The 10 best England team performances in the Premier League era

England fans haven’t had a lot to cheer recently; knocked out of Euro 2016 by minnows Iceland and, eliminated during the group phase of World Cup 2014.

You have to go back over a decade to find the last time the 'Three Lions' won a knockout game at a major tournament, and a decade further than that to find the last time they advanced further than the Quarter-Finals.

Current boss Gareth Southgate seems determined to change that during this summer’s World Cup in Russia.

With a young, exuberant side containing the likes of Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling, and Jesse Lingard, it finally seems possible.

Even with all the recent failures, though, England have put on some great performances since the dawn of the Premier League era, starting from 1992/93.

Encompassing ten major tournaments, qualifying games, and friendly fixtures, here are the 10 best performances from the 'Three Lions' since the EPL era began.

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#10 England 3-2 Sweden – Euro 2012: Group Stages

Euro 2012 was an odd tournament for England for various reasons, none more so than the situation going on, that saw Fabio Capello unexpectedly resign from his post as England manager, following the FA stripping John Terry of his role as captain.

Roy Hodgson was quickly parachuted in to replace him before the tournament began in Poland and Ukraine, but many analysts were cynical about the appointment, feeling Harry Redknapp was a stronger candidate.

As it turned out, Hodgson’s side immediately looked much improved from the jaded team Capello had fielded in the 2010 World Cup and, gained a respectable draw with France in their opening game.

That left everything on the line in England’s second group game against Sweden, a side who they had never beaten in a competitive match before.

With striker Wayne Rooney suspended, Hodgson decided, that the best route to victory was Route One – pumping balls into the box towards battering ram forward Andy Carroll.

It was a tactic designed to fight fire with fire, as Sweden’s side contained powerful defenders like Olof Mellberg and Jonas Olsson. The tactic worked as the first half saw Carroll score a tremendous header from a long, angled cross from Steven Gerrard.

Some sloppy defending in the second half, both times from set-pieces, allowed Sweden to take a 2-1 lead, but Hodgson then decided to change things up, introducing speedy winger Theo Walcott to run at the tiring Swedish defense.

Again, the plan worked, as the former Arsenal man equalized from long-range just two minutes after coming on, and then dribbled into the box to set up a beautiful backheeled winner from Danny Welbeck.

This was a great, albeit flawed performance from England, as not only did they come from behind to beat an extremely tricky opponent, one who had always given England problems in the past, but Hodgson proved that he was more tactically astute than his detractors thought with his use of Carroll and the introduction of Walcott.

It was arguably the highest point of Hodgson’s reign, in fact.

#9 England 5-1 Croatia – World Cup 2010: Qualifying Round

Fabio Capello’s refreshed England team, using basically the same spine as Sven-Goran Eriksson’s ‘Golden Generation’ from 2004 and 2006, had already laid the ghosts of failure to qualify for Euro 2008 to rest by defeating Croatia in Zagreb (more on that later) earlier in the qualification round for the 2010 World Cup, but they really hammered the point home with this one-sided beating at Wembley in September 2009.

England came into the match full of confidence as they’d gone unbeaten in the group and, only needed a point to secure a spot in South Africa.

They got a dream start when Aaron Lennon was fouled in the penalty box with just 7 minutes gone in the match. Frank Lampard tucked the penalty away, and from then on it was a whitewash, as another goal from Lampard and two from Steven Gerrard gave the 'Three Lions' a 4-0 lead with 20 minutes to go.

Croatian striker Eduardo scored a consolation after 73 minutes, but a poor clearance from keeper Vedran Runje, who actually had a solid game despite conceding 4, allowed Wayne Rooney to slot home the 5th goal to really cement England’s superiority.

In reality, they could’ve had more, had the likes of Emile Heskey been able to take a number of gilt-edged chances.

While the previous win over Croatia was slightly more impressive, this was still a great showing, as Capello proved that he could get the best out of the Golden Generation.

In particular, pairing Lampard and Gerrard to more success than Eriksson had seen for the most part, and sent England into the World Cup with some tremendous momentum that ultimately failed to deliver.

#8 England 2-0 Turkey – Euro 2004: Qualification Round

Despite an impressive showing in the 2002 World Cup, Sven-Goran Eriksson’s England side, slipped up almost immediately afterward, by drawing with minnows Macedonia, in their second qualifying game for Euro 2004.

With World Cup semi-finalists Turkey in the same qualifying group, suddenly the 'Three Lions' chances of going to the tournament in Portugal became much slimmer.

It was crucial, then, that England picked up a positive result against Turkey in their home game in April 2003. Thankfully they did, winning 2-0 in what was one of the high points of Eriksson’s reign as a manager.

