On This Day – 9th June
Paul Ince wore the England captain’s armband for the first time on this day in 1993, but it was in a match that England fans will want to have erased from their memories!
England flew over to America for a four-team tournament in what was supposed to be a rehearsal for the World Cup that was to be hosted there the following year. The four competing team were the USA, England, Brazil and reigning World champions Germany.
Brazil beat USA 2-0 in the opening game of the tournament on 6th June. Three days later, England played the hosts USA at the Foxboro Stadium in Boston. It did not go well for Graham Taylor’s men as USA outplayed them and won 2-0.
Tom Dooley headed in from close range three minutes before half time to give the hosts the lead. It went from bad to worse as Alexei Lalas jumped highest in the 72nd minute to power in a header past Chris Woods to make it 2-0.
The following day’s newspapers were not afraid to hold back on criticism of Taylor and the England side. The Sun went with the powerful headline of ‘Yanks 2, Planks 0’.
In the last two matches, England drew 1-1 with Brazil and lost 2-1 to Germany. They then blew the chance to qualify for the 1994 World Cup by losing to Norway and Holland in crucial qualifying games later in the year.
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