Greatest Football Matches #1 - 2001 WC Qualifiers - England vs Greece

This was the game which gave birth to one of the famous phrases in Football – “Bend it like Beckham“. To know why, read along..

One of England's greatest moments..

The Setup

England were the group leaders with a difference of one point over Germany. Six months earlier, they had defeated the mighty Germans with a 5-1 scoreline. The euphoria around the country was really high and they had to win their final game against Greece to qualify directly to the finals. Else, they had to face the enigmatic Ukraine in a play-off.

The History

The 1998 World Cup was forgettable for the English team and David Beckham in particular. In the group stage match against Columbia, Beckham scored a fantastic free kick which earned them a spot in the first knockout round against Argentina. Diego Simone, the Argentine midfielder committed a foul on Beckham, who then retaliated with a stupid kick to Simone’s calf. The referee saw it and brandished a yellow to Simone and sent David Beckham off.

Beckham sees red.

England went on to lose the game in a penalty shootout and David Beckham was made the scapegoat. The Mirror’s headline read “Ten Heroic Lions and One Stupid boy” the next morning. It was tough on Beckham. He had to endure non-stop booing by the crowds in all parts of England the next Premier League season. Clearly, England made him the villain.

The Game

Greece led the scoreboard 1-0 when Teddy Sheringham came on as a substitute and scored a goal just 15 seconds after he was introduced. Then the England defense collapsed once again as Demis Nikolaidis shrugged off Rio Ferdinand to put the Greeks 2-1 up. England just needed a draw to get automatic qualification as Germany managed only a draw against Finland.

Four minutes of injury time was given and the game was at 93 minutes when Sheringham won a free kick for the Lions in a decent position. There was no debate on who would be taking it, as captain Beckham stood over the ball.

Beckham hits a stunner.

Old Trafford (the New Wembley stadium was under construction) was on it’s feet, hoping that Beckham would produce one of his trademark free kicks once again.

Beckham ran towards the ball, kicked it fiercely into the top corner of the net where the Greek goal keeper Antonis Nikopolidis stood shell shocked. The 75,000 people at Old Trafford were celebrating. It was surely one of the best moments in English football.

In only three years time, David Beckham managed to turn into a hero from a zero.

THAT Freekick

The Aftermath

After the game, the English manager Sven Goran Eriksson said,

When you see David Beckham scoring a free kick in the last minute, its not luck, its skill

That pretty much summed up what the match was all about.

To go down 1-0, then come back and then lose it and come back once again is something that has to be lauded. This game was probably England’s best world cup moment of the past decade.

Unfortunately, they went on to lose in the quarter-finals of the World Cup against Brazil. Germany, who were made to play the playoffs against Ukraine, came back strong and made it all the way to the finals, only to be defeated by the mighty Brazilians.

But, irrespective of the result, kudos to David Beckham. After all, he overcame all the headlines, the booing and the hate to lead his team into the next world cup with that heroic free kick.