England 2-0 Cameroon (1991)

Gloves are the order of the night as Cameroon visit a freezing Wembley for a friendly in February 1991. The match is always going to struggle to rival the dramatic World Cup quarter final meeting between the side the previous July and Cameroon lack the same attacking spark they showed in the World Cup (I couldn't find a decent chance for them going through the original match highlights). The match marks Ian Wright's international debut, but strike partner Gary Lineker is again the English match winner with both goals. Includes the post-match thoughts of Lineker, Graham Taylor, Bryan Robson and Jimmy Hill.

[@melvingarvey6484]

I attended this game. The coldest football match ive ever been to in my life !! All i wore was my England shirt. Gazzamania still at its peak !! A quiet debut for Ian Wright. ( Inever thought Taylor really trusted him or gave him a proper run when he deserved it ).

[@dazzajim]

I remember him having a quiet night, but from this clip he got an assist for the penalty, and was right behind Lineker for the 2nd goal ... as well as linking up well with Gazza in the first half quite well... Wright and Lineker were a bit too similar to play together I think, and Lineker wasn’t going to lose his place any time soon...

[@adamw2911]

@@dazzajim My own personal opinion was that Wright was just short of the standard required at international football. An excellent club player.

[@dazzajim]

@@adamw2911 I thought he just started to feel comfortable under Glenn Hoddle - a sign that Taylor’s tactics were awful at England standard. Wright just needed the right platform.

[@Aerojet01]

@@adamw2911 In the end, he lost motivation after so many empty promises.

[@cotswold5213]

I was at this game....easily the coldest I have ever been at a match....and I have been to a LOT of games over the last 40 years or so....I'll stay at home & watch it on tv with a few tins now when the weather is like that....the enthusiasm of youth eh!

[@waynenorth272]

Rob, it’s Roy here. I was at the match with you, Mike and Jason. It wasn’t just the coldest I’ve ever been at a match, it’s the coldest I’ve ever been full stop. At the end of the game I remember standing up from my seat and finding I couldn’t walk as my legs had literally gone numb. Happy days!

[@cotswold5213]

@@waynenorth272 I think you've got the wrong person mate. I was with my brother, Nick, and a couple of other mates. I have no idea who 'Roy Mike & Jason' might be - sorry. It was unbelievably cold though eh!!

[@waynenorth272]

@@cotswold5213 Sorry, mistaken identity. I went with a Swindon fan called Rob. So there must’ve been at least two Wiltshire lads called Rob at the game! Swindon did well today 2-1, mind you Oxford had lost the plot by the end.

[@cotswold5213]

@@waynenorth272 Oh yeh, we are everywhere 😉 YES - I'm in West Oxon, so NOTHING in football beats this for me!!!!

[@thewomble1509]

If I remember correctly, the Cameroon teams shirts got lost in transit and Mitre stepped in so they could play the game.

[@moreblack]

Of course they'd invite Cameroon to play them in the middle of winter. Poor guys could barely run to stop from shivering lol

[@MarknoblesAcidhouseparty]

ian wright football shirt programme brought me here

[@afri.egzabhire9803]

Hi, me too.

[@DirtyBoySingToGod]

Seriously freezing cold night that night at Wembley. The weather doesn't really come across on the TV, but outside of the stadium there was some seriously heavy snow around for the UK. I think Cameroon didn't really turn up because they were having to endure that in football kit only. I wouldn't have wanted to be out there, the stands were cold enough being wrapped up in a big coat etc haha. Pretty dull match that night.

[@TheRoger1978]

The lighting seemed so dim at the old Wembley, and very Smokey. That’s how I remember it when I watched England there in 1993.

[@jj9749]

wasn't Roger Milla on the bench wearing a scarf from his trip to Oxford University a few days before, and he refused to play because he wanted an extra appearance fee?

[@kbertan]

Who's here to see the goal Lineker nicked from Wrighty 🤣

[@r4h4al]

Yeah he mentioned it on MOTD yesterday.

[@lewisclark1122]

I was there! My first ever live sports game. I remember being highly unamused by being made (by my mother) to wear tights as a base layer, to help keep me warm Oooh, I hope me mates never read this comment!

[@dondamon4669]

Barnes looks a state there shame he didn't look after himself better

[@rabona52]

Hi, have you the full match? i search the rabona skill by Gascoigne ? thanks

[@xiropigado]

Poor Cameroon, far too cold for them and Graham Taylor, very very happy to be the England manager then... little did he know what was to lay ahead.

[@PHFH]

Whats with the Cameroon kit - umbro and adidas combination?!

[@graemerobertson8730]

Wow. 30 years ago. Time flies. I remember the weather...it was freezing. The Cameroon lads wouldn't have known anything like it! 🤣

[@lloyd_r]

M.O.T.D just brought me here

[@ColChung]

+ljhr85 haha, same

[@jcdranzer25]

+ljhr85 same

[@MarknoblesAcidhouseparty]

can you remember why ?

[@Zyram-dw2cr]

💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼💯💯💯

[@user-zv1sq1gh2g]

غاري لينكر...هداف كاس العالم 1986 ... رغم تالق ديغو ارماندو ماردونا بشكل كبير في ذلك المونديال و سمي باسمه...الا ان لينكر اقتلع لقب الهداف....اعتقد ان غاري لينكر مهاجم سابق لعهده....

[@richardgere9365]

Even in 1991, Barnes was starting to look slow and over-weight.

[@richardgere9365]

@Athelstan Edwardson The key factor in Barnes' decline was a succession of debilitating injuries wasn't it? From '90-93 he just seemed cursed, endlessly dogged by strains, tears and breaks of one kind or another (some suggested that Souness' LFC training methods contributed? Who can say?). That achilles rupture in that friendly against Finland on the eve of Euro 92 finished him as a force in international football. Waddle was luckier on the injury front and ergo this helped his longevity. Difficult to accept that England once had a late eighties team that included Waddle, Barnes, Beardsley, Gascoine (and in '88 Hoddle) and still couldn't at least reach a tournament final.

[@chrisbayes2972]

18 goals that season. Yes, he was shite that year.