From the archives: England 2 - 2 Greece. 2001

-

It's time to have a look at one of David Beckham's finest performances at Old Trafford. 

Greater Manchester Football published this as part of their 'Magic Moments' series. 

At times, the soon to be former Man United number 7 was almost playing Greece on his own. No player worked harder to make sure England qualified for the 2002 World Cup.

Sven Goran Eriksson's England side were trailing the Greeks 2-1 deep into injury time and they looked destined for a potentially difficult play-off against Ukraine.

David Beckham was having none of that. He had actually failed to score from five previous free kicks, secured qualification for Japan and Korea with a dramatic goal in stoppage time. 

The memories

Despite the match taking place over 20 years ago, it is still spoken about with fondness by a many England fans. Just have a look at the scenes behind Beckham!

One England fan told us: "Beckham never deserved the criticism that he got after the sending off against Argentina in 1998 but this still felt like total redemption for him. What a player he was!"

The wider context

Despite a bad start, this was a pretty memorable qualifying campaign for England. Only a few weeks earlier, they thrashed Germany 5-1 in what is often considered to be the best England performance of the modern era. It's a shame that the World Cup dreams were ultimately ended by Brazil but the road to get there was great fun.

Popular posts from this blog

Win for United in Ruud's last match as Interim Manager

-
Image
Manchester United 3 - 0 Leicester City Bruno Fernandes celebrated his 250th appearance for Manchester United by delivering an impressive performance as Ruud van Nistelrooy concluded his time as interim manager with a 3-0 victory over Leicester in the Premier League. Author - Olivia T Fernandes opened the scoring and later netted a second goal that was officially credited as an own goal by Victor Kristiansen. He also assisted Alejandro Garnacho for a brilliant third goal, helping United secure their third win in four matches since the departure of Erik ten Hag as manager. The home fans serenaded Van Nistelrooy at the final whistle . The Dutchman can be pleased with the return of three wins and a draw from four games, even if United remain in the bottom half of the table. He now leaves Old Trafford after it has been confirmed that he won't form a part of the new manager's coaching staff.  Super Reds News Post Match Review: United 3 - 0 Leicester Fernandes shines for Ruud
Read more

PL News: Ten Hag sacked by Man United

-
Image
There has been a managerial change at Old Trafford. Manchester United have sacked manager Erik ten Hag due to the club's disappointing start to the season. Author - Olivia T Ten Hag's last match ended in a 2-1 defeat against West Ham , leaving the club in 14th place in the Premier League with only three wins from their first nine matches. The Red Devils are also 21st of 36 teams in the Europa League league stage, having drawn their three opening matches. Club sources from the club have reportedly suggested that this was a difficult decision but a unanimous one among all the key decision makers.  The club exercised a one-year extension in Ten Hag's contract after their FA Cup final win against Manchester City in May . However, just over three months later, he has been dismissed. United currently sit on 11 points after nine games, marking their second-lowest tally in the Premier League at this stage (only slightly better than the 10 points they had in the 2019-20 season)
Read more

EFL Cup: United progress after difficult few days

-
Image
Manchester United 5 - 2 Leicester City  Ruud van Nistelrooy began his tenure as Manchester United’s interim manager on a high, with his team cruising past Leicester to secure a spot in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals. Author - Olivia T Just two days after stepping in following Erik ten Hag's dismissal , Van Nistelrooy’s call for an exciting performance was more than delivered by his players. Casemiro got the party started with a stunning long-range strike and went on to score again before half-time. After an initial header rattled off both posts, the Brazilian reacted quickly to slot the ball in from eight yards out. Alejandro Garnacho contributed his fifth goal of the season , and captain Bruno Fernandes had a bit of luck with his free-kick, which deflected off Leicester’s James Justin and into the net. Defensively, United weren’t flawless. Some familiar issues allowed Bilal El Khannouss and Conor Coady to pull goals back for Leicester before the break. Coady’s finish, a firs
Read more