotting it the other side is pure genius.
I'm telling you
It's called football
David James in every highlights on TH-cam is attricious. I remember watching him during his playing days. He wasn't this bad 😭
Excellent goal-keeper. He has no chance with either of the goals.
He was a really good keeper, but everyone always felt he had one complete mess up or brain fade moment in him in any given match. He played so long, for so many good teams - the odd thing is that his peak was probably in the mid 90s "Spice Boys" era at Liverpool but he had to wait almost another decade to become England No.1.
Owen was the best English striker of the modern era. Positional play, link up and assist. I hope to see another "Michael Owen" for England in the future.
Best finisher since Greaves
this england kit was the most iconic
Got this top and the white one. Wear them at football and they are still perfect and modern after 20 years - very high quality.
This young Rooney was truly amazing. 18 years old. Fearless. I had a T-shirt that was like a panini sticker of Wayne Rooney celebrating this second goal in this match. I don’t think people who weren’t there wouldn’t believe how good we believed Rooney could be at that time.
"The White Pele", as we sung at the time.
Yeh best version of Rooney...total street baller .Shame his game changed to more of a target man in the mid to later years .He was still very good ...but him here was outstanding .
Croatia have some World Class players at their disposal now. This won't be a walk in the park like here.
Don't Like Me Bite Me World class players have meant nothing at this World cup!! It's about playing as a team.
True. Which Croatia have also been doing!
lol Croatia can't beat Denmark and Russia in 90 min
It gonna be a park the bus Croatia, hope to hit on the counter and hope England dont break them down.
Eng are lucky to be in the final .. except Colombia their opponents are not so tough.. they have faced Belgium in the group .. lost to them .. Croatia will be in the finals.
The match ball back then was really nice
But perform like rubbish, said by several players
looks nice, terrible to play with
@David Martin Rui Costa disagree
roteiro
was an odd ball.. looked great, bad for kicking, amazing for headers
Wow this would be a group of death if they replayed today, France, Croatia, England and Switzerland are currently the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 6th highest ranked teams in Europe
It was kind of a group of death back then
France at this time was stronger than today. But today's team is tactically more consistent.
I get very nervous every time I see Croatia in our groupings
Its 15 years on i still remember this match and a star was born who is about to retire.
Yes, I remember. All the top clubs in Europe were after him!!! 😂😂😂
That was prime England. Never had better team. Even not in the final vs. Italy 2021.
Proud that we scored at least 2 goals vs. this incredible Team 🇭🇷❤
Respect to you and your country. Croatia have had fantastic team spirit ever since. I enjoyed visiting too, on both occasion to Pula. Maybe we'll meet in the knockout stages again 🏴❤
Croatia always dangerous... And this England team was one of the best line ups ever
This was the best England could offer and they could not even get past Croatia. A county with a population half of that of London!!!
@@ezeee595 croatia is a runner up in a world cup lol
Prso was great backthen
Owen, Beckham, Rooney, Lampard, Gerrard, Scholes que equipaso ese si era una Inglaterra q daba gusto verla jugar
Actually England looked good in this euros.
Ronney was amazing
Gerrard Rooney Lampard Beckham Owen Scholes. How did this team never win anything?
They were amazing players in their own right... Problem was that they didn't work well together as a team. Too many star players trying to compete amongst themselves for the spotlight. With a team like that they should have done better. Not necessarily have to win anything but be more convincing as they tried.
The Batguy this isn’t about hype those players were all very high quality
yeah exactly that English team was really very good, the problem is there were a lot of good teams back in the day, like Portugal with Ronaldo, Figo, Deco, Rui Costa, so it could go either way and unfortunately for England it went Portugal's way at that tournament. Nonetheless, I still believe that this team from 2004-06 had much more talent that the current English team. You cannot even try to compare players like Trippier, Lingard, Alli, Henderson to Beckham, Scholes, Lampard, Gerrard...
@The Batguy Foreigners always presume to understand English people. You don't.
They weren't a team, just a collection of individuals.
I think it was Neville and Lampard who said that the defining moment in this tournament was Rooney getting injured. They said it affected the morale of the whole team because Rooney was truly unstoppable at the time. I don't doubt England would have at least made it to the final with him fit.
