FRANCE 98 – Match Summary n°55
* Argentina defeats England in penalty kicks (4 – 3)
England’s World Cup ended in yet another penalty shoot-out heartbreak here on Tuesday after a sensational 2-2 draw with Argentina. Argentinian goalkeeper Carlos Roa saved David Batty’s fifth and final penalty to book Argentina’s quarter-final date with Holland after Paul Ince and Hernan Crispo had both failed to convert their sides’ second spotkicks.
The result brought back bitter memories of the penalty shoot-outs that cost England a place in the final of both the Italia 90 World Cup and the 1996 European Championships. But the disappointment was tempered by pride at the way coach Glenn Hoddle’s young lions out-competed, and often outclassed, the highly-rated Argentinians, despite playing most of the second half and extra-time with ten men following David Beckham’s sending-off.
” It is a bitter, bitter pill to take again. We are distraught, “ Hoddle said. But the England coach had nothing but praise for his players. ” Everything went against us. It is a night to be proud – I don’t know if it was destiny or not. Even with ten men we defended like lions, “ he said.
Argentina’s Daniel Passarella said his side had been given the toughest possible 2nd round test and could not hide his delight at having come through it. ” To send the English packing is wonderful. Everyone here was cheering for us, “ he said.
Argentina started the match as favourites and the form book looked set to be respected when Gabriel Batistuta gave them the lead with a sixth minute penalty, his fifth goal of France 98. But England fought back with an Alan Shearer penalty and a stunning solo strike by Michael Owen and they could have killed off the match before Javier Zanetti equalised for Argentina on the stroke of half-time.
The match took a dramatic twist two minutes into the second half when Argentinian skipper Diego Simeone clattered into Beckham from behind and left him sprawling face down on the grass. As Simeone walked back past him, Beckham lifted his foot to kick him right in front of the Danish referee Kim Nielsen, who had no option but to pull out his red card. ” I don’t deny that the sending off cost us dearly, “ admitted Hoddle.
The red card should have been Argentina’s cue to go for the jugular. But for most of the second half it was England that had the edge. Alan Shearer’s 52nd minute free kick produced a fine save from Carlos Roa and Sol Campbell even had the ball in the back of the net ten minutes before time. The Tottenham defender had reached the touchline in a frenzy of celebration before he realised that his backpost header had been ruled out because of Shearer’s foul on Roa.
With Gabriel Batistuta muzzled by Tony Adams, Ariel Ortega appeared to be Argentina’s only chance of unlocking the English defence. The Valencia playmaker’s sliced through a crowd of defenders in the 57th minute to set up Claudio Lopez, whose shot was deflected wide by Sol Campbell. Three minutes later, Ortega initiated another move that finished with Shearer desperately clearing Lopez’s cross off the line as Nelson Vivas waited to pounce.
But that was as close as they were to come to scoring and when the match went into extra-time the English looked physically strong. A Paul Ince shot flashed inches wide of the Argentinian upright in the first period. Then, with less than two minutes to play, Tony Adams got his head with Paul Merson’s free-kick only to see his effort bounce wide.
Argentina’s equaliser in first-half injury time was a severe blow for an England, who should have killed off the match in a blistering half-hour. Zanetti sidefooted the ball home from 14 metres after an Argentinian free-kick routine completely bamboozled the English defence and left the Inter Milan defender completely unmarked on the edge of the wall erected in anticipation of a Juan Veron shot.
Owen whose electrifying pace frightened the life out of the Argentinian defence all night, ran half the length of the field to put England 2-1 ahead in the 16th minute after both sides had scored from early penalties. The 18-year-old Liverpool striker’s run started in the centre circle after he was fed by David Beckham. After beating Jose Chamot for pace, he waltzed past Roberto Ayala and fired the ball high past Carlos Roa for possible the best goal of the tournament.
Batistuta was instrumental in winning the penalty that put him joint top of the World Cup scoring charts with Italy’s Christian Vieri. The Fiorentina striker’s flick put Simeone in behind the England defence. The Argentinian skipper touched the ball past the outcoming David Seaman and fell over the England keeper. The decision by Danish referee Kim Neilson briefly threatened to spark fighting between the unsegregated English and Argentinian fans behind Seaman’s goal. But things settled down when Alan Shearer put England level three minutes later from an even more controversial penalty. Bursting through on the left Owen waited until he was closed down by Roberto Ayala before taking a headlong dive. TV replays showed the defender made no contact.
With the Argentinians stunned by Owen’s strike, England poured forward in a bid to seize control of the match. Paul Ince’s powerful 30-metre volley flew just over the bar in the 18th minute and Owen threatened to repeat his solo goal with another powerful run in the 32nd minute only to see his shot deflected to safety by Ayala.
Paul Scholes then squandered a wonderful chance to put England two goals clear. The Manchester United midfielder timed his run perfectly to meet Shearer’s flick only to sidefoot the ball wide of the post from less than eight yards. It was a miss that ultimately cost England everything.