England 0-1 Italy (1997) WCQ

England suffer their first setback under Glenn Hoddle as Italy beat them 1-0 at Wembley in February 1997 in a World Cup qualifier thanks to a goal from Gianfranco Zola. Matt Le Tissier is handed a rare starting place for England's first ever loss at Wembley in a World Cup match - a result that at the time suggests the Italians will go on to win the group, but things don't pan out that way...

[@JamesRichardTaylor]

Zola was probably third choice for his position then. Italy arguably had the best squad in the world then. Insane depth in almost every position.

[@peterjordan12]

I'm Italian and I was there that night, the old Wembley. Good game. Great pass by Costacurta and an even greater finish by Zola. A difficult one to score, but Zola did it.

[@Fernandocatan]

Che gran goal!!

[@Fernandocatan]

Peruzzi era un gran portiere. Che bella squadra avevamo!

[@GerardoIo-xf2zq]

@whatwerepeatedlydo e soprattutto parla in inglese su una partita dell’Italia? 😂

[@haalandoates]

Marvelous player. What an Italian team this was. DiLivio, Costacurta, Peruzzi, DiMatteo, Casiraghi. So much quality, so many warriors. Top, top pros.

[@dedysusanto29]

I was 13 years old, azzurri fans from Indonesia...very very great memories !

[@chagchannel.]

Nonton di anteve ye bro hahaha

[@tecoita1980]

I was 16 years old, the only Italian in an all english pub... great memories!

[@cddb5408]

I believe England topped that group though lol

[@jovidbodurkhonov7623]

@@cddb5408 Yes but the fact was that Italy didn’t lose both matches against England

[@cddb5408]

@@jovidbodurkhonov7623 They still lost 2-0 vs England in the middle of those 2 games during Tournoi de France 1997 which England won and Italy came last in. Besides the 0-0 in Rome may as well have been a defeat for Italy as it was the last group game and Italy needed to win. If England needed the win maybe they would've tried harder to get it but obviously settled for the draw.

[@cddb5408]

@Ye Winn But they didn't have to win in Rome it was the last group game, Italy needed to win and didn't, England only needed to draw and did (plus IanWright hit the post at the end after rounding the keeper). I would prefer to win the game that wins a trophy like the 2-0 game and do enough vs Italy in the WC qualifying group which is what England did during those 3 games they won or drew the games that mattered more.

[@cddb5408]

@Ye Winn Convenient to say that when you finish bottom. Every team who entered wanted to win that 1997 competition until they didn't then it's convenient to say well it's not a WC or a Euro's. Italy, France & Brazil could've just arranged normal friendlies instead of entering that tournament and there wouldn't have been official squads for it like there was if it was just friendly games. England had a great Euro96 unlucky not to win it and Tournoi de France was a battle of 4 elite teams who were all ranked in the world's Top7 at the time which featured so many well known legends of the game from all 4 teams to see who comes out on top....and it was England and because it was England you say it wasn't special but they did more to win that than for example Portugal did to win that bad Euro2016 new format where they only played easy teams and still were unconvincing and rewarded for failing in their mediocre group somehow with easier path than they would've got for finishing 1st or 2nd. Besides in recent WorldCup's Italy have been terrible. And apart from WC2006 Italy haven't won those tournaments you mentioned (WC or Euro's) since 39 years ago so have you only seen your team win one major trophy that you can remember? It's not so much about history when you've not been alive to witness much of it.

[@innojuve1985]

0:36 incredible assist by costacurta

[@MrGentileg]

I was at the game in the Italian end. A wonderful day the Azzurri. I am pretty sure Cannavaro made his first competitive appearance that night and marked Shearer out if the game. Hoddle showed his lack of class at the end with Maldini having to chase after him to shake his hand. An unforgettable night.

[@amann7166]

It was one of cannavaros first caps for itlay. English media made fun of him before the game, because he went against shearer, and the English people thought shearer was the best striker in the world (which he wasnt, the best was of course ronaldo, but he was a distant second alongside batistuta). Then cannavaro played great against shearer

[@P1mpMyBr1de]

Zola goal was fantastic. Even Messi would be proud of that

[@harrydrake4173]

Goalie should've done better. Walker was trash.

