And with two minutes left Alan Mullery became the first England player to be sent off at senior level

And with two minutes left, Alan Mullery became the first England player to be sent off at senior level.Italy defeated Yugoslavia 2-0 in a replayed final and it would be 22 years before England again got as close to winning a major championship.A dubious second-half penalty awarded to Yugoslavia prevented Wales from reaching the semi-finals in 1976, where probably they would have faced the eventual runners-up, West Germany.West Germany further strengthened their reputation in 1980 when making a third consecutive appearance in the final, Horst Hrubesch's two goals securing a 2-1 victory over Belgium. Having agreed to play both matches on Dutch soil, Luxembourg drew 1-1 in Amsterdam and proved it was no fluke by winning 2-1 in Rotterdam a month later.Making the second of four appearances in the final, the Soviet Union were fancied to defeat Spain in Madrid when Marcelino sent a diving header past Yashin with only five minutes of normal time left.In attempting to qualify for the 1968 finals, the four British teams were allowed to play all in the same group, simultaneously with the British Championship A new set of regulations split entrants into eight groups. Held in France in July, the latter stage of the championship excited no great interest, the final played under floodlights at the Parc des Princes attracting only 17,966 spectators. British newspapers practically ignored it.England were among the 29 nations who entered for the next championship, beginning in 1962, but were more or less on their way out when Alf Ramsey took over shortly after they had been held to a 1-1 draw by France in Sheffield. A new manager, but for England the same old story - a 5-2 defeat when the teams met again in Paris.Although the Dutch were not yet a power in the game, their elimination by Luxembourg was the championship's first sensation.

They reached the next two finals, losing on penalties to Czechoslovakia in 1976 and defeating Belgium 2-1 four years later. Surprisingly, they squandered home advantage in 1988 but reached the final again in 1992 when they lost to Denmark.Launched in 1958 as the European Nations Cup - typically, England were not among the 17 countries who entered (the Republic of Ireland were put out by Czechoslovakia in a preliminary round), the European Championship was won first by the Soviet Union, who had the great Lev Yashin in goal when they defeated Yugoslavia 2-1 after extra time in Paris.It was not the most auspicious of starts. I remember vividly how we felt in 1972, sitting in the dressing-room before the game, thinking that we would be extremely fortunate to win against such a powerful team."That year saw the beginning of Germany's rise to pre-eminence in European football. "I suppose we had grown up with the idea of England being a great power in football and that was strengthened when they beat us in 1966. Inspired by Franz Beckenbauer's imaginative sorties out of defence and with Gunther Netzer, however briefly, in peak form, West Germany beat the Soviet Union 3-0 in the final, and won the World Cup in their homeland two years later.

"Winning the World Cup was my greatest thrill," Schon would say in retirement, "but I think the team of 1972 was the best I ever sent out, fulfilling all my expectations with that marvellous win at Wembley."In view of England's unimpressive record in major tournaments - apart from 1966 they have only once got as far as the last four in the World Cup and never contested a European Championship final - it is interesting to recall that the Germans feared them. Reflecting on the advantage of a 3-1 victory in the first leg at Wembley two weeks earlier, West Germany's manager said, "Of course, I thought it unlikely, but if Ramsey had chosen a team to attack us, the one I'm told England newspapers have been demanding, we would have won easily, maybe scored four or five goals." A 0-0 draw left Ramsey facing the ridiculous charge of being concerned solely with saving face, the atmosphere afterwards so bitter that a couple of England players had to be restrained from aiming blows at reporters.If time was running out for Ramsey, who lost his job after failing to qualify England for the 1974 World Cup finals, Schon was approaching the zenith of his career. Shortly before England and West Germany met in Berlin for a place in the 1972 European Championship semi-finals, Helmut Schon learned to his disappointment that Alf Ramsey was characteristically unmoved by a clamour for new faces. The squad will reassemble on Thursday before beginning their preparations to face the Dutch. Brown and Miller will make a flying visit to Rotterdam today to watch the Netherlands in action against the Republic of Ireland.Hiddink will manage the Dutch side until after the 1998 World Cup.

Miller will be with Brown over the next month at the European Championship finals.Brown has already started planning for the 1998 World Cup finals in France, and he sent a member of his backroom staff to watch Sweden as they beat Belarus 5-1. The SFA has set aside a pounds 350,000 bonus to be split among their players if they qualify for France.Asked why the offer had come before the finals, Yule Craig, Scotland's international committee chairman, said: "We make our decision on the competitive matches which have taken place and Craig's record to date, and we are very happy with that."Brown and his squad flew back to Britain after losing to the United States and Colombia in America. The epitome of Dutch footballing principles, the 23-year-old appears able to play anywhere and often does. The Netherlands, like Ajax, have chosen to play him on the left of midfield, but that is nominal. Surinam-born, he came through the youth system at Ajax, where he was nicknamed "Pit Bull"..