Now with the World Cup
barely a few weeks away there is a growing excitement building towards the
competition. Expectations for England have
been quite measured, with many believing qualification past the Group stage, a
success.
This is my own personal
take on this as there is really only one thing I want from the World Cup. I just want one moment of magic to take away
with me. One instance we can look back
on in years to come and talk about. I
actually think a last eight finish is an achievement. Qualification was a struggle at times, but
ultimately the performances in the final two matches were some of the best
we’ve witnessed since well before the last World Cup. Roy Hodgson has selected a young squad with
some exciting talent, eager to show their ability to a watching global
audience.
On the subject of the
last World Cup, I have witnessed England in seven World Cups and I have to say
that was the worst. There was nothing to
cheer about. I suppose the highlight was
Steven Gerrard’s early goal against United States but the team never kicked on
from there and each game became a completely excruciating experience.
What I would really like
is for England to beat a decent side in the knock-out stages. When I think back to all the international
tournaments I have watched since my first in 1978, England has competed in 7
out of 9 World Cups (including 1978) and always made it past the group
stage. But in just 3 of those 7
tournaments have they won a further match afterwards. In the European Championships it’s even worse
with an identical 7 out of 9 tournaments competed in yet only making it past
the group stage on just 3 occasions. Of
those three occasions England has only won one match in the knock-out stages of
the European Championships when they beat Spain at Wembley during Euro ’96.
That win over Spain was against
a side who had the potential to make it to the Final. In 2002 Denmark won their group and
represented a tricky opponent which England swept aside fairly comfortably. These two matches are the only wins in a
knock-out stage England have managed since 1982, against sides which could be expected
to beat them. England, unseeded for the
World Cup this time, and drawn into a group with a Italy, Uruguay and Costa
Rica. It will be a challenge, but if
they finish in the top two this increases the chances of drawing a big team in
the knock-out stages. This is where I
hope to find my ‘moment’.
I believe every country
goes into a World Cup looking for their ‘moment’. One moment of magic, a goal, a performance,
even a victory where you can look back in years to come be proud of your
country. Here are some of the ‘moments’
I have enjoyed down the years.
1982
England took their bow on
day three of the tournament, against France in Bilbao. The match kicked off at 4.15pm, and it
usually took me 15 minutes to get home from school. I got back two minutes into the game and
England were already a goal up.
England’s preparations for the tournament had been put into disarray when
both Kevin Keegan and Trevor Brooking were injured for the opening game. During qualification they had played some of
their best football when both were on the pitch, but now had to navigate the
group stage without either of them.
Right from the kick-off Trevor Francis knocked the ball back to Ray
Wilkins in the centre circle and he waited for Steve Coppell to burst forward
down the right, he played the ball ahead of him but Coppell was denied room to
cross by Bossis, who knocked the ball out for a throw. This was clearly something England had been
working on in training as Terry Butcher came up from the back to take his place
on the near post. Coppell took the throw
and Butcher flicked it on as the French defence were more concerned with
defending the throw than marking anyone.
Butcher’s flick was the cue for Bryan Robson to arrive, unmarked, in the
six yard box and he knocked the ball past Ettori for a stunning start. 27 seconds were on the watch when the ball
went in to break the record for the fastest goal in World Cup history.
England went onto win the
game 3-1 against a French team consisting of Platini, Giresse, Tigana and many
who would go onto to lift the European Championship two years later. That was really as good as it got for England
during that World Cup, though they were never beaten they always lacked the
firepower which could’ve seen them reach the Semi-Finals. But they had achieved something to be
remembered for many years to come with Robson’s record-breaking goal.
