- The wonder goal
- Once a cheat …
- The Ronaldo mystery
- The overacting
- The sublime finish
- The golden goal
- The rapid reality check
- The lucky bald head
- Romanians prefer blondes
The wonder goal – Michael Owen, England 2-2 Argentina, Round of 16
It was clear from his earliest days that Michael Owen was a very special talent. A prolific scorer at all levels as a junior, he made his debut for Liverpool’s senior team aged only 17 yrs 143 days, a game in which he also became his club’s youngest ever goalscorer. Blessed with searing pace and an instinct for the most direct route to goal, he looked instantly at home in the Premier League, and a call-up to the national side seemed inevitable. He was a mere 18 yrs 59 days when Glenn Hoddle first picked him for England, then only weeks later he was selected for the 1998 World Cup squad.
Owen did not start either of England’s first two games, but came on as a substitute in both, getting an equaliser against Romania (England then conceded late on to lose), before being selected to start against Colombia. It was in the round of 16, however, where he came to the attention of the world. England were up against their old and bitter adversaries, Argentina, a team that had not conceded in their three group matches. England got off to a poor start when David Seaman unnecessarily upended Diego Simeone to give Argentina a penalty in the fifth minute. Batistuta converted, but Owen was to make a rapid riposte. Picking up the ball in the Argentina half he made a rapid and direct run into the opposition box, before going down under, what has to be said to be the faintest of touches from defender Ayala. Referee Nielsen bought it, and awarded a penalty that Alan Shearer slotted home for 1-1.
The best from Owen, though, was yet to come. In the 16th minute David Beckham picked up the ball and fed it through to the 18-year-old just inside the centre circle. Owen immediately charged upfield, leaving Jose Chamot in his wake, then rounded Roberto Ayala as though he was standing still. Without breaking stride, he proceeded to chip a precise shot across keeper Roa and into the back of the net. It was so quick you had to check to confirm that it had actually happened. Owen’s astonishing goal had put England 2-1 ahead.
We all know that it was not to last (see below) but Owen had made the sort of impact as a teenager that a certain Pele had made in 1958.
Once a cheat … – Diego Simeone & David Beckham, England 2-2 Argentina, Round of 16
England’s round of 16 tussle against Argentina was notable not only for the astonishing emergence of Michael Owen (see above), but also for one of the most regrettable incidents in England’s chequered World Cup history.
The first half had been a cracker, with England coming agonisingly close to going 3-1 up, before a clever free-kick routine saw Zanetti equalize for Argentina on the stroke of half time. At 2-2 the game was evenly poised going into the second half, but the balance changed decisively within the first couple of minutes. A ball was played to David Beckham near the half way line but, as he trapped it, he was flattened from behind by an atrocious challenge from Argentinian enforcer Diego Simeone. With Beckham still down, Simeone added a little ‘afters‘ by pushing the Englishman in the small of the back to keep face down on the turf. Beckham, on the ground, reacted angrily, flicking his boot at the Argentinian. His studs glanced Simeone lightly on the calf, but this was ‘enough’ to send the hard man toppling to the ground as though he’d been kicked by a mule.
Unfortunately for Beckham this all happened right in front of Danish referee Kim Milton Nielsen. Nielsen booked Simeone for the original challenge, then pulled out the red card for Beckham for violent conduct. A small act of petulance saw England’s talisman ejected from the game.
England battled gamely for the remainder of the game and into extra time, indeed they should have won it when Sol Campbell nodded in a goal that the referee mystifyingly disallowed. The game went to penalties… and we all know what happens when England go to penalties.
When Beckham returned to England he suffered intolerable abuse. The Daily Mirror famously ran the headline: “10 Heroic Lions, One Stupid Boy” and the other tabloids were equally unreasonable. The former golden boy was booed wherever he went. It’s testament to his strength of character (and also to the support given to him by club manager Alex Ferguson) that he was not destroyed by it. He gradually rehabilitated himself, and capped his return to popularity by smashing home the penalty that beat Argentina, and his nemesis Simeone, in the 2002 Group stage.
The Ronaldo mystery – World Cup final
In 1994 a 17-year-old Brazilian, Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima or simply Ronaldo, was chosen by his country for their World Cup squad. Although the teenager did not play, his reputation as the most promising youngster in the world went before him, and he was soon making his way to Europe, signed by PSV in the Netherlands. Four years later, still only 21, he was judged to be the best player in the world, having commanded a world-record transfer fee (from Barcelona to Inter Milan) and already won the Ballon D’Or. For Brazil, he was seen as the lynchpin of their attempt to retain the title that they had won in the USA. As Jacob Steinberg of the Guardian wrote “no one was as ferociously talented as Ronaldo … at the age of 21, the hopes and dreams of a nation rested on his shoulders”.