[@mohdnasri5282]

Ian Walker in goal and Le Tissier in starting lineup...very rare...but le tissier played well that night...

[@cecerchio]

Love the irony that Zola scored while they were singing "football is coming home". 24 years on, they're still jinxing it with that song.

[@makishev904]

On Sunday - "football's coming home" or "football's coming to Rome"?

[@bigmofarah9084]

The song isn't a reference to winning trophies, it's a reference to Euro 96 which had the tagline 'football comes home'.

[@dharmaguru1]

This was a sting in the tail for England's 1998 WCQ campaign

[@psifla99]

Three wins and a draw after this. Eight scored, none conceded.

[@aalkhalaf1]

A game always in the memory. England pressed hard, missed chances and lost to Zola's goal. Italy had a very solid defence back then.

[@aisasia7210]

@Hindo Budh Kush today..Bonucci, Chiellini, the Buffon..say what?! Its NO WAY comparable with Baresi, Maldini, Nesta, Gentile, Facchetti, Vierchowod etc..

[@amann7166]

The attack was much better in the 90s. I never saw anything like this, they had 10 world class stikers during the 90s

[@TH7]

5:10 that is world class goal-keeping by Peruzzi on Shearer, not many people are brave enough to go up against Shearer like that, man was hard as fuck!

[@recruitmentch]

Not many people in the English league. As with all English players, they usually were pussies vs decent opposition at international level.

[@vandamme84]

Peruzzi was very good in that kind of saves :)

[@MatthewCaligari]

As an Australian English supporter, wow, just wow.. This seems like just yesterday!! I remember getting up at 5:30am to listen to this match live on BBC radio (in Melbourne Australia) we didn't have cable tv in our area by this stage. The return leg 0-0 draw was probably some of the best 0-0 football I've ever seen. The ball was on the ground for most of the game, the atmosphere was electric! Back when the side was a group of men on a mission, not like the shambles the current group of boys of a "squad" we have! This English side deserved to go very far at France 98. The slip up to Romania in the group stage meant the round of 16 meeting with Argentina, Beckham red carded, the rest is history. England's best chance of winning a world cup was France 98. Glen was such a great manager.

[@nicky29031977]

"Deserved to go very far in France 98?!!! " Don't be daft...England were rightly beaten by Romania who were very average indeed! Are you trying to imply they would have beaten Holland, Germany, Brazil or eventual winners and hosts France? Please talk some sense. Anyway with a name like Caligari shouldn't you be supporting Italy?

[@MatthewCaligari]

+nicky29031977 I'm not Italian mate, I'm Maltese, we fucken hate the Italians at Football. And yes, I do believe we would have beaten Holland & Brazil.

[@nicky29031977]

Got a chip on your shoulder over Italians have you Malteser...I'd love to hear the reason why?

[@csfb.c.f.c5416]

Best chance 1990 and euro 1996

[@haregeorgeson4511]

Matthew Caligari : it's yet such a surprise hearing Malteses can afford to hate anyone, at football or anywhere... 😁 "Get back, Jo".

[@ismailniyaz5167]

I love how England are punting long balls up to to Le Tissier. He was just born in the wrong time. Probably one of the most cultured centre forwards in his time, but the English just didn't know how they could possibly use his excellent technique to good effect.

[@carolinehirst4921]

If someone like Hoddle who was accused of similar weaknesses couldn't do it who could? What was more annoying was Hoddle told Le Tissier to go out in England B game and show me why I should pick you for 1998 World Cup. He scored a hat trick and still didn't get picked. You thought then, no matter what he does he will never be picked.

[@SE-zl5he]

not really. If he was born 10-20 years later, he wouldn't have the fitness to play professional football

[@jamesmason8436]

@Ye Winn silly comment.

[@jamesmason8436]

Tbf this is highlights of chances and not fully representative of general play. I was at this game, and many others under Hoddle, and England didn't lump long balls very often. Under him they played an irritatingly slow passing game. Also, LeTissier played for Southampton - he was well use to long-ball football.

