Iconic Moments in Football No.4

8.3 seconds (yes 8.3 seconds!) was all it took for San Marino to take the lead against England in the last qualifying game for the 1994 World Cup.

England went into the game needing to win by 7 goals and hope that Holland would slip up in Poland.

Neither happened as England could only win 7-1 with four of those goals from Ian Wright and Holland beat Poland comprehensively 3-1.

The game was played in Bologna, Italy as there wasn’t a big enough stadium in San Marino for the game.  Most of England’s travelling army of fans stayed at home as qualification for the next summer’s World Cup looked virtually impossible.

In fact, only 2,378 hardy souls braved the game, purely out of loyalty rather than optimism. 

The vast majority of them watched on in shock as straight from the kick off San Marino ran at the England goal.

Stuart Pearce cut out a through-ball from a San Marino player and nudged the ball towards David Seaman in the England goal.  A momentary lapse in concentration from the both of them was chased up by Davide Gualtieri of San Marino and he poked the ball home.

England went on to win 7-1 but even the BBC weren’t bothered as when Wales were awarded a penalty in their must-win qualifier at home to Romania, the BBC switched the coverage to the match in Wales.

Instead of then going back to the game in Bologna as everyone expected, they continued to show the Wales game.  I remember this as my Dad let me stay up to watch the England game.  I couldn’t work out why the BBC didn’t go back to Bologna to show the remainder of the game there.  

In writing this piece I found out that over a hundred people complained that night to the BBC that they didn’t go back to the England game.

Graham Taylor resigned as England manager shortly after this match and Terry Venables took over the following year.  He didn’t do too badly for us, did he?!?