Group 1 of
UEFA Euro 1992 was one of only two groups in the final tournament's initial group stage. It began on 10 June and was completed on 17 June. The group consisted of hosts
Sweden, fellow Scandinavians
Denmark,
France and
England.
In the opening game between Sweden and France, Sweden took the lead with a
Jan Eriksson header from a corner; France equalised in the second half with a right-footed shot from
Jean-Pierre Papin. The Denmark–England and France–England games both ended scoreless, although
John Jensen hit the post for Denmark against England, and
Stuart Pearce did likewise for England against France, before Sweden defeated Denmark 1–0. In the last two games, England played Sweden and took the lead in the first half when
David Platt volleyed in from a cross. In the second half, Sweden came back to win with another
Jan Eriksson header from a corner and a shot from
Tomas Brolin from the edge of the box after a one-two with
Martin Dahlin.
Gary Lineker was taken off in the second half of the game, replaced by
Alan Smith; it was his last game for England (and, as it turned out, Smith's as well), and he was withdrawn with half an hour to go despite the fact that, regardless of how the other match finished (at the time both games were at 1-1), England would need at least one more goal - a third draw would not be enough - and Lineker was England's second-highest goalscorer in history, and moreover had provided the cross for Platt's goal. In the concurrent match, Denmark also scored a late goal, beating France 2–1 to take the second spot in the knockout stage.[1]
Sweden won the group and advanced to the semi-finals along with Denmark. France and England were eliminated. England's manager
Graham Taylor was greeted by the famous newspaper headline "SWEDES 2 TURNIPS 1", with his face superimposed on a picture of a
turnip. Lineker, who had previously announced his intention to retire after the tournament, did so.[2]