The 10 best England team performances in the Premier League era

#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.