For some reason people (well, English people) love to bash Erikson's England, but this tournament they were great, the team was balanced, tough and full of quality. I'm not English (Italian) but I think England was actually the best team, they just lacked a bit of luck, which is always needed to win tournaments. England - Portugal should have been the final.
No question ⁉️ about it what you just said man
@@eFMe-fk1xh
Thank you for your generosity.
England struggled to play Gerrard, Lampard, Scholes and Beckham all at the same time.
If only we’d had a clone of Gattuso!
Best wishes.
The power rooney got on that shot was incredible and he was reaching abit. Not many players hit them like that. Knuckeball whilst the ball is moving.
Rooney was stunning that night. What a performance!
The real Rooney, before he became a shadow of himself. The problem with this England line-up, while talented individually, they never played that well together as a team.
And I think that's because tactically they were poor. They should have played 4-3-3 to allow more width in midfield and more space to operate generally. And the team should have been built around Paul Scholes as the pivot, and Gerrard or Lampard should never have been on the pitch at the same time. In fact substituting Gerrard for Lampard, or vice versa, on say 60 minutes would have allowed for the team to have more endurance and longevity within a tournament. Instead Sven tried to cram them all in into a system that made them awkward and slow. Plus would have been a lot better with a little more pace in the midfield. I put the majority of their failure down to tactical sterility and the inability to put team before ego, and a coach afraid of bruising the fragile egos of millionaire superstars who on their own were often not as good as they were made to look by other, usually foreign, players.
Shadow of himself = went on to become England's all time leading scorer and Manchester United's all time leading scorer.
Yeah, he really went downhill from this..FFS some people.
@@tomschmertz100 what what ur starting 11 have been then
I always thought if Rooney hadn't gotten injured they would've won this tournament. He was on fire. It was the turning point in the match vs Portugal. Also think Scholes retiring was a lot bigger of a deal than people realised at the time. He was such a solid midfielder for England.
Scholes powerful shots 👊👊👊
Probably the best game the Scholes/Gerrard/Lampard trio had. Still amazing how Sven was so convinced only those few years ago than English players could only play in a 4-4-2.
Lol even Capello was no different. Persistent with duo Lampard-Gerrard in the midfield which never worked.
@@harukrentz435 Capello was the best manager we ever had!
Only because Rooney dragged defenders out of position. It freed up the space for Lampard and Scholes to get further forward. That's ultimately why England were not the same after Rooney came off injured after 30 minutes against Portugal in Quarter final match in 04
Who will make it to Moscow for the final? England or Croatia?
england
England
Croatia
France
Croatia
This was an amazing England team.
Gerrard, Lampard,Beckham e schols juntos ,o melhor meio de campo da primeira década do século XXI
15 лет прошло!помню все как вчера.с сестрой смотрели этот матч😥время никого не щадит
Imagine if Rooney had played even half as good as this at another tournament.
Springfield is better
@@victorcanizares6862 やぁ
Juan Mata bursting onto the scene 0:34
Those 2 teams have changed a lot ever since then. It’s a whole different story now.
Great rivalry between these two teams. England got us here, we struck back and knock them back out of the euro in front of 90000 souls. They whooped ur asses and did the same to us for the world Cup. And then there was mandzukic and sending them home. Great rivalry so far a slight edge for Croatia based on the wc semifinal. Now we'll see what euro will bring, it will be a great match again for sure
The day when people still take picture using camera.. haha
What's funny about that?
@@Facelessman254 hmm im not sure what is your problem...
Great players but little to zero chemistry in midfield. There was little to no buildup play & more of individual long range/try your luck efforts coz of the uncoordinated attack.
Players didn't seem to know what their team mates intend to do. Spain 08-12 on the other hand with way more talented options in mid didn't miss a beat. David Silva, Xavi, Iniesta & Xabi Alonso played like a dream and guys like Fabregas & Carzola came off the bench and fit right in.
And Greece beat everyone! Hellas 🙌🏼
Yee, Greece was like a anthem Spartans.. My congrats! 👏🇬🇷
Incredibil!!!