Two factors appeared to stand out in their favor – firstly, the side was buoyed by the emergence of teenage superstar Wayne Rooney, who started his first England game and terrified the Turkish defence until he was substituted in the second half.

Secondly, with Wembley being redeveloped, the game was taking place at Sunderland’s Stadium of Light, creating a far more intimidating atmosphere for the visitors than the larger stadium would’ve provided.

Despite England dominating the majority of the game, keeper David James still had to be at his best to deny the likes of Yildiray Basturk and Hasan Sas. Turkey’s keeper Rustu Recber was also outstanding, as he made a couple of brilliant saves.

The game remained at 0-0 with 15 minutes to go, when a cross from Wayne Bridge inexplicably found defender Rio Ferdinand, who took his chance brilliantly only for Rustu to save his shot. The ball spilled to substitute Darius Vassell, who quickly stabbed home to put England ahead.

Minutes later James made a spectacular save to deny Nihat Kahveci, and then David Beckham sealed the result with an injury-time penalty following a foul on Keiron Dyer.

It was a night in which everything went right for England, from the introduction of Rooney onto the big stage, to one of the best goalkeeping performances from James in an England shirt.

The 'Three Lions' were back in control of the group and ended up qualifying following a 0-0 draw in the return fixture with the Turks.

#7 England 3-2 Argentina – International Friendly, 2005

It feels strange to be ranking a friendly match in England’s top 10 performances, but the rivalry with Argentina, going back to the 1966, 1986, 1998 and 2002 World Cups, as well as the 1982 Falklands War, means that no England/Argentina match is a friendly by definition.

And this match, played on a neutral ground in Geneva, Switzerland might’ve been one of the most competitive friendlies of all time.

This was Sven-Goran Eriksson’s ‘Golden Generation’ at their absolute peak. The 2006 World Cup is traditionally seen as the high point for that side.

But, this match saw David Beckham, Wayne Rooney, and Michael Owen, all in far better form than during that tournament, with Rooney, in particular, being absolutely outstanding throughout the game.

Argentina went ahead in 31 minutes, via a Hernan Crespo goal, but Rooney equalised just 5 minutes later.

The back-and-forth game saw both teams attacking with verve and defending bravely, but when Walter Samuel headed home from a free-kick early in the second half, it looked like Argentina had the game sewn up, as England were unable to find a way through.

That was until a very late charge, when Eriksson introduced the giant Peter Crouch, to create a three-man attack alongside Owen and Rooney. With minutes to go, it was Owen who popped up to equalise, heading in from a Steven Gerrard cross.

With seconds on the clock remaining, Owen’s poaching instincts struck again, as he somehow rose above his marker and, Crouch, to head home a dramatic winner.

England celebrated like they’d won the World Cup and, while the result didn’t push them on to glory in the World Cup in the summer that followed, it proved that the ‘Golden Generation’ were worth their hype, at least for one night, as they defeated one of the world’s best teams and did it by playing some remarkable attacking football.

#6 Italy 0-0 England – World Cup 1998: Qualifying Round

When Glenn Hoddle’s England, still riding the waves of their semi-final finish at Euro 1996, were drawn with World Cup 1994 finalists Italy, in their qualifying group for the 1998 tournament, booking a ticket to France was never going to be easy.

Hoddle’s side made it harder for themselves by dropping the home fixture to the Azzurri in February 1997.

But while England kept winning their subsequent games, beating Georgia, Poland and Moldova, Italy slipped up, drawing 0-0 with both the Poles and Georgians.

That left the 'Three Lions' needing just a point in their final game to qualify. The only problem, however, was that it was against Italy in Rome, easily the trickiest fixture Hoddle had faced since taking over from Terry Venables, and he was without his captain and talismanic striker Alan Shearer.

England fans needn’t have worried, instead, replacement striker Ian Wright and stand-in captain Paul Ince, delivered probably their best ever performances for the national side, while Paul Gascoigne ran the game from midfield, dominating Italy’s Demetrio Albertini, Angelo Di Livio, and Dino Baggio.

Ironically, it would be the last competitive game Gazza played for the Three Lions.

At any rate, England were fantastic. They showed composure and, ball retention which was not really expected from an English side at the time, as well as their trademark bulldog spirit, when Ince required stitches following a clash of heads, he simply played on with his head bandaged and bleeding.

In the dying moments of the game, Wright hit the post for England while Christian Vieri missed a point-blank header for Italy, but in the end, it finished goalless, allowing the 'Three Lions' safe passage to the World Cup.

It was probably the best game England ever played under Hoddle. The realization of his plan was to make England into a side who were comfortable on the ball, could play with attacking verve and, also retained a tough defence. The fact that it 'felt' like a win rather than a goalless draw sums it up, really.

#5 Germany 2-3 England – International Friendly, 2016

In similar fashion to England’s rivalry with Argentina, there are no true ‘friendly’ games between England and Germany, despite a healthy level of respect always existing between the two sides.

