Former Liverpool and Republic of Ireland midfielder Ray Houghton wrote his name in folklore at Euro 1988 after scoring the only goal in an historic 1-0 win over England in Germany.
The two-time First Division and FA Cup winner was again on the scoresheet in 1994 in Ireland's 1-0 win over Italy at the 1994 World Cup, complementing a fantastic club career in England.
As the European Championships return to Germany, Houghton sat down with FourFourTwo to discuss his crowning moment against Ireland's biggest rivals.
Houghton's finest hour
Drawn into a difficult group with former world champions England and Netherlands, as well as eventual finalists the Soviet Union, Ireland began their Euro 1988 campaign with a clash against old rivals England.
Against an England side boasting the likes of Gary Lineker, Tony Adams, Bryan Robson and Peter Shilton, Houghton's sixth minute opener proved to be enough to separate the sides and had bragging rights to the Irish.
Despite a draw against the Soviets, Ireland were knocked out at the group stage, with the Netherlands going on to win the tournament, although it remains one of the more fondly remembered tournaments in Irish history.
Speaking to FourFourTwo, Houghton recalled the highs of the tournament.
“What I remember was that we didn’t fear facing England – and they were expected to beat us because they were England, of course," Houghton began.
"But our wonderful manager, Jack Charlton, reassured us that we were more than capable of winning the game.
"We knew we could do it. We had guys who were playing in England like myself, Chris Hughton at Tottenham and Sheffield Wednesday’s Tony Galvin. I scored in the sixth minute and it was the hardest 84 minutes of my life afterwards.
"Packie Bonner made some terrific saves. People ask me if it’s my favourite goal and the Italy one is obviously bigger, but this was my first for Ireland.
"Big Jack said to us, ‘Don’t ever do that to me again!’ He was more knackered than us just watching, but we held on to win 1-0. Unforgettable.”
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