What with it being St George’s Day at present, I believed that it’d be a superb alternative to share 4 England performances that have been sudden and humiliating for the opposition.
England 9 Scotland 3 (fifteenth April 1961)
I first examine this recreation in a guide as a younger boy and it simply didn’t appear potential. This will likely very nicely be as a result of I used to be through the Graham Taylor period and something greater than a slim victory was out of the query for our nationwide group at the moment!
This match was the concluding recreation of the 1960/61 House Championships and was performed in entrance of 97,350 followers at Wembley Stadium. Walter Winterbottom’s males had already put 5 targets previous each Wales and Eire the earlier winter and a victory on that April afternoon would safe their thirty ninth House Championship.
England lead 3-0 on the break, with targets from Bobby Robson and two from Jimmy Greaves. Dave Mackay and Davie Wilson scored inside ten minutes of the restart to provide Scotland actual hope of getting again within the recreation. A minute later, Bryan Douglas grabbed England’s fourth objective of the afternoon.
Bobby Smith made the rating 5-2 within the seventy fifth minute which began an avalanche of targets, with 5 scored in an unbelievable ten-minute spell.
Scotland’s Pat Quinn scored inside 60 seconds of Smith to provide the scoreline some respectability for the Scots, however England would go and rating one other 4 targets.
Fulham’s Johnny Haynes scored two in three minutes, Jimmy Greaves then accomplished his hat-trick a minute later earlier than Bobby Smith added his second – and England’s ninth – within the eighty fifth minute.
With the World Cup coming across the following summer time, absolutely England’s identify could be on the Jules Rimet Trophy after a efficiency like this?
England 5 Scotland 1 (twenty fourth Could 1975)
Going into this closing match of the House Championships, Scotland have been high of the desk and solely needed to keep away from defeat and they might win the competitors. England have been out to win the championships for the fiftieth time.
England hadn’t certified for the World Cup in West Germany the earlier summer time. Scotland had certified however had been knocked out within the group levels having not misplaced a recreation. They have been the favourites to win the sport at Wembley on the ultimate showpiece of the 1974/75 season.
The hosts needed to exit and show some extent and did simply that in fashion. QPR’s Gerry Francis scored the opening objective of the sport within the fifth minute, gathering a cross from Mick Channon a superb 40 yards from objective. He took the ball previous one Scotland defender and as the remainder of the Scotland defence stood off him, struck the ball laborious into the again of the web from practically 30 yards out.
A minute later, England have been two-up with a splendidly labored breakaway objective involving Alan Ball, Gerry Francis and Kevin Keegan.
Keegan supplied a cross to the far submit which Kevin Beattie looped excessive over Scotland goalkeeper Stewart Kennedy and just below the crossbar. This was to be the Ipswich defender’s solely objective for his nation.
Colin Bell added a 3rd for England within the forty second minute earlier than Bruce Rioch scored a penalty simply earlier than half-time after a handball within the England field.
England added two additional targets after half-time, with Gerry Francis doubling his tally for the afternoon and debutant David Johnson scoring England’s fifth and closing objective.
Poland 0 England 3 (eleventh June 1986)
This recreation was most likely essentially the most important of the 4 video games that I’ll cowl at present. Defeat would have despatched England house and even a draw could not even have been sufficient to maintain England within the World Cup.
Folks wax lyrical about Bobby Robson guiding England to the 1990 World Cup semi-final however don’t usually acknowledge how hated he was throughout this a part of his time as supervisor of the nationwide group.
Robson’s England had didn’t qualify for the European Championships in France two years earlier and had carried out very badly within the first two video games of this World Cup. They began the marketing campaign with a 1-0 defeat to Portugal earlier than following this up with a goalless draw in opposition to Morrocco.
A victory was wanted and a complete one was required to try to win again the followers each on the match and at house. Enter Gary Lineker, who had scored a vastly spectacular 38 targets within the earlier league season for Everton.
The striker netted a first-half hat-trick to safe England’s passage into the Second Spherical. His first got here after a cross from the fitting by Gary Stevens within the eighth minute. Steve Hodge then supplied a pleasant cross from the left and Lineker drove the ball excessive into the roof of the web from simply exterior the six-yard field.
Lineker accomplished his hat-trick with one more objective from shut vary after Poland’s goalkeeper Josef Mlynarczyk dropped a nook within the thirty fifth minute. The ball fell to the toes of the Everton man who hit the ball between two Polish defenders on the road.
Everyone knows what occurred afterward within the competitors so we’ll depart it there.
Denmark 0 England 3 (fifteenth June 2002)
This was ‘The Golden Era’s’ first match they usually had solely simply managed to qualify for the competitors. A final-minute free kick from David Beckham in opposition to Greece within the closing qualifier gave England the purpose that was wanted to get the group on the airplane to Japan and South Korea.
It was Beckham who supplied the nook that England scored their first objective on this Second Spherical tie in opposition to the Danes, who had topped their group within the earlier spherical.
The sport was solely 5 minutes previous when the Manchester United midfielder whipped a nook to the far submit, over Danish goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen. It fell proper in entrance of Rio Ferdinand, who headed again at objective, Sorensen fumbled the ball over the road earlier than clawing it again into play and England have been within the lead.
Michael Owen made the rating 2-0 midway by the second half when he managed to manage a unfastened ball that ricocheted off Nicky Butt within the penalty space. Owen slid the ball throughout Sorensen and into the far nook of the web.
Emile Heskey accomplished the scoring shortly earlier than half-time with a first-time shot from simply exterior the field. David Beckham had management of the ball on the right-hand nook of the field and laid the ball into the trail of Heskey, who thumped the ball below Sorensen and into the again of the web.
England would exit within the subsequent spherical, shedding 2-1 to Brazil after Michael Owen gave them the lead. I usually suppose that this was England’s biggest likelihood of profitable a World Cup since 1966 as a result of if we had crushed Brazil, we might have confronted Turkey after which a poor German facet within the Closing.
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