England Flashback: Michael Owen’s Goal vs Argentina in the ‘98 World Cup

I’m going to ignore what happened in the rest of this game, because a) I’ve already covered David Beckham’s petulant streak once this week and b) I don’t have the heart to write about another England penalty defeat.

Instead let’s focus on the above goal.

It’s really all about pace. Nice ball from Beckham, great first touch from Owen, and a confident finish. But everything Michael Owen does between receiving the ball and striking the ball at goal is all about running fast. Really really fast. He makes the poor Argentina defenders look like they’re wearing concrete football boots.

After World Cup ‘98 I genuinely felt like the pace pf “this 18 year old” would see England tear various international opposition to shreds. I found it very hard to imagine a future where England did not win Euro 2000. We didn’t of course. We didn’t even get out of the group.

Owen had his moments after ‘98. The hat-trick in the 5-1 win over Germany for example. And a couple of goals at World Cup 2002. But World Cup 2006 ended with him crawling off the pitch with damaged cruciate ligaments, and in hindsight the 1998 goal vs Argentina is still his most memorable moment in an England shirt. So far anyway.