1986
This World Cup started
disastrously for England and after defeat to Portugal and a miserable goalless
draw with Morocco they faced a ‘must-win’ match with Poland where once again a
draw would not be enough. With Robson
injured and Wilkins suspended, Bobby Robson was forced into changes and he also
realised Peter Beardsley was a much better partner for Gary Lineker than Mark
Hateley. During an age when hyperbole
was an unknown quantity, this was definitely a massive game for England. 9 minutes in and Hoddle played a long ball
forward from near his own area to find Lineker on the halfway line, and he
nodded the ball square to Beardsley who then played it back to Lineker and
England were away. As Lineker surged
towards the Polish area he then looked to his right and found Trevor Steven on
the edge of the ‘D’. This was the cue
for right-back Gary Stevens to join the attack and he played the ball into the
6-yard area when Lineker had carried on his run, anticipating a pass, and the
Everton striker knocked the ball into the roof of the net and England had an
ideal start. 189 minutes into the World
Cup and England had finally found the net.
5 minutes later and England built from the back as Sansom played a ball
forward to where Beardsley came deep, and his brilliant first time pass sent
Hodge away on his own down the left wing.
Hodge played a dangerous cross into the 6-yard box and again there was
Lineker to get to it first and as it hit the back of the net the roar from the
England fans at home must’ve matched those in the ground. These were two goals which came to sum-up
Lineker as he challenged his colleagues simply to put the ball into the right
areas and he’d do the rest. His
commitment and anticipation were what made him stand out as one of England’s
finest goalscorers.
England now found
themselves two goals to the good and daring to think the unthinkable. Twenty minutes later and England had a corner
on the left which Steven floated into the 6-yard box where Mlynarczyk, the
Polish keeper, misjudged the flight and missed the ball. It landed for Lineker, who controlled the
ball off his chest and hit it left-footed on the half-volley again into the
roof of the net. 35 minutes into the game,
Lineker had a hat-trick, England were 3-0 up and now their passage into the
next round was assured. It was a
terrific return to form and suddenly there was optimism around the country. Another comfortable win in the Second Round
against Paraguay lead to a battle with Argentina for a place in the last
four. We all know what happened next as
both the ‘sinner and saint’ parts of Diego Maradona’s personality were on show
denying England further progress.
But we had that
near-perfect first 35 minutes from England and Lineker to hold dear for many a
year.
1990
Much of the football in
the early stages from England mirrored much of the football from the rest of
sides as the 1990 contained some of the worst football ever witnessed on the
international stage. But England
unearthed a real gem. Paul Gascoigne was
the rising star of English football and manager Bobby Robson was under
increasing pressure to let him loose in the full side. Robson had given Gascoigne his first cap as a
substitute against Denmark in September 1988.
By the time of the 1990 World Cup in Italy, Gascoigne had appeared 11
times for his country, scoring twice, and started in each of the four games
leading up to the competition. He was
the most exciting young talent seen in this country for a while. The football may have been poor but Gascoigne
was easily the shining star and ended up one of the most talked about
footballers to emerge from a World Cup.
Think back to Pele in 1958, Maradona in 1982 and now England had one of
their own. Gascoigne could infuriate
managers as he would often play the game as he saw it rather than the way they
wanted, but fans loved him. Of the three
main types of midfield player, the tackler, the passer and the runner,
Gascoigne was at his most exciting with the ball at his feet, dribbling past
players and creating space and chances for others. There were times when the chances he created
were simply too good for the players he played with.
During the early group
games against Republic of Ireland and Netherlands we were privileged to bear
witness to some of his precocious talent and two particular moves stood out as
typical of the player. In the first half
unmarked he picks up the ball in the centre-circle and immediately makes his
way forward towards the Dutch goal.
Koeman is first to challenge and he skips past him with ease. Witschge appears from his right but Gascoigne
puts his arm up and then when the Dutchman tries to push him off the ball, he
just bounces off in the opposite direction, all the time retaining
possession. This takes him past van
Tiggelen who, like Koeman, goes to ground, but Gascoigne’s progress is finally
halted by Rijkaard. It was similar to a
run he attempted against the Irish which ended in a stern challenge as if to
emphasise the only way to stop this kid was to resort to strong-arm tactics.