Despotic defensive rules.
Greece wasn't fantastic team.
Not because they were good but because of luck. These players accomplished nothing before 2004 and nothing after 2004. Football is not a sport for Greeks but sometimes errors in the nature happens
@@henrichvonstaufenberg4841 accomplished nothing..? Google it before write anything.. Check out the players and then the coach..
I've never come close to feeling as excited about an England player as I was about Rooney pre-July 2004. It felt great to genuinely believe that we had somebody who could well end up being the best player in the world.
People would've laughed at you back then if you'd said this would be the last better-than-average game Rooney would have at a tournament.
They'd also laugh if you'd said this would be the last better-than-average game Rooney would have in a competitive game against a decent team but I think you can argue that is the case as well!
I don't think you can blame injuries for his subsequent nightmares for England because he was still great for United for most of the 9 years after this, albeit not quite as great as he was before his injury against Portugal.
He's got more medals and records than most players would ever dream of having and history will only remember him as a great player but I will always remember those great perfomances in 2003 and 2004 and think of what England fans expected from Rooney over the next dozen years and compare it to what we actually got!
If his mostly-terrible last three years at United were a huge disappointment, his post-Euro 2004 England career was a tragedy!
The best euro until now
Great match. One of the best/most entertaining tournament games England have ever been involved in.
As much as I dislike him I think Mourinho could have won a tournament with this crop.
England Best squad since 1966...but still the jinx followed. How unlucky they lost to Portugal in the shootout.
Del 1998 al 2010 Inglaterra tenía una camada de futbolistas espectaculares aunque no fueron a la eurocopa 2008 pero tenían buena selección
The English commentary is far better in 2004 than 2024.
That was 2004 now is 2018!!! Diffrent generation
A Kane,Ali i Lingard kao nisu dobri igraci
🇭🇷🇭🇷💪
It’s going to happen again this Wednesday! England will send the Croatia national team to Zagreb Airport.
LukaKatic1 2 both teams better since then
Different generation, Same result..
on that day the rivalry between those two teams started. :) yeah Croatia knocked some of the greatest teams
Rooney in 2004 was like Mbappe in 2018
Beckham, Gerrard, Rooney, Owen, Scholes, Lampard, Terry, Campbell... WOW... like an All Star Team.
Gerrard kissing on Scholes’s head...what a moment 😆😆😆
As I write this, it’s the summer of 2021, the day of England's quarter final against the Ukraine. What strikes me is the number of comments talking about how amazing it was to have Gerrard, Lampard and Scholes in the same team. I can’t think of a formation, apart from maybe 2-6-2, that allows you to play all of those players in their most effective positions. Southgate wouldn’t do this. As a manager who favours the system over the personnel, he’d play one or two of them and make sure that he was putting square pegs in the appropriately shaped holes. It may be a bit dull, but it’s proving to be quite effective.
We still haven't won anything!
This was England's "golden generation" which would leave behind a legacy of failure vs an average Croatia team which still included France 98 veterans Igor Tudor and Dario Simic but without its first choice keeper at the time Stipe Pletikosa.
A lot has changed 14 years later masked by the fact a lot of world football's old guard have crashed out early or did not qualify at all!
Jedino sto mi je drago da taj retard pletikosa nije branio. Najgori golman ikad
Bet ur seething nowadays
Scholes…..sublime talent. The metronome, the string puller, the orchestrator.
Remember scholes being unbelievable in this game, just ran the show when he came inside...how on earth can you put one of the greatest midfield players in the left wing???
against france he boosed the midfield he controlled the game as soon as he went of things went down hill
@@akshatbetala2813 people forget Scholes dominated that French midfield in that game. Even zidane couldn't get near him.
I guess it was because of the embarrassment of riches England had in the midfield area, in that era
@@4231jerome
True but scholes was by far the best, you have to play your best player to succeed..... Lampard was a wonderful player but nowhere best the quality of scholes
Nick Deakin can’t say I disagree with your assessment of scholes, but I think would have been a really tough position to be in, as England coach for that generation. Leave scholes, gerrard, lampard or beckham out of the team and you’re going to get crucified by the English media. Then if you play them all, at least one has to play out of position.
