After missing out on a place at UEFA EURO 2008, England will be hoping to make amends in Poland and Ukraine having eased to first place in their qualifying section this time round.

England will enter UEFA EURO 2012 having missed out on the last European finals and with a new coach after Fabio Capello resigned four months before the tournament. England had finished third behind Croatia and Russia in their UEFA EURO 2008 qualifying group, and they will also want to improve on their last major championship showing – under Capello at the 2010 FIFA World Cup. They won just once in South Africa before exiting the event with their heaviest World Cup defeat, 4-1 against Germany in the last 16. Qualification for this tournament went smoothly, however, as they topped their section with an unbeaten record.

HOW THEY QUALIFIED
An impressive start to the campaign, which included a Jermain Defoe hat-trick against Bulgaria, saw England top Group G after two matches, but hopes of running away with qualification were dented with disappointing draws at home to Montenegro and Switzerland.

However, following a comfortable win in Bulgaria and a narrow victory over Wales, the Three Lions booked their place at Euro 2012 by securing a point - albeit after taking a two-goal lead - in their final group game away to Montenegro, with qualification marred somewhat by Wayne Rooney’s second-half dismissal.

PAST RECORD IN THE EUROS  
1960    Did not enter         1988    Group stage
1964    Did not qualify       1992    Group stage
1968    Third place           1996    Semi-finalists
1972    Did not qualify       2000    Group stage
1976    Did not qualify       2004    Quarter-finalists
1980    Group stage          2008    Did not qualify
1984    Did not qualify       2012    Qualified as group winners

England’s most notable appearance in the European Championships in recent years saw them reach the semi-finals on home soil in 1996, but Gareth Southgate failed to convert his decisive spot-kick as Terry Venables’ men lost out on penalties to Germany.

The Three Lions went on to suffer more heartache from the spot at the hands of Romania in their final group stage match at Euro 2000, before penalties again proved to be England’s downfall four years later, bowing out to Portugal in the quarter-final. In their last campaign, manager Steve McClaren lost his job after failing to secure qualification for Euro 2008.

Matches played
Overall: P113 W63 D31 L19 F221 A83
Final tournament: P23 W7 D7 L9 F31 A28
Qualifying: P90 W56 D24 L10 F190 A55