In the second half
Gascoigne ran into the Dutch penalty area and received the ball wide on the
right. Koeman again went to challenge
him and seemed to have curtailed his progress as help came in the shape of van
Tiggelen. Gascoigne seemed to be trapped
down near the bye-line but he suddenly produced a beautiful bit of skill with
his right heel to knock the ball behind his left foot, turn and leave the two
Dutch defenders floundering in a move to rival the legendary
“Cruyff-turn”. As if that wasn’t enough
his ball in was somehow missed by Lineker at the far post, denying Gascoigne
eternal World Cup glory having played an integral part in a crucial goal. In the next game against Egypt he again beat
several players as he toyed with them moving the ball from left foot to right
whilst keeping perfect balance. At one
point he was able to showcase his ‘turn’ again in a tight space to take out
three Egyptian defenders. It was
Gascoigne who produced the free-kick into the area which Mark Wright climbed to
head England’s only goal of the game.
Gascoigne was more than
just a brilliant player. He was a big
personality, as nutty as a fruitcake, as daft as a brush and capable of almost
anything. In the Second Round against
Belgium as penalties seemed inevitable, Gascoigne was given the ball midway
into his own half. He feinted to play a
pass with his right foot, turning onto his left to take out one player and then
he was away and clear. As he was challenged
from his left he invited the tackle which lead to a free-kick. As if he’d planned the whole move, Gascoigne
took the kick himself and floated the ball into the area where David Platt’s
volley won the game. In the
Quarter-Final against Cameroon, England were 1-2 down coming into the final 5
minutes when Gascoigne again took it upon himself to change things. Once again running from midfield he waited
for Lineker to make his run and found him with a good through ball and Lineker
was able to tempt the keeper into a challenge which ultimately lead to the
penalty Lineker equalised from.
Gascoigne was prompting
praise from all areas and not just English.
Franz Beckenbauer claimed he would sign him if he was president of a
club and Gascoigne almost won the Semi-Final against Germany, which he was
ultimately remembered for his tears once realising a yellow card denied his
availability for the Final. As it was,
England’s failure during the shootout rendered this an irrelevance but he had
melted everyone’s hearts. His World Cup
performance resulted in a big money move to Lazio the following summer but the
next two England managers would make sure this was his one and only World Cup.
1998
If Gascoigne was the
young star of Italia ’90 then Michael Owen was undoubtedly his equivalent in
France ’98. England manager, Glenn
Hoddle, appeared reluctant to give the 18 year old his head too soon. Given a starting place against Chile and
Switzerland in early 1998 he scored his first goal coming on as a substitute
against Morocco in May to become England’s youngest goalscorer. He was on the bench for the opening game
against Tunisia but within 7 minutes of his replacement of Teddy Sheringham
against Romania, he had equalised. This
earned him a starting place in the next match against Colombia which England
won, but it was his performance in the Second Round match against Argentina
which had everyone talking. Had England
managed to hold onto a draw against Romania they would’ve met Croatia in the
Second Round, but as it was they were up against their arch rivals Argentina in
a classic encounter which was possibly the game of the tournament. Both teams had traded penalties in the
opening 10 minutes as the game began at a frantic pace. The move began as Ince dispossessed Lopez
just outside England’s area and immediately fed it forward to David
Beckham. Beckham looked up and found
Owen in space in the centre-circle, and clipped the ball to him. Owen’s first touch took the ball just beyond
the nearest Argentine challenge and he was away. The defender, Chamot, managed to stay with
the pace of Owen but didn’t count on the youngster’s determination to hold him
off. As Owen moved towards the area,
Roberto Ayala, positioned in the ‘D’, was ready to pounce but Owen’s pace was
too hot as he dropped his left shoulder, moved to his right to allow himself
space for a shot. Owen was now 15 yards
out and finished beautifully into the top left-hand corner of the Argentine net
for a truly memorable goal. England now
lead 2-1 and their teenage sensation had announced himself on the world stage.
