Throwback to a legendary sporting moment at Old Trafford

England v Greece 2001

It was one of David Beckham's finest performances for his country. At times, the Man United and Real Madrid midfielder was almost playing Greece alone. No player worked harder to make sure England qualified for the 2002 World Cup.

Author - Jamie P

The wider context

Sven Goran Eriksson's England side were trailing the Greeks 2-1 deep into injury time and they looked destined for a potentially difficult play-off against Ukraine.

David Beckham was having none of that. He had failed to score from five previous free kicks, and secured qualification for Japan and Korea with a dramatic goal in stoppage time. 

Despite a bad start, this turned out to be a pretty memorable qualifying campaign for England. Only a few weeks earlier, they thrashed Germany 5-1. This is considered the best England performance of the modern era. It's a shame that the World Cup dreams were ultimately ended by Brazil a few months later but the road to get there was great fun. 

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Do you remember?

Many England fans still speak with great fondness about this match. Old Trafford sees drama all the time as the home of Manchester United but this was definitely up there as one of its greatest matches. 

Olivia T, an England and Manchester United fan, told us: "Beckham never deserved the criticism that he got after the red card against Argentina in 1998 but this still felt like total redemption for him. What a player he was!"

William, another England fan, added: "This was not a great England performance, but throughout the match, we showed great character. It was fitting that David Beckham secured the all-important point."

Peter was in attendance at the match. He added: "I have always wondered what the Germans made of it. The irony was that Germany could only manage a goalless home draw against Finland. Amazingly, they nearly made it through by default. Thank goodness for Beckham. I wouldn't have been confident against Ukraine."

 

YouTuber golokante8321 commented "I don’t think people understand how well David played in that match, even before his free kick. If you have the chance, watch his individual highlights. It’s one of the best individual performances I’ve ever seen." 

Another YouTuber on the same video added: "Even his most iconic moment in an England shirt, possibly his whole career, and he still takes the time to credit Teddy Sherringham's role in it, despite being unnoticed by almost everyone else."