[@danyoutube7491]

Zola was on fine form here. It's a shame in retrospect that the golden boy at the time, Del piero, was selected because he had such a lack of impact at France 98. Instead Zola's only two tournaments were USA 94 where he got a few minutes of play before being wrongly sent off and then Euro 96 where he missed a penalty. This game suggests he might have been in better form that season, though of course it was still many months before the tournament would begin.

[@XEpikurX]

I agree!

[@SE-zl5he]

@@ernest72 del piero was one of the best players in the world at the time. Nothing stupid about choosing him.

[@jamesmason8436]

Wasn't Del Piero who took his place in the squad - was a resurgent Roberto Baggio, who came back from the international wilderness following a great season for Bologna.

[@erwinkaka9151]

Zola incredible

[@SK-yn1fn]

Remember when WCQ were intense

[@robwilliamson6181]

England missing Seaman Gazza Adams and Sheringham

[@bigmofarah9084]

Atmosphere was a lot more intense back then. When Italy come to Wembley in a few months for the Euro qualifiers it won't sound like that.

[@vidytoar4647]

February 12th 1997

[@gordonferrar7782]

I'd like to go to an italian training session they seem impossible to get behind always track runners and never lose their man. Builds such a foundation if at least you have tactical awareness and discipline. There should always be a balance between attacking flair and defensive responsibilities. Probably why Brazil continue to falter in recent years. In almost every year in the premiership the team that concedes the most shots on goal inevitably concedes the most goals and thats the team that goes down a team defends as a team cedes possession as a team.

[@TheAlkebulanTrust]

Gianfranco Zola doing what Gianfranco Zola The Little Italian Magician does best. What a great era...facts or undeniable facts?

[@DannyBoy777777]

Big mistake by Peruzzi in this game he was lucky. He also made a mistake in the Rome return leg, but Ian Wright hit the post from a tight angle.

[@lkjs-si2sr]

Back when Italy had a team

[@lkjs-si2sr]

@@dariodestasio7224 still seems far from those days, but yes

[@dangiambrone7350]

We had great defenders and forwards, but we were not a great team. Our central midfielders were decent, not great. We rarely bossed games, instead relying on a solid defense and individual magic from our forwards. In my lifetime, only the 1990 and 2006 teams were truly great. It's different today, we are stacked with talent in central midfield, but don't have any World class players in attack (Zaniolo is very promising) and aside from the aging Chiellini, we don't have any truly great central defenders.

[@CrociatoAzzurro]

Italy didn't lose that Group based on 2 Results to England (Win/ Draw). It was disgusting 0-0 Draws in Poland and Georgia that hurt them terribly and then they had to go to a Playoff with Russia. Which they Won, thankfully. Whereas England, to their credit, won their 4 respective matches versus the Poles and Georgians.

[@plumanuspranks4899]

Deary me. Ian Walker, what a keeper 👏

[@ayeyeb4083]

No way, they were actually singing that song during the attack that led to Zola´s goal! Lol, it´s their jinx anthem!

[@chiselcheswick5673]

I cant tell you how much I detest England fans who keep using that phrase or singing that song... talk about living in the past. It puts me off watching England these days with all the plastic fans jumping the band wagon.

[@luishernandezblonde]

It's strange that how Italy, then one of the best teams in Europe, beat England easily in Wembley yet failed to get the direct World Cup ticket and had to look for a playoff position where Italy overcame Russia to qualify.

[@sammigismar5864]

Zola scores for italy, zola win a cup winners cup for Chelsea and he score and zola didnt participated ini world cup 1998, Sad.

[@SE-zl5he]

that;s because Baggio and Del Piero were better.

[@stephanebranday4293]

Too many great players in Italy

[@vandamme84]

Maldini senior picked Roberto Baggio instead of Zola. The most disappointing player for Italy in the world cup was Del Piero. He got injured in the final of the champions league against Real Madrid and he didn't recover well for the competition. In the 97/98 Del Piero had his peak and never reached again that level. It was a shame that Baggio deserved to play more than Del Piero in 98 world Cup and for sure also Zola deserved to be in the team

[@andreasilvestri1450]

Peruzzi, Ferrara, Maldini, Cannavaro e Costacurta, when for win the game you just have to score one goal! Forza Italia, torneremo grandi!