My abiding memory of that
moment is from Brian Moore’s commentary.
Moore, an ITV commentator is some repute, had been commentating on
football since I can remember and had seen players of the like of Greaves,
Best, Charlton, Dalglish, Keegan, Rush and Trevor Brooking and yet here he was
virtually in raptures at the breathtaking run by a completely unflappable and
innocent kid who seemed unconcerned at the glare he was under from the whole
planet.
“Beckham now to Owen, and
here’s another Owen run and he’s gonna worry them again. It’s a great run from Michael Owen and he
might finish it off …..ohhhhh what a wonderful goal from Michael Owen”.
My second favourite
memory of that goal is the reaction amongst the England subs, particularly Paul
Merson, who cannot believe what they’ve just seen. Ultimately the game was to end in
disappointment with a sending off for Beckham and failure at the dreaded
penalty shootout, but at least we had Michael Owen to cling onto.
2002
England embarked on their
first World Cup under a non-English manager as Sven-Goran Eriksson lead them to
Japan and South Korea. England had taken
a first half lead in their opening game against Sweden only to end up with a
point. This then lead to the big clash against Argentina. The two had only met once since the St.
Etienne game, in a friendly in 2000, and this game was billed as a heavyweight
clash. Argentina had won their opening
match against Nigeria and knew another win would guarantee progress to the
knockout stage. Ever since the draw was
made the previous November, the game was set-up as a Beckham v Simeone
clash. Diego Simeone was enemy No. 1
amongst many England fans for what they saw as his goading of Beckham to get
the Manchester United player sent off in France four years before. It was also another chance for the Argentine
defence to get to grips with Michael Owen, and the Liverpool forward made his
presence felt early on as his strong run had the defence back-peddling but his
shot hit the post and was cleared.
As half-time approached
England attacked down the left and the ball eventually found Owen just inside
the area. He took on Mauricio
Pochettino, who stuck out his left leg and down went Owen for a penalty
kick. Cue David Beckham. Interestingly enough Simeone tried to put him
off by walking in front of him and wishing him well as he was waiting to take
the kick. England held its breath as
Beckham stepped up and fired the ball straight down the middle and England were
in front. Beckham had endured some of
the most fearful abuse and criticism after France ’98 as some seeked to blame
England’s defeat purely at his feet.
Being David Beckham meant there are some who still haven’t forgiven him,
but to get a spot-kick against Argentina where it seemed to be him against, not
only the Argentine nation but also his own, he proved he was big enough to
carry the weight of expectation and England had pulled off a famous win.
Once qualified, England
treated the nation to another performance similar to the Poland game in Mexico
’86 with an almost perfect first half against Denmark. Four minutes into the game and Laursen had
mis-directed a header out for a corner, which Beckham floated to the far
post. Goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen, then
of Sunderland, misjudged the flight and Rio Ferdinand, one of the players of
the tournament, rose highest at the back post to head the ball back to the keeper
who juggled with it and his backward momentum took the ball back over the
line. After 22 minutes England attacked
with real purpose again as Butt found Sinclair wide on the left. He cut inside and played the ball along the
ground into the area where Butt knocked it forward and suddenly Owen found
himself free and his left foot shot wrong-footed the keeper and England were 2
goals to the good. Half-time beckoned as
England had a throw in on the right which Danny Mills took and another poor Danish
header allowed Beckham to play it inside for Emile Heskey, just inside the
‘D’. Heskey, with little backlift,
jabbed the ball from side on and his shot contained enough power to surprise
Sorensen and England were now 3-0 up.
It was champagne football
reminiscent of the fare they had served up against Germany in the qualifiers
and many were pinching themselves to believe England could go all the way. As it was Brazil were just too streetwise in
the Quarter-Finals and England progressed no further, but at least we had
revenge against Argentina and the Danish demolition to hold onto.
