Iconic Moments in Football No.32
On 22nd June 1994, hosts USA faced Colombia in Los Angeles. It was a game that would have such severe consequences, with Colombian Andres Escobar losing his life a few days later.
The US had drawn their opening group game 1-1 against Switzerland and the Colombians lost 3-1 to Romania.
Four days later, Switzerland beat Romania 4-1, leaving the later game of USA and Colombia having a crucial bearing on how the group would pan out.
This World Cup was the last to have 24 nations competing in it, with the top two team from each group guaranteed a place in the knockout stages. The best four of the six third-placed teams would also qualify.
As things stood going into the USA vs Colombia match, Switzerland lead the group with four points, Romania had three points in second and USA and Colombia had one point. Both teams needed a win.
Pele had even predicted before the tournament that Colombia would win the tournament. Were expectations too high in Colombia? It’s hard to say for certain but this must have been on the minds of the Colombians as they took to the field at the Rose Bowl.
On 35 minutes, United States broke down the left wing. Sheffield Wednesday’s John Harkes dribbled down the wing and hit a low through-ball towards his team-mate Ernie Stewart.
Colombian defender Andres Escobar stuck his foot out to intercept the cross but inadvertently put the ball past his goalkeeper Oscar Cordoba.
Ernie Stewart doubled the host’s lead just after half-time and despite substitute Adolfo Valencia scoring in the last few seconds, Colombia lost 2-1. The South Americans were bottom of their group, completely going against expectations.
In the final round of matches, Romania beat USA 1-0 to win the group. Colombia beat Switzerland 2-0 but still finished bottom of the group and were going home early.
Five days after returning from the Finals, Andres Escobar went for an evening out with friends. At around 3am the following morning, he was approached by three men, two of them had guns and shot Escobar.
He was rushed to hospital but sadly died 45 minutes later. The gunman who killed Escobar was given a 43 year prison sentence, which was reduced to 26 years in 2001.
Escobar’s funeral brought 120,000 mourners to pay their respects to the centre back. A statue of Escobar was unveiled in his birth town Medellin.
Andres Escobar will never be forgotten by the people of Colombia and his own goal at the 1994 World Cup remains an enduring image of that tournament.
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