When all was said and done, it was perhaps the defining moment of David Beckham’s career.
For 90 minutes, the Manchester United man had been attempting to drag his England team over the line in their final 2002 World Cup qualifier against Greece, with the Three Lions needing a draw to qualify for the following summer’s tournament.
With England trailing 2-1 deep into stoppage time, Beckham seized the moment to put his 1998 World Cup demons behind him and complete his transformation from villain to national hero, firing home a brilliant free kick to book the Three Lions’ place in Japan and South Korea.
FourFourTwo rates Beckham’s performance in this game at no.10 in our list of the greatest individual performances of all time.
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Danny Mills on David Beckham on David Beckham’s World Cup party
As one would expect, the Old Trafford crowd were delirious, with even those on the bench in awe of what they had just seen.
“I was in the squad – there were four or five of us watching that goal from the tunnel, it was an incredible moment,” Danny Mills tells FourFourTwo. “Had that not gone in, I might not have played at a World Cup.
With England’s regular right-back Gary Neville nursing a broken foot, Mills grasped his opportunity and won five of his 19 international caps as England again tasted quarter-final defeat, this time in the Far East.
But the experience of being in Beckham’s orbit during a time when the England skipper’s fame had reached global icon levels has also stayed with him.
“I remember being invited to a World Cup party at his house – it was a little extravagant,” the former Leeds United and Manchester City defender continues. “The invitations came round in early 2002 – white tie and diamonds was the dress code!
“I didn’t even own a black tie, let alone a white one, and I certainly didn’t have any diamonds! That was an eye-opener, the world of the famous, I guess.
“But I did go along. We had a table at the back of the room for the players – the celebrities that were there from all different walks of life were way more forward than us.
“Allegedly the party was for the players, but I’m not sure it was… I spent most of the time with my lad in the kids’ play tent!”