[@aisasia7210]

No amico, non lo torneremo più...non così..si è rotto qualcosa. Del resto, avevamo Baggio e guarda come l'abbiamo trattato(ovunque altrove sarebbe stato un monumento nazionale): abbiamo offeso gli déi del calcio, e gli dèi del calcio ci hanno punito, ce la meritiamo tutta questa miseria attuale .

[@andreasilvestri1450]

@@aisasia7210 speriamo di riuscirci... La storia è ciclica e la speranza è l'ultima a morire, comunque sempre a testa alta e fieri della nostra storia, così si può progettare un presente ed un futuro di rinascita!

[@mikjon67]

Was that a "yes" or "gol" from the crowd when Zola scored???

[@dharmaguru1]

3:51 Good effort by Pearce! But he shot straight at Peruzzi..

[@dharmaguru1]

Thanks for the upload friend.

[@Matt_LeTissier]

Poor Walker and Le God became the scapegoat of the defeat and they merely got one or two call-up again since then

[@psifla99]

Walker got named in the Euro 2004 squad, possibly after a fine season for Leicester. That might have been it for him.

[@psifla99]

Le Tiss was unlucky in the sense that for him, and indeed the likes of Kinkladze, Curcic and Juninho to enjoy thriving, you had to adapt the team to suit their needs or build the team around them entirely. They weren’t just cogs in an established system. Fans loved them because they were exciting players, but they weren’t oriented towards team roles.

[@Matt_LeTissier]

@@psifla99 Agree. Le Tiss should have moved to big clubs well already if he enjoyed adapting to new role and changes. Quite natural the way things happened so.

[@pauld5723]

@@psifla99 There were also fans who didn't like Le Tissier at all, and seemed almost angry that he was a luxury, or ''lazy'' player. He had undeniable skill though, and would have surely been handy as a sub, especially in tournaments, where his penalty taking ability would have come in handy. It's crazy to think that he is perhaps more popular now, because of his political opinions. Good luck to the guy though.

[@freespirit4706]

I had that Italy shirt. England fan by the way. 😁

[@softlystroll]

The spanner in the works was Georgia.

[@dharmaguru1]

England played well but lost at Wembley.

[@lucagi1024]

England sing coming home in 1997 ??? My gosh . ...😄😁😄😁😄😁😄👍

[@That_Random_Bloke]

Yeah it’s a song from Euro 96. “Football Comes Home” was UEFA’s slogan for the tournament held in England. Hence “Three Lions” had the lyric “it’s coming home”. It was referring to the tournament, not any trophy.

[@onlyweatherlol93]

Unreal defensive display from Italy. They love a 1-0 win against England 😅 one of the few international sides I don't look forward to England facing...

[@Iron-Bridge]

Back in the day when the ball was heavy and players did not understand the concept of playing in smaller spaces like Lionel Messi.

[@recruitmentch]

Zola scored just as the drunk plebs were singing 'it's coming home' 😂

[@jamesmason8436]

Yeah, how dare the home support chant or sing songs. I much prefer it when they sit silently and occasionally applaud. That's what all fans should do.

[@recruitmentch]

@@jamesmason8436 I don't think you quite got my piss take, but ok.

[@gunnyakdo1653]

england and italy in 1998 had competitive teams and im turkish from germany just saying

[@peloquin1979]

Gunny Akdo There should be at least another era when both teams will be at this level again. It usually works out that way for most teams.

[@oldskoolmusicnostalgia]

Yeah the evening a young Cannavaro kept Shearer quiet... two brilliant teams though, England were much more watchable in the 1990s than they are today (Italy too)

[@XEpikurX]

"England were much more watchable in the 1990s than they are today (Italy too)" ANTWORTEN 2 100 % true!

[@jamesmason8436]

@@oldskoolmusicnostalgia apart from when Taylor was England manager in the '90s. Those were three horrible years.

[@thefourthchairman4151]

Yeah but I remembered it was italy who choked in that group, needing playoff against russia to qualify to france 98

[@SE-zl5he]

they dropped points against Georgia and Poland (the easy games)

[@iamtman1]

They still qualified for 98 and played better than England in that w cup too.

[@jamesmason8436]

@@iamtman1 I don't think Italy played better than England at that WC. Both out early after tough draws in the knockouts.