With Ronaldo in place, Brazil looked a stronger proposition in 1998 than they had when winning in 1994, and they made it through the final, although not without some hiccups. They prevailed narrowly in a tough quarter final against Denmark (3-2), then were lucky to get past Netherlands on penalties in the semi. Ronaldo’s contribution was measured in four goals and three assists.
The final was played on 12th July at the Stade de France. Brazil were set to face tournament hosts, France, a team that had risen to the occasion in their home tournament. A massive bombshell was dropped 72 minutes before the match when the Brazilian teamsheet was submitted to FIFA without Ronaldo’s name on it. Pundits, media and fans went into overdrive trying to work out what was going on. They were left equally, if not more shocked and bemused, when no more than 30 minutes later, and with less than three quarters of an hour to kick-off, Brazilian officials submitted a modified teamsheet with Ronaldo back on it.
Ronaldo ended up playing all 90 minutes of the final, but was a shadow of the player he had been throughout the tournament. His lack of energy and inspiration transmitted itself to his teammates, on top of which it seemed as though they had been impacted by the ‘will he, won’t he’ uncertainty surrounding his participation. In reality, it was more likely to have been concern for their teammate’s welfare that affected them. In emerged out some time later that Ronaldo had suffered a convulsive fit in the team hotel on the morning of the match, and had lost consciousness before being rushed to hospital for tests. He was released after three hours, but none of his colleagues would have imagined he would be fit to play.
The final finished, of course, with a convincing 3-0 victory for France, who captured their first World Cup title. Brazil, and Ronaldo, would have to wait another four years for their next chance.
The overacting Croatian– Laurent Blanc & Slaven Bilic, France 2-1 Croatia, Semi-final
In England we like to think that it’s us who get all the bad luck that is going in World Cup competitions. Unjust sendings off, disallowed goals (for us), lucky goals (for them), missed penalties, bad draws. Well, it’s not just us.
In 1998 France rose to the occasion of their home World Cup. Ranked only 18th in the world coming into the competition, they finished top of their group with three wins, before somewhat scraping through the first two knock-out rounds to reach the semi-final. To make it through to the final they would have to overcome the surprise package of the finals, a Croatia side who combined technically strength with a robust approach to stopping their opposition.
France’s defence was led by the experienced centre-back Laurent Blanc, already well on his way to almost a century of caps, but playing in his first (and only) World Cup. His misfortune in 1998 was to butt up against Croatia’s Slaven Bilic. With France leading 2-1 and only 16 minutes of normal time remaining, Blanc came forward for a France free kick on the edge of the box. As Blanc approached the box, Bilic tried to impede him. To shake the Croatian off, Blanc pushed him in the face. To be fair, it was a stupid thing to do, and may well have resulted in a red card anyway, but Bilic’s play-acting certainly sealed the deal. He clutched the top of his face, above the eye, well north of where Blanc had pushed him, and sank to his knees yelling. Blanc was shown a straight red and knew instantly he would miss the final.
In the event, France did not miss him much in the final, and his replacement Franck Leboeuf played well, man-marking the off-colour Ronaldo. France won and Blanc did receive his medal, but his sending off (and Bilic’s exaggerated reaction) had denied him the chance to play in the biggest game in his country’s history.
The sublime finish – Dennis Bergkamp, Netherland 2-1 Argentina, Quarter-final
In 1997, Dutch striker Dennis Bergkamp, playing for Arsenal against Leicester, scored one of the most memorable hat-tricks ever seen in the Premier League. The trio of goals was completed with an audacious piece of skill, controlling a ball in mid-air before flicking it with his other foot to leave the defender on their backside, then maintaining perfect balance while switching feet again to fire across keeper Kasey Keller.
In 1998 he produced a similar piece of skill, but this time it was in national colours, and it was to clinch a place in the World Cup semi-final. The quarter-final between Netherlands and Argentina was tied at 1-1 with the clock running down on normal time. Frank de Boer, from inside his own half, sent a long hopeful ball upfield. There looked to be little danger, but Bergkamp ran hard towards the falling ball, trapped it in mid-air with his right foot, took another touch inside to floor his defender, Ayala, then shot precisely with the outside of his boot to beat the keeper, Roa. It would have been a great finish in any circumstances, but to do it in the final minute of a World Cup quarter-final was truly remarkable.
The golden goal – Laurent Blanc, France 1-0 (aet) Paraguay, Round of 16
French central defender Laurent Blanc was not to have the happiest finish to his home World Cup campaign (see above), but he could nevertheless reflect on the contribution he had made to his country’s triumph. Blanc had not only been a steadfast member of one of the tightest defences in the competition, he had also made a critical difference at the other end of the pitch. Blanc, indeed, had become the first player ever to achieve something in the World Cup finals.
