England’s World Cup exits and the men blamed for them are etched deep into the psyche of our national game.
West Germany, Peter Bonetti and Gerd Muller 1970; Argentina and Diego Maradona 1986; West Germany and Chris Waddle 1990; Argentina and David Beckham 1998. And then came Brazil, Ronaldinho and David Seaman on June 21 2002.
Manager Sven Goran Eriksson and England’s Golden Generation had already exorcised one ghost of their past when Beckham’s penalty beat Argentina in the group stage. In the first knockout round they had eased through against Denmark, winning 3–0 with all the goals coming in the first half.
