On this day in 1997 England played their first match of ‘Le Tournoi’, a four-team competition that also featured Brazil, France and Italy.
It had begun on the previous evening in Lyon, with Roberto Carlos’s mind-boggling free kick earning the Brazilians a 1-1 draw with their French hosts.
England, buoyed by their great win in Poland just four days earlier, were on top of their game as they took on Italy in Nantes and beat them for the first time in 20 years. Glenn Hoddle’s fourth triumph in four trips was achieved as England taught their opponents a lesson in the art of counter-attacking football.
Two precocious Manchester United youngsters, David Beckham and Paul Scholes, were particularly prominent. Beckham sprayed the ball around from the centre of midfield and Scholes, starting his first England match, created the first goal for Ian Wright and notched the second himself with an unstoppable volley.
England’s spectacular run of success continued against France in Montpellier, their sixth victory in a row giving them top spot by a five-point margin after two matches. Alan Shearer’s goal five minutes from time was his eleventh England strike in eleven matches. England lost 1-0 to Brazil in Paris three days later but had already done enough to win ‘Le Tournoi’.
The current England team have two games in June, they then return to action in September with a trip to San Marino followed by their first home fixture of the new season against Switzerland at Wembley.
Tickets for the Euro Qualifier against the Swiss on Tuesday 8 September are now available to order online from www.TheFA.com/tickets. For further ticket details, click here.
