EURO on this day: 8 June
Thursday, June 8, 2023
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On this day: England secured third place in 1968, while Germany's Lukas Podolski took centre stage 40 years later.
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England 2-0 Soviet Union
(R Charlton 39; Hurst 63)
1968 third-place play-off, Rome
World champions England had hoped for more from their first foray into the UEFA European Championship, but goals from future knights Bobby Charlton and Geoff Hurst ensured they did not go home empty-handed.
Charlton set Sir Alf Ramsey's team on their way six minutes before the interval, arriving in the penalty area with trademark timing and lashing in. Hurst had done the hard work and the West Ham man, restored to the England attack after sitting out the semi-final defeat by Yugoslavia three days earlier, fully justified his selection with the second goal just after the hour.
Germany 2-0 Poland
(Podolski 20 72)
2008 group stage, Klagenfurt
Polish-born Bayern München forward Lukas Podolski scored in either half to give Germany a good start to their UEFA EURO 2008 campaign.
The Mannschaft hit the front when Miroslav Klose teed up Podolski for a 20th-minute tap-in, and Joachim Löw's men were home and dry when the striker hammered in his second, a sweet volley after Klose's mis-kick fell perfectly into his path.
Other EURO fixtures on 8 June
1968 final: Italy 1-1 Yugoslavia (aet)
1996 group stage: England 1-1 Switzerland
2008 group stage: Austria 0-1 Croatia
2012 group stage: Poland 1-1 Greece
2012 group stage: Russia 4-1 Czech Republic
