Qualification had been far from straightforward. There were surprising defeats in Switzerland and Norway before the Swiss did The Three Lions a favour by winning in Romania. Then England went into the last fixture with Hungary at Wembley needing a point and Paul Mariner's scrambled effort paved the route to the Finals.

England played five matches in Spain. They remained unbeaten and only conceded one goal in the whole tournament, yet didn't progress beyond the Second Round.

England had a great start, Bryan Robson scoring just 27 seconds into the opener against France in Bilbao, the second fastest goal in the history of the Finals. A 3-1 win put England top of the group.

A clear momentum established, England went on to beat Czechoslovakia 2-0 four days later and then Kuwait 1-0 five days after that. England won Group 4 with a 100 per cent record, three points clear of the rest.

The Second Round comprised four groups of three and England found themselves in Group B with their Spanish hosts…and old foes West Germany!

England played the Germans first in the Bernabeu, and two well-organised teams virtually cancelled each other out. England rarely threatened in attack, with Rummenigge hitting the bar with a long shot for the opposition. The result - 0-0.

West Germany's 2-1 win against Spain in the same stadium, watched by more than 90,000, left England needing to better that scoreline against the hosts to make it through to the semi-finals for only the second time in their history.

But it was another 0-0! Kevin Keegan, a substitute coming back from injury, missed with a header from close in. "I should have buried it", he said.