There’s simply too much history between the nations for it not to be a big deal. Coming into the March 2016 showdown between the two, Germany had won the previous 2 fixtures, most notably thumping England 4-1 in the 2010 World Cup.

England manager Roy Hodgson was without some key players, namely, captain Wayne Rooney and midfielders, Jack Wilshere and, Raheem Sterling. So he named a somewhat experimental side based around the young Tottenham spine of Eric Dier, Dele Alli, and Harry Kane. It was an experiment that ended up delivering, big time.

From the opening moments of the game, it was clear that England’s gameplan was to press the Germans as hard as possible, not allowing them any time on the ball and look to catch them on the break, essentially, the tactics executed by Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham side.

It actually worked as Germany never seemed comfortable, even when they took a two-goal lead with goals from Toni Kroos and Mario Gomez.

Usually, after taking a 2-0 lead, Germany would be expected to see a game out, even a friendly. But, when Harry Kane pulled one back for the 'Three Lions', following a slick Cruyff turn in the box and, substitute Jamie Vardy backheeled in from Nathaniel Clyne’s cross to equalise, it always felt like there would only be one winner.

Alli thought he had scored it, when he simply needed to poke the ball into an empty net following Vardy’s mugging of Jonathan Tah, only to sky his shot, but with injury time ticking away, Dier rose to head a Jordan Henderson corner into the net, securing a remarkable victory.

The potential England showed in this game was never realized at that summer’s Euro 2016. Hodgson simply wasn’t decisive enough to stick to this gameplan rather than reintroduce Rooney. But, it showed that England’s young stars had the world at their feet, something Gareth Southgate will be looking to prove this summer.

#4 Croatia 1-4 England – World Cup 2010: Qualifying Round

It felt like fate when England were drawn in the same qualification group for the 2010 World Cup as Croatia. In 2007, it had been Slaven Bilic’s side that had beaten Steve McClaren’s England, to finally deny them a spot at Euro 2008.

A disastrous result that marked the lowest point for England since Graham Taylor’s horrible pre-Premier League reign.

New boss Fabio Capello had won 4 of 5 friendlies and, got his side off to a winning start in their qualifying campaign with a victory over Andorra. But, going to Zagreb, it still felt like England had a hell of a lot to prove.

The Italian proved he was willing to risk it all by starting young Arsenal star Theo Walcott, who had notoriously gone to the 2006 World Cup as a 16-year old and spent the tournament as an observer.

It was a risk that paid off in spades. Croatia’s defence never looked like they could cope with the sheer pace of Walcott down the right flank, and with Wayne Rooney, at the peak of his powers, linking up well with a surprising strike partner in Emile Heskey, it only looked like a matter of time before England would score.

Then, the goal came from Walcott, a crisp finish following a botched clearance, made it even sweeter.

England continued to dominate the proceedings with Frank Lampard and Gareth Barry running the midfield, and early in the second half, Croatia suffered a second hammer blow, when Robert Kovac was sent off for an elbow on Joe Cole.

From there it was more of the Walcott Show. He scored his second goal after a wonderful lay-off from Rooney before, he himself deservedly got on the scoresheet following a cross from Jermaine Jenas.

Croatia pulled a goal back through Mario Mandzukic, following a questionable challenge on John Terry, but then Walcott completed a stunning hat-trick just 5 minutes later, slotting home coolly following a quick break.

It was a shockingly brilliant performance that showed Capello had the managerial ability to get the best out of his players in a way that McClaren clearly didn’t, and more importantly, it was a great slice of revenge for England, following the debacle a year earlier. Ten years later it probably still hasn’t been topped.

#3 England 1-0 Argentina – World Cup 2002: Group Stages

Sven-Goran Eriksson’s young England team were drawn in what was labelled the ‘Group of Death’ at the 2002 World Cup.

They were facing off with Sweden, who England had never beaten in a competitive fixture, Nigeria, and old rivals Argentina, who had notoriously eliminated England from the tournament four years earlier following a colossal game that ended in a penalty shoot-out.

England were gunning for revenge, but this was an Argentina side who were named one of the pre-tournament favorites for a reason. Even in a pre-Messi era, their depth of talent was frightening, with the likes of Diego Simeone, Javier Zanetti, Juan Veron, Gabriel Batistuta and Hernan Crespo amongst the team.

England were without first-choice stars like Gary Neville and Steven Gerrard, and captain David Beckham wasn’t fully fit following a pre-tournament injury. After a 1-1 draw with Sweden in their opening fixture, this looked like trouble for Sven’s men.

Instead, it turned out to be trouble for the Argentines. The likes of Trevor Sinclair and Nicky Butt, men who were seen as second-rate replacements, rose to the occasion in a way nobody expected them to.