1998 saw the introduction of the ‘golden goal’ for knockout matches. The sudden-death extra-time format was a short-lived innovation, surviving only the 2002 tournament before being discarded, but it was significant to France’s progress in 1998. They faced Paraguay in the round of 16 or, to be more precise, they faced the South American’s seemingly impassable goalkeeper Jose Luis Chilavert. Chilavert had been voted World’s Best Goalkeeper by the IFFHS in 1995 and 1997 and was well on his way to a third award in 1998. He had gained notoriety for his prowess in taking attacking free-kicks but his real value was at the back. Against France in the round-of-16 match he was utterly inspired. As the home side swarmed forward and created chance after chance, Chilavert made save after save. France simply could not get past the “impenetrable wall” put up by the South Americans, and the game looked to be heading for penalties with time running out in extra-time and the game still goalless. The dam finally broke in the 114th minute. A short cross from Pires was headed down by Trezeguet, and it found the surprising figure of Blanc running towards the edge of the six yard box. Blanc fired a first-time shot past the approaching Chilavert.
Paraguay and Chilavert were devastated, France and Blanc jubilant. France manager Aime Jacquet said of the ‘golden goal’ concept “It’s awful, but for once, the ball fell in our favour”.
The all-too rapid reality check– Scotland 1-2 Brazil, Group stage
Scotland is a relatively small country, with a population of around 5.5m. For their size, they have generally punched above their weight in football, producing great footballers such as Kenny Dalglish and Dennis Law, and a series of world-class managers including Alex Ferguson, Jock Stein and Matt Busby. Where they have perhaps punched below their weight is in their performances in World Cups. Prior to 1998 they had appeared in seven World Cup finals and failed to get past the group stage in any of them. They had come close in 1974, 1978 and 1982, failing only on goal difference, but they had never made the knock-out stages.
Would 1998 be any different? The Scots were one of the lower-ranked teams so were never going to get an easy ride in their group, but they must have groaned inwardly when they were drawn with champions Brazil (ranked #1), Norway (#7) and Morocco (#13). They must have really felt that fate was against them when they learnt that their first game was to be the tournament opener against Brazil.
It took a mere five minutes for the Scottish bubble to burst when a corner was nodded in at the near post by Cesar Sampaio. Brazil came close to adding to their lead, but in the 38th minute something unexpected happened. Scotland equalized, John Collins converting a penalty after Kevin Gallacher had gone down rather easily in the box.
Scotland held firm until calamity struck in the 74th minute. Brazil attacked down the right, and an overlapping Cafu found himself with an opportunity to flick the ball past keeper Jim Leighton. Leighton did well to block it, but the ball flew out to defender Tom Boyd who was covering back and rebounded back from him into his own goal.
The Scots performed well in their next game, coming back to draw 1-1 with Norway, but fell apart in the crucial game against Morocco, having Craig Burley sent off and conceding three goals. For the eighth time in eight (an unwanted record) they had failed to get out of their group. Will 2026 be different? We should find out soon enough.
The lucky bald head – Fabian Barthez, France
In his early days as a professional footballer Fabian Barthez had a lustrous full head of hair, but when it began thinning in his early 20s, he decided to shave it off completely. In the days before such a look was commonplace, this made Barthez stand out and he quickly became known as ‘Le Divin Chauve’ (The Divine Bald One). By 1998 Le Divin Chauve was first choice keeper for his country France and rated amongst the best in the world.
He showed this to great effect in the finals, with his team conceding just one goal in their group, then only one more in their four subsequent knockout matches. Skill was certainly a major factor, but superstition may also have played a part. It took hold early in the tournament when central defender Laurent Blanc took Barthez’s head in his hands before a match and kissed his bald pate. As the tournament progressed, other teammates had got in on the act.
Barthez took it all in good faith. An eccentric and superstitious character himself, he may well have believed it was actually lucky, and he no doubt saw that it enhanced team spirit. The end result was an historic win for France, so maybe there was something in it?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjHa-Oz_Y1c
Romanians prefer blondes – Romania 1-1 Tunisia, Group Stage
For many English fans, their main memory of the Romanian side of 1998 will be of a painful last-minute defeat in the second group match, inflicted by Chelsea’s Dan Petrescu. (Fans will also recall another last-minute defeat two years later that knocked England out of the Euros). For the rest of the world, though, the thing they remember most about the team of Hagi, Popescu and Dumitrescu in 1998 is their appearance as they took the field in their final group game vs Tunisia.
Creating one of the most striking and memorable images of any World Cup, the whole 23-man playing squad (with the exception of shaven-headed keeper Bogdan Stelea) stepped onto the pitch at the Stade de France sporting bleached blonde hair. The team had bet with manager Anghel Iordanescu that they could win their first two games – against Colombia and, of course, England. When they achieved this, their manager’s forfeit was to shave off his particularly luxuriant locks. The team’s forfeit, even though they had won the bet, was to dye their hair a yellowy shade of blonde. It may not have helped their game very much (they drew with Tunisia before exiting at the first knock-out stage) but created an image that will not be forgotten.