Teddy Sheringham and Robbie Fowler sat down with Sky Sports News as part of a special Boys of ’96 series to relive their memories from that summer, including Paul Gascoigne’s miss against Germany and those penalty shootouts.
In the series, reporter Mark McAdam is on a mission to speak to every member of the 22-man squad from Euro 1996.
He will be travelling across the nation in a fully electric van tracking down everyone from David Seaman to Alan Shearer ahead of a reunion of the entire squad.
In episode four, he managed to locate two strikers in Terry Venables’ squad – Teddy Sheringham and Robbie Fowler – to discuss their memories from the tournament.
Sheringham, who scored the fifth of England’s penalties in their 6-5 shootout loss to Germany in the semi-final, said: “I’ve never been so nervous in all my life taking that fifth penalty against the Germans knowing that if you miss that penalty, you are going to get ridiculed for the rest of your life.
“That’s how it was. It doesn’t matter what you’ve done in your career, you’re going to be remembered for that miss.
England celebrate Teddy Sheringham’s second goal against Holland
“I remember putting that ball down on that spot. Sometimes you look at the goalkeeper and you think ‘he’s massive, where am I going to score? How am I going to score?’
“But I remember putting the ball down and looking up [at the keeper] and he looked small. I remember saying to myself as I put the ball down ‘if I put this ball exactly where I want it to go, there’s no way he can save it’. That gave me such a positive mood.
“I stepped back, made out to smash it hard but did my faithful penalty – side-foot, hard, firm, high to the keeper’s left and just saw it go exactly where I wanted it to go and hit the back of the net.
“The relief and the adrenaline rush all in one go was just amazing that we’re still in this tournament, we’ve still got a chance. I’ve done my bit and let’s hope the next person does their bit.”
Fowler: I should have been on the pitch against Germany!
Robbie Fowler, Steve Howie and Paul Gascoigne at training before the start of the Euro ’96 competition
Fowler, who made two appearances at the tournament, said the moment that sticks with him the most is Paul Gascoigne’s miss in that same semi-final. But he said: “[Venables] should have put me on [against Germany] as well.
“I’m not letting him get away with that!”
Fowler’s personal penalty memory was about one that was never even taken, as England beat Spain 4-2 in a quarter-final shootout.
He said: “I only played two games – I came on against Holland and I came on against Spain and was down to take the fifth penalty.
“Me being me, a boisterous young lad – [I was] delighted we went through but devastated I never got to score the winning penalty!”
Watch the full episode by clicking play on the video at the top of the article, or find it on Sky Go.
