For 20 seconds, the nation held its breath as England's World Cup destiny hung in the balance.
Needing only to draw in the cauldron of Rome's Olympic stadium, the hourglass was down to the last grains of sand in added time as Ian Wright skipped past Italian goalkeeper Angelo Peruzzi, only for his finish to hit the post from a tight angle. Ten-man Italy broke upfield, and from Alessandro del Piero's cross, Christian Vieri headed agonisingly wide – and the Azzurri were condemned to a play-off against Russia.
While the rest of us dived behind the sofa, England keeper David Seaman stayed upright to watch Vieri's header sail close enough to his post to strip the paint, insisting: “Hand on heart, I always felt it was going wide.
