So close and yet so far! England have only reached the final of the Euros once in 10 attempts but after the draw for next summer's competition, can Gareth Southgate's side go one better than last time out?

England learned their group stage opponents for next summer's European Championship on Saturday night, and will be hoping to go all the way in Germany for the first time ever. 

While the Three Lions have managed to lift the World Cup - way back in 1966 - the Euros have been a tournament of misery for England, who have only reached the final once. 

Having been handed a comparatively easy draw alongside Serbia, Slovenia and Denmark, Gareth Southgate's side will be hoping to go one better than the last competition, that saw them reach the final only to lose on penalties. 

It was the furthest that they have ever gone since 1996, where a Paul Gascoigne-inspired side fell on spot-kicks to old rivals Germany, the eventual winners. 

Here, Mail Sport takes a look at each of England's previous Euro campaigns, with a picture summing up their performances at all 10 outings thus far.  

1968 

England’s debut at the ‘finals’ came as world champions, in the days when just four nations competed in the final tournament, held over six days in Italy. 

Bobby Moore and co lost the semi-final 1-0 to Yugoslavia but secured third place in a 2-0 play-off win against the Soviet Union, which saw Geoff Hurst secure the win after Bobby Charlton had opened the scoring. 

Manager: Alf Ramsey Finished: Third Champions: Italy 

1980

Back in Italy for the first Euros with eight teams, England drew 1-1 with Belgium thanks to a Ray Wilkins goal, but the damage was done with a 1-0 defeat by the hosts. 

They signed off with a 2-1 win over Spain — with goals from Trevor Brooking and  Tony Woodcock — but it was not enough to see them advance from the group. 

Manager: Ron Greenwood Finished: Group stage Champions: West Germany

1988

Gary Lineker fell to the floor in despair after missing a chance against Ireland in England’s opening match in Stuttgart. 

They lost 1-0 to a Ray Houghton goal, and were then beaten by 3-1 by Netherlands and 3-1 by the Soviet Union in a campaign that saw them finish rock bottom. 

Manager: Bobby Robson Finished: Group stage Champions: Netherlands 

1992 

Neil Webb in action during the final group stage game, a 2-1 defeat by Sweden after David Platt’s early opener. 

That was England’s only goal of the tournament after goalless draws against Denmark and France. 

A minor improvement on four years earlier, then, but still finished bottom of the group. 

Manager: Graham Taylor Finished: Group stage Champions: Denmark

1996

Paul Gascoigne lashes home at Wembley in the 2-0 win over Scotland in a memorable summer that — of course — ended in despair with Gareth Southgate’s missed penalty against Germany.

England finished top of the group after this win and a 4-1 drubbing of the Dutch and then edged past Spain on penalties to reach the last four. 

Football didn’t quite come home, but the nation was captivated from start to finish.

Manager: Terry Venables Finished: Semi-finals (no third-place play-off) Champions: Germany 

2000 

After 18 minutes of the opener against Portugal, England were 2-0 up and beginning to dream... but they went on to lose 3-2. 

Then, after Alan Shearer secured a 1-0 win over Germany, Phil Neville proved the villain as his late foul gave away a penalty against Romania — leading to a 3-2 defeat and early exit. 

Manager: Kevin Keegan Finished: Group stage Champions: France 

2004

Wayne Rooney announced his arrival on the international scene aged 18 with four goals in the group stage as England bounced back from a late defeat by France to wallop Switzerland 3-0 and Croatia 4-2. 

But the Everton wonderkid was forced off injured after 27 minutes in the quarter-final clash against hosts Portugal and — you guessed it — England went on to lose on penalties. 

Manager: Sven-Goran Eriksson Finished: Quarter-finals Champions: Greece

2012 

Andy Carroll does battle with Italy in the quarter-finals after England finished top of the group thanks to a draw with France and wins over Sweden (in which Carroll scored) and Ukraine, who were co-hosting with Poland. 

But more penalty agony followed, with Ashley Young and Ashley Cole missing as the Italians progressed after a 0-0 draw. 

Manager: Roy Hodgson Finished: Quarter-finals Champions: Spain 

2016

One of the lowest points in England’s history came in France with a last-16 exit to surprise package Iceland, who won 2-1 after an early Rooney goal. 

Uninspiring England had battled out of the group, finishing second behind Wales, but nobody expected this. 

Hodgson resigned immediately, leading to the 67-day reign of Sam Allardyce. 

Manager: Roy Hodgson Finished: Last 16 Champions: Portugal 

2020

England played all but one of their games at Wembley and came so close to taking advantage, beating Germany 2-0 in the last 16 and then edging past Denmark in extra-time in the semis. 

Luke Shaw scored after two minutes of the final against Italy but Leonardo Bonucci levelled and — that familiar story — England lost on penalties after misses by Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka. Maybe next summer... 

Manager: Gareth Southgate Finished: Runners-up Champions: Italy