Sinclair terrorized Argentina down the left side following his first-half introduction for the injured Owen Hargreaves, and Butt practically bullied Simeone and Veron in the center of the midfield.

Beckham pulled the strings from the right, ensuring England retained much of the possession, and right before half-time their aggressive approach paid off.

Michael Owen, whose pace was scaring Argentina as it had four years prior, drew a penalty from Mauricio Pochettino and Beckham slammed it down the middle to give England the lead.

The second half saw no further goals, although England could’ve extended their lead through Owen and Teddy Sheringham, while Argentina also missed chances as the likes of Sol Campbell and Rio Ferdinand defended bravely.

In the end, the Three Lions came away with the victory and Argentina went home following their failure to beat Sweden in their next game.

It might not have been a knockout win, but England left their old rivals on the canvas in this game, which remains their best performance in a major tournament since the turn of the century.

#2 Germany 1-5 England – World Cup 2002: Qualifying Round

It was the result that gave England fans renewed hope following the disastrous reign of Kevin Keegan, and it remains the most one-sided game in the long rivalry between England and Germany.

At the time, such a result seemed impossible, but thanks to Sven-Goran Eriksson and his band of young, uber-talented stars, like David Beckham, Steven Gerrard, Ashley Cole and Michael Owen, England fans were sent into dreamland for a 90-minute period.

It was September 2001, and Eriksson had been in charge of England since January. He had overseen a resurgence in the attempt to qualify for the 2002 World Cup.

But, despite wins over Finland, Albania and Greece, the shoddy results against Germany (0-1) and Finland (0-0) when Keegan and caretaker Howard Wilkinson were in charge meant that the Three Lions needed an improbable result against Die Mannschaft in Munich in order to avoid the playoffs.

After 6 minutes, it looked like curtains for England. They had started nervously and conceded a weak goal from Carsten Jancker.

But Eriksson’s young team were made of stronger stuff than Keegan’s broken down veterans, and Owen equalised just 6 minutes later following a Beckham free-kick.

England then took the lead right before half-time, a corner was cleared and fell to Steven Gerrard, who drilled home from the edge of the box with an outstanding shot.

The second half, saw England simply destroy their old rivals with quick-fire attacks and passing sequences that left the German defence looking completely haggard.

First, Owen scored a second following an Emile Heskey knockdown, and then he completed his hat-trick following a swift counter-attack set up by Beckham.

When Heskey scored the 5th goal for England following another counter-attack (this time started by a passing sequence between Beckham and Paul Scholes), watching England fans knew they were seeing something special.

The result inspired England to win the qualifying group and, Germany somehow got the last laugh by qualifying through the playoffs and reaching the World Cup final.

But, no team had ever humiliated Germany quite like Sven’s men did. “Heskey makes it five!” remains an iconic line in English culture. This was an earth-shattering performance.

#1 England 4-1 Netherlands – Euro 1996: Group Stage

Even the heaviest detractors of England can’t take away the stunning result from the third group game of Euro 1996.

Coming into the tournament, the Netherlands had been one of the favourites, thanks to a squad full of young talent largely produced by Ajax, who had won the Champions League in 1994/95 and reached the final in 1995/96.

On paper, a side with the likes of Dennis Bergkamp, Clarence Seedorf, and Patrick Kluivert should’ve given England a tough game.

In reality, though, it was a whitewash. England’s midfield, made up of Darren Anderton, Paul Ince, Paul Gascoigne and Steve McManaman, sprayed the ball around with quick passes the likes of which had rarely been seen from any England side prior to this, and linked up with strikers Alan Shearer and Teddy Sheringham to terrify the Dutch defence.

In the 23rd minute, Ince bamboozled Danny Blind and drew a penalty that Shearer thumped home, and while it looked like the Dutch might fight their way back into the game, an 11-minute rush in the second half ended all of those hopes.

First Sheringham headed in from a corner, finding himself largely unmarked, and then came the best moment of all...

A surging run from Gascoigne saw him head into the box, where he laid the ball off to Sheringham. In turn, Sheringham faked a shot, only to slide a pass to Shearer, who rifled the ball into the top corner.

It was something that was amazing to watch, and just minutes later England had a 4th goal. Sheringham scoring a rebound when Edwin van der Sar saved Darren Anderton’s shot.

From there it was party time, the England fans singing the hit song ‘Three Lions’ while the players passed the ball around almost casually.

Even a late consolation goal from Kluivert didn’t ruin the atmosphere, even less so when the news came in that the goal had prevented Scotland from making the quarter-finals.

After the game, Venables summed it up in one simple line – “we thrashed them”. Never have truer words been spoken, and undoubtedly, this game remains the best performance from an England side since the dawn of the Premier League era.