England Umbro Away Shirt 1999-2001 Euro 2000
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Used from October 1999 to March 2001.
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England returned to plain red, relatively unadorned yet extremely attractive, with this Umbro jersey, which was even devoid of the non-contrasting diamond patterns that had been sneaked onto the white uniform.
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With Kevin Keegan desperately trying to restore confidence to a team that stumbled into qualification for the 2000 European Championship final tournament, he used the nostalgia of England’s only world-beating eleven by dressing the current team in the same colours as the heroes of 1966, at every opportunity. This, of course, was also exploited by Umbro in their replica sales marketing.
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It meant that England wore the shirt almost exclusively in home games, apart from one celebrated tournament victory against the Germans in Belgium, and it appeared to be a lucky kit, despite England’s first round exit with two defeats in their white shirts.
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So, when it came to giving the old Wembley Stadium its final performance, a World Cup qualifier against Germany, it was only fitting that the teams should be wearing the same colours as in their most memorable encounter, at least within these shores. Then, it all went sour. It was a miserable wet day, England didn’t perform, Germany stole the points and Keegan resigned.
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Made in China
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Measurement: loose cutting
Size M – armpit to armpit 23”, collar to hem length 27”
Size L – armpit to armpit 23”, collar to hem length 29”
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Players – Alan Shearer, David Beckham, Michael Owen, Paul Scholes, Sol Campbell, Martin Keown
