England take on the Netherlands on Wednesday looking to reach a second successive European Championship final.
It will be the sixth time England have played in the semi-finals of a major tournament, not including the 1968 European Championship when only four teams qualified for the finals.
Here, the PA news agency takes a look at how England got on in their previous last-four encounters.
England 2 Portugal 1 – 1966 World Cup
Portugal had a 100 per cent record going into the match at Wembley and seven of their 14 goals came from an inspired Eusebio. However, Bobby Charlton struck in either half which meant that, while Eusebio inevitably pulled one back from the penalty spot late on, it was ultimately a mere consolation. The rest, as they say, is history.
West Germany 1 England 1 (West Germany won 4-3 on penalties) – 1990 World Cup
Gazza’s tears and the start of their penalty shootout woes were the legacies of England’s biggest game since seeing off the same opponents in the final 24 years earlier. Gary Lineker cancelled out Andreas Brehme’s deflected effort at the Stadio delle Alpi before, in the shootout, Stuart Pearce saw his spot-kick saved and Chris Waddle blazed over.
Germany 1 England 1 (Germany won 6-5 on penalties) – 1996 European Championship
A familiar opponent and outcome as 30 years of hurt continued at Wembley. Alan Shearer headed England in front early on, but Stefan Kuntz soon levelled and, while Paul Gascoigne was agonisingly close to sliding in a winner in extra-time, the teams could not be separated after 120 minutes. Remarkably, the first 10 penalties were scored in the shootout, meaning Gareth Southgate’s miss proved decisive.
Croatia 2-1 England (after extra time) – 2018 World Cup
Now the manager, Southgate led England back to the sharp end of a major event once more but, despite Kieran Trippier’s early free-kick giving them reason to believe, Croatia had other ideas. Ivan Perisic struck midway through the second half at Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium before Mario Mandzukic struck in extra time to break English hearts.
England 2 Denmark 1 (after extra time) – 2020 European Championship
Falling behind to Mikkel Damsgaard’s goal might have invoked a familiar sinking feeling within England fans, but Simon Kjaer’s own goal sent the match to an additional 30 minutes at Wembley. A nerve-wracking shootout was avoided when Harry Kane converted after his penalty was saved as England ended their semi-final hoodoo. However, more penalty heartbreak awaited England in the final against Italy.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here