David Seaman
                                                   
 
        Danny Mills                         Rio Ferdinand             Sol Campbell                   Ashley Cole*
 

       David Beckham                  Nicky Butt                     Paul Scholes           Owen Hargreaves
                                                                                                                             (Trevor Sinclair 19)

                                                 Emile Heskey*                 Michael Owen
                                              (Teddy Sheringham 56)   (Wayne Bridge 80) 

The Argentinean team that played was:

                                                            Pablo Cavallero
                                                   
 
                        Mauricio Pochettino          Walter Samuel           Diego Placente
 

            Javier Zanetti             Diego Simeone            Juan Sebastian Veron             Juan Pablo Sorin
                                                                  (Pablo Aimar 46)

                                  Ariel Ortega      Gabriel Batistuta*         Kily Gonzales
                                                        (Hernan Crespo 60)    (Claudio Lopez 64)

This was a magnificent performance from the England team - England won the game 1-0 and so gained revenge for being knocked out of the World Cup 1998 by Argentina (who were disrespectful to the England team after winning on penalties) and for being knocked out of the World Cup 1986 (where Maradona helped win the game by cheating with a goal by handball).

England showed that on their day they can be the best team in the World as they outclassed Argentina in the first half and early on in the second half. For the last twenty minutes of the second half, England sat back and defended but Argentina could not find a way through England's excellent defence.
 

                                                             

Owen Hargreaves started the match on the left wing but injured his left shin in a tackle after only three minutes. While he stayed on the pitch for a further fifteen minutes he was clearly in pain (especially when he tried to turn with the ball) and was replaced by Trevor Sinclair (who only returned to the England squad on 25 May).

Early on in the match, Zanetti and Gonzales had chances for Argentina but after 23 minutes Michael Owen had a great chance for England - Owen ran on to a Nicky Butt pass and shot through Samuel's legs to hit the far post with the Argentinean goalkeeper (Cavallero) beaten - the ball rebounded back into play and was cleared out for a corner.

Just after Owen's chance, Batistuta had a great chance to score with a header inside the box but Seaman saved well. Then after half and hour, Gonzales smashed a great volley just over Seaman's crossbar.
 

                                     
                                 Beckham takes the penalty to score for England
 

After 44 minutes England went 1-0 up. Inside the penalty area on the left side, Michael Owen moved the ball to his right towards the centre of the box - his marker Ponchettino stuck out his leg, Michael Owen fell over it and a penalty was awarded. David Beckham took the penalty and struck it down the middle as the goalkeeper was moving to dive to his right - the ball went past Cavallero's outstretched left foot and into the goal.

This goal was especially sweet for Beckham as he had been sent off in the World Cup 1998 game against Argentina. Beckham later said that when the penalty was awarded "I walked up to Michael Owen and he said he fancied it but so did I. That finally puts to rest what happened four years ago, when my world was turned upside down".

Three minutes into the second half Owen shot just wide of the far post and then a minute later Paul Scholes hit a volley which forced Cavallero into a good save.

Five minutes later, Beckham got ahead of Placente inside the penalty box but put the ball just wide. After 57 minutes, substitute Teddy Sheringham ended off some great passing by England by hitting a volley which Cavallero only just tipped over.

After 67 minutes, Sinclair ran down the left wing, cut inside and forced the Argentinean goalkeeper into a near post save. Then Sheringham flicked on a Beckham free kick just wide of the far post.

In the last twenty minutes of the match, England started to defend deeper and deeper and Argentina started to attack more. Pochettino put one chance just wide and then had another well saved by Seaman. England held on for the win and a draw against Nigeria in the final group game will now ensure that England qualify for the second round.
 

Who played well:  Rio Ferdinand showed he is now one of the best central defenders in the competition and showed authority at the back. Nicky Butt also stood out for being an excellent defensive central midfield player in his first start since recovering from injury. Trevor Sinclair had his best game for England on the left wing and Emile Heskey and Michael Owen worked well together up front. David Beckham lasted the 90 minutes of the match and although he looked tired towards the end of the game he was an inspiration for the rest of the team.

Who could have played better: All the England players did well and managed to subdue an Argentinean team that had not previously lost a match in two years.
 

England now face Nigeria on Wednesday 12th June at 7.30am (British Summer time) in Osaka, Japan.

Click here to see all England's results since Euro 96

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Note: This England World Cup 2002 website is also available using  http://clik.to/england 

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