sport news Thirty years on from Euro 92, the inside story of England's shambolic campaign trends now
From its pub football opening sequence and disappearing players to the fallen hero and a sour taste of root vegetable to finish, Euro 92 seldom evokes warm and cosy memories.
It was brief and joyless for most England supporters, like a drug designed to quell nostalgia.
Over in Denmark, of course, they have a different perspective. The summer of 1992 was their finest and they turned the magical script into a feature film in 2015.
Denmark (above) won the European Championship final in 1992 after beating Germany
Over here, 30 years on, those named in Graham Taylor's squad still wrestle with conflicting emotions, from the great honour of selection, to the unforgiving margins of failure and the vitriol unleashed by newspapers at war with the manager.
'It turned into a tournament to forget but I was proud to be there representing my country,' says former Arsenal striker Alan Smith, who missed out on Italia 90 when the squad was trimmed from 26 players to 22.
Stalwarts such as Peter Shilton, Bryan Robson and Terry Butcher had retired, and Paul Gascoigne had not played since his self-inflicted knee injury in the 1991 FA Cup final.
Taylor had phased out Chris Waddle, despite his brilliant form at Marseille, and Peter Beardsley and opted against Ian Wright, top scorer in English football that season, while injuries ruled out right backs Rob Jones, Lee Dixon and Gary Stevens.
Dixon twisted an ankle running in the woods to keep fit. Stevens was hurt in Finland, the final warm-up friendly and a bonding trip designed to boost morale, with contests for players in cycling, swimming and orienteering.
Denmark were big underdogs vs the Dutch in the semi but had already beaten England
Denmark (above) opened their Euro '92 campaign with a 0-0 draw against England
There were no TVs, it hardly got dark and players given a one-hour phone card found there was only one phone and always a queue to use it. Most of the players retreated to their rooms and played cards.
John Barnes tore an achilles tendon in the 2-1 win in Helsinki and it turned out Mark Wright, who played the entire game, aggravated an old injury as well, but the message did not get through to the manager until the squad reassembled at a Heathrow hotel a few days later.
'Graham Taylor didn't seem to be aware he wasn't available,' recalls Smith. 'He was doing a head count and it was, 'Where's Mark Wright?' Someone explained to the gaffer he was still up in Liverpool.'
Wright's withdrawal came so late that England were unable to promote Tony Adams, so they embarked with 19 players rather than 20, the limit for the European Championship in those days.
'More like the Dog and Duck than the Three Lions,' noted Smith in his book Heads Up, published in 2018.
For those on the plane, however, it was a moment to cherish and for Andy Sinton of Queens Park Rangers, the end of a surreal whirlwind that began when his wife Linda went into labour during England's friendly against Brazil at Wembley.
'I saw her after the game,' Sinton tells Sportsmail. 'She said something was happening but we were three weeks from the due date and I thought it was a false alarm. We were going back to the hotel and had a meeting at 11am the next day to tell us who was in the squad, so I told her to go home and I'd see her the next day.'
When the phone in his hotel room rang early in the morning, Linda explained it was definitely not a false alarm.
'I knocked on Graham Taylor's door at half eight and he answered it in his pyjamas,' says Sinton. 'I told him my wife was in labour and I was sorry but I had to go home.'
Taylor beckoned him in and broke the news that he was not in the squad. Barnes was in it instead. 'He carried on talking but I wasn't listening after that,' says Sinton. 'I sat in the taxi and cried my eyes out for 20 minutes. My big dream of representing my country in a major tournament snatched away. I got home to find my wife pacing the drive. She just said, 'Get me to the hospital'.'
Within a couple of hours, tears of despair were tears of joy for a proud parent and Sinton was cradling Daniel in his arms. A fortnight later, England beat Finland and Barnes was injured.
'Graham came on TV after the game and said, 'Andy, if you're watching, make sure your passport's in date and get your boots'. That was how I got to Euro 92. It was all very weird but the biggest honour ever to be in the England squad for a major tournament. Unfortunately, it didn't go as well as we wanted.'
Left back Tony Dorigo did not fancy a switch to the right against Denmark, so Taylor asked versatile Manchester City centre half Keith Curle to step in.
'I'd strived for so long to be in the England environment,' says Curle. 'My first call-up was a trip to Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia. We spent 23 hours travelling, went to the hotel, went training and, on the first day, I broke my jaw during a small-sided game.
'David Batty elbowed me — and