For everyone who thinks this team should have won a tournament - they always lacked a world-class goalkeeper and a center defensive midfielder. It's hard to win a tournament without those.
Croácia tem uma grande geração de goleiros. Butina talvez seria a quarta ou quinta opção.
That was our lunchtime kickabout ball at school. We was scared of scuffing it on the pavement. By June 2005 it was no longer spherical.
This was England 🏴 golden generation.
Nostalgic team
Euro 2004
Rooney, Lampard, Gerrard, Owen, Beckham, Scholes , these are all super star
Rooney was a teenager at that time. Rooney is so much underrated now. In is prime he was the world's best.
Young Wayne rooney was amazing
England would’ve won euro 2004 had Rooney not got injured. Such a great starting 11 back then.
Often Partisan Hahahaha no they wouldn’t
no they wouldn't. i'm english and they wouldn't have.
Yes they would.
@@N_A598 curse of p.k
Apart from goalkeeper David James.
Honestly think had Rooney not got injured against Portugal, England would have won Euro 2004, Rooney was electric at this tournament.
We could do with another Paul Scholes!
This wasnt our best Croatian team, back then, far from it lol, I mean it was the best we could offer in that 2004, but this England team, this was in my honest opinion THE BEST English team of all time, and I dont understand how this team didn't win anything, greets to England from Croatia.
Because stupid Sven Goran Eriksson thought it would be a wise idea to play Paul Scholes as a LM
Englands golden generation vs Croatia after their golden generation
Rooney was superb here, was this his peak? He obviously did great things with United but this version of Rooney was the best for me and I don’t think he maximised his potential
His peak as far as tournament football concerned for sure
That ball is pretty.
Since then Croatia have grown into a fantastic side while England have regressed.
Corona virus brought me here because there’s no live sport on 🥺
Same here
ditto
There is now:)
Nobody cares.
18 year old Rooney used to destroyed Legends.
We did okay, considering we had David James in goal.
I like this England jersy!!
Good luck 🇭🇷!
My all time fav team 🏴. 4-4-2
D. James
A cole. Campbell. J Terry. Neville
Scholes
Gerrard. Lampard. Beckham
Owen. Rooney.
8:03 Then Portugal sent them home
Memories until yesterday .
Corona has me here... I see many of you talking about how this was England's golden generation, but I really believe another one is coming soon with the Euros and World Cup coming up.
This was my favourite England shirt ❤
Luka modric and rakitic will do something
Harry Kane will do things as well
alexandre asselin yes mate 🦁🦁🦁🏴🏴🏴🏆🏴🏴🏴
Cry together at the final whistle?
Ambi7ion 489 very excited
Its just a game, sore head yes. XD Well play to Croatia, things could of been different if we had carried on and took our chances in the first half. But good old England, sat back and tried to hold onto the lead which we all know a big no no. World champions France, the name is probably already on the trophy.
Essa geração da seleção inglesa foi a melhor que eu já vi.
Neville, rio, terry, cole, gerrard, scholes, becks, lamps, owen, rooney....the fact this team failed is a testimant to the quality of Sven
If only Owen stayed injury-free, him and Rooney as a duo could give any team problems
Remember when Croatia beat England twice, untill England not qualified to EURO 2008... I think is a PERFECT REVENGE for Three Lions !! Viva Hrvatska ! 🇭🇷🇭🇷💪
Bambang Akbar England even did the revenge for the FWC 2010, where england beat croatia and croatia didn't drive to the world cup. It's croatias revenge ;)
We smashed them 4-1 and 5-1 later
Yeah, I know about that. That cause Croatia not qualified in South Africa 2010, but since Brazil 2014 Croatia was back to the World Cup, and fortunately this year they can reach semifinal and meet England anymore 😅 So, it's time to beat Three Lions again !! 💪😁 Go Hrvatska ! 🇭🇷
Campbell, Carragher, Ashley Cole. Joe Cole, Neville, Terry, lampard, Beckham, Gerrard, Scholes, Owen, Rooney🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