[@garethhook9972]

I was 17,saw this on the pup

[@gerry6420]

Football was better then.... defenses weren’t as good. Players a little more time. Better games

[@SE-zl5he]

defences were way better back then

[@micletiss7]

Le god almost scores...

[@carolinehirst4921]

He never played for England again. He was made the scapegoat.

[@SE-zl5he]

not much of a god then

[@CatoMinor]

Magic box...

[@user-zv1sq1gh2g]

ايطاليا دائما كعبها عالي علي انجلترا...

[@innojuve1985]

على اوروبا كلها.

[@onthe4572]

We still qualified out of this group though!

[@richardp1156]

Remember it well. Bad night out.

[@SiBanstead89]

Although Le Tissier probably deserved his England debut and was overdue at the time, he should have received it in a friendly not v Italy in a World Cup Qualifier.

[@jamesmason8436]

That wasn't his debut. Was his last cap, however.

[@SiBanstead89]

@@jamesmason8436 Ahh apologies

[@marinkozina2893]

As so many times before we show that we are space shuttle for England... Who won only one wc on their home soil...

[@That_Random_Bloke]

True, but we won in Le Tournoi that summer (1997) and won that World Cup qualifying group. But I take your point, Italy have certainly had the better of our matches in recent years

[@iamtman1]

4-1 Italy!

[@mandala9118]

19' zola

[@TessaPadova]

Magic Box

[@jameshunter7303]

Italy did their Italy thing and ended up in the play offs cos they couldn’t beat the minnows in the group

[@fra204]

Che squadra che avevamo!

[@gordonirvine726]

Ian Walker was shite to be fair to him

[@abel99215]

Is it just me or the "it's coming home" song brings you hard luck? 🤔😂

[@jamesmason8436]

Great song from a great era of football.

[@giuseppeachilli8180]

Back to the time we had a great squad. Now we are shit

[@user-rw4vf4ww6l]

هدف زولا ما انساه ابدا اتذكره وانا صغير

[@BlackCrowNavajo]

what I like about Italy's defense - they never humble themselves with this cheesy trick called "artificial off-side".

[@andreagaetani7808]

0:37 Rete di Zola.

[@gryff6823]

00:10 Handball.🖐🏻👍🏻

[@krzsztofzbojny-ni9zg]

No to był mecz 🏟 wielkie ale piła kopana

[@gendengwong4126]

ingat saat nonton bersama kakak

[@soumeneconomics]

I was at class xii..... Remember this match, was supporting England 😄

[@gezzarandom]

I remember.Zola got dogs abuse for this as he just joined Chelsea at the time.

[@jamesmason8436]

No he didn't. Everyone in England loves Zola, and still do.

[@nermincosic3698]

The zola

[@dagnedagnedagnedagne2013]

Una volta sapevamo giocare a calcio

[@nicolacorongiu5413]

Un po di pazienza. Talvolta occorre toccare il fondo per poter ripartire. Ad Euro 2020 faremo già un'ottima figura, anche se non credo sia per ora il caso di pensare al bersaglio grosso

[@Ian-gn2ly]

IT'S COMING TO ROME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@user-tb6cy2oc4r]

Calm down, you haven’t even qualified for the last two world cups 😂

[@sermedbayati2117]

Froza Italia Italy💪💪💪

[@TIGRE979]

ANOTHER DEFEAT FOR ENGLAND AGAINST ITALY 😂😂😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@user-tb6cy2oc4r]

England beat italy twice in a row in 2023. 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@TIGRE979]

@@user-tb6cy2oc4r 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 ON A GROUP STAGE AGAINST TEAM C 🤣🤣🤣🤣WHEN IT DOESN'T COUNT 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@TIGRE979]

@@user-tb6cy2oc4r 1990-2012-2020 = NOT GROUP STAGES 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@TIGRE979]

@@user-tb6cy2oc4r HOW MANY WORLD CUPS AND EUROS DOES ENGLAND HAS EVER WON COMPARED TO ITALY 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@TIGRE979]

@@user-tb6cy2oc4r AT GROUP STAGE AGAINST TEAM C 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@ilromanista1051]

Italia > England