2006
England had qualified for
the World Cup in Germany by virtue of beating Poland in their final qualifying
game to top their group. Still under the
tutelage of Eriksson they beat Paraguay and Trinidad before they met
Sweden. Sweden were somewhat of a bogey
side for England as it was 38 years and 11 encounters since they had last
beaten them. With Sweden failing to beat
Trinidad they knew a draw would be the minimum they’d need. England’s form in the opening two matches had
been patchy and disjointed despite two wins and no goals conceded. England had an early blow when Michael Owen
crawled off the pitch in the opening minutes after damaging a knee attempting a
5-yard pass.
Thirty five minutes in
and no goals, which suited both teams, but then as England attacked down the
right Beckham crossed to the far post where Crouch, not known for his heading
prowess, headed the ball back across the goal.
Linderoth had tracked Lampard back and beat the Chelsea man to the ball
and Sweden seemed to have dealt with the danger comfortably. But the ball was headed out to Joe Cole who
was standing about 35 yards out from the goal, completely on his own. The ball came to him and he controlled it on
his chest, as the whole Swedish defence launched their own version of the
charge of the light brigade towards him.
Cole’s chest control allowed the ball to bob up and slightly to his
right and he met it sweetly on the volley and cut across it to give the ball
enough fade, which meant it hit the inside of the upright and went in. Isaksson in the Swedish goal had plenty of
time to see it but was helpless to reach it and England had the lead and one of
the goals of the tournament.
As a 20-year old, Joe
Cole had been selected for the previous World Cup but played no part. As a child prodigy much was expected of him
yet we were still waiting for him to reach his true potential despite a move to
Chelsea. Was this his coming of
age? Few of us cared at the time as he’d
scored the sort of goal that if he’d been wearing a Brazilian shirt, would’ve
been shown on televisions throughout the planet. Sweden equalised but then Cole was again the
instigator as he provided the cross for Steven Gerrard to head in at the far
post and he looked to have won the game with 5 minutes to go. But just as with Romania in 1998 or Sweden in
2002, England were unable to see the game out and Henrik Larsson’s last minute
goal denied them a perfect record from the group matches. After seeing off Ecuador in the Second Round
England again faltered at the penalty shootout hurdle against Portugal in the
Quarter-Finals as a match-up with either France or Brazil beckoned.
Ultimately, we were left
with that sense of what might have been but at least we had Cole’s goal to
remember.
2010
As I said earlier there
was nothing about this tournament to hold onto.
Steven Gerrard gave England an early lead in their first match against
USA with a good move and it looked like we were on our way, but that was as
good as it got. It comes to something
when, for some people, the abiding memory is of a disallowed goal as Frank
Lampard’s ‘equaliser’ against Germany was not given.
As I mentioned earlier I
am under no illusion we can win the competition, we simply do not possess
enough match-winning players, but we can compete enough to make the last eight
and I would just like one moment of magic to take away with me.
England’s World Cup
Record Since 1978
1978 – Did not qualify
1982 – Won their group.
Second phase was another group stage with two other teams. Two goalless draws against Germany and Spain
saw England eliminated.
1986 – Finished second in
their group. Beat Paraguay 3-0 in the
Second Round and then lost 1-2 to Argentina in the Quarter-Finals.
1990 – Won their
group. Beat Belgium, 1-0, in the Second
Round and Cameroon, 3-2, in the Quarter-Finals, but lost to Germany on
penalties in the Semi-Finals.
1994 – Did not qualify
1998 – Finished second in
their group. Lost to Argentina in the
Second Round on penalties
2002 – Finished second in
their group. Beat Denmark, 3-0, in the
Second Round but lost 1-2 to Brazil in the Quarter-Finals.
2006 – Won their
group. Beat Ecuador, 1-0, in the Second
Round and then lost on penalties to Portugal.
2010 – Finished second in
their group. Beaten 1-4 by Germany in
the Second Round.
