England 2 Italy 0 – November 1977
Wednesday, Nov 16, 1977. Group Two Qualifier
England: R.Clemence, P.Neal, T.Cherry, R.Wilkins, D.Watson, E.Hughes, K.Keegan (T.Francis), S.Coppell, B.Latchford (S.Pearson), T.Brooking, P.Barnes.
Italy: D.Zoff, M.Tardelli, C.Gentile, R.Benetti, R.Mozzini, G.Fachetti (A.Cuccureddu), F.Causio, R.Zaccarelli, F.Graziani (C.Sala), G.Antognoni, R.Bettega.
Match Report: The 1970’s were a black time for the England football team as far as the World Cup was concerned. Having surrendered their title of world champions in Mexico 1970 they then failed to qualify for the next two tournaments.
They were harsh times, however. In 1974 England finished behind Poland in their qualifying group and watched the Poles go on to finish third in the finals in Germany.
Next time around England were paired with Italy in a four team qualifying group from which only one team could progress. Having lost in Rome, England’s failure to beat Finland and Luxembourg by significant margins meant that to have any hope of making it to the finals in Argentina they would need to beat the Italians at Wembley by at least four clear goals.
The appointment, on a trial basis, of Ron Greenwood to take over from Don Revie as manager did offer some optimism looking further forward, however. Greenwood selected a bold, attacking line up to face the Italians which saw debuts being handed to Steve Coppell, Peter Barnes and Bob Latchford.
The new look side settled instantly and looked dangerous as they fed quick possession to the wingers, Coppell and Barnes. The Italians appeared surprised by England’s confident start and their famed defensive coherence was palpably missing.
After 11 minutes England’s pressure was rewarded with a fine goal. Trevor Brooking sauntered to the right wing to collect possession with a misleading nonchalance. The sudden ball he whipped into the near post coincided perfectly with Kevin Keegan’s darting run and his flicked header flew over Dino Zoff’s head to nestle in the far corner.
England continued to press, roared forward by a capacity crowd which dared to believe a handsome victory could be recorded after this dynamic start.
Peter Barnes was able to escape his marker a couple of times with exciting dashes down the left but it was Coppell, on the other flank, who was really catching the eye. His control was impeccable and he did not need to go past his man to create danger. All Coppell wanted was a yard of space to deliver telling balls into the box and his supply was consistently excellent.
Barnes himself almost profited from Coppell’s service but was unable to force home half chances at the far post. Then the Manchester City winger had his best moment, beating two defenders in a lightening break before forcing Zoff into a diving save with his low drive.
Italy’s response was typically aggressive. If I’d been old enough to bet at that time I’d have definitely had a few quid on Romeo Benetti getting booked during the game. He was a complete madman. It was for chopping Barnes down in full flight that he got his caution.
Keegan then also got booked for retaliating against what seemed to be an elbow from Marco Tardelli. Quality player, Tardelli, but he could dish it out with the best of them.
It was just as inevitable that Claudio Gentile would also find his way into the referee’s notebook and again Barnes was on the receiving end as he did so. These cynical tactics had the desired effect, however, and England’s early rhythm was spoiled.
The next moment of danger saw England under threat and Phil Neal had to move swiftly to clear the danger when Roberto Bettega looked a certain scorer.
England still looked the better side, however, with Brooking and Keegan linking with their usual imagination and the wingers continuing to cause problems. Half time arrived without further goals and England’s ultimate prospects remained bleak. It had nevertheless been an excellent half and the team left the field to a rapturous ovation.
Half Time: England 1 Italy 0
Italy emerged for the second half in determined mood. They began to retain possession at the back in their accustomed manner and continued to stifle England’s attacks in any way necessary.
Despite remaining lively England now found chances harder to come by. Emlyn Hughes tried his luck from long range but was too high and the best opening fell to another defender, Dave Watson. The big stopper struck his volley well from 15 yards but it was within Zoff’s reach and the keeper took no chances in punching clear.
Keegan’s bitter personal battle against the Italian hatchet men was degenerating into a war and it ended, ten minutes from time, with Keegan being crudely taken out of the game. England’s star player was able to inflict damage of his own in the incident, however.
An incisive build up down the right saw the ball slipped inside to Keegan who drew the defence to him before nicking a clever ball into the path of Brooking who clipped his shot beyond Zoff.
In the instant after releasing his pass Keegan was met by a full set of Benetti’s raised studs and had to limp out of the action. Wembley rose to acclaim his efforts.
Another goal might have just caused the Italians some anxiety going into their final game against Luxembourg and England set about finding one.
The closest they would come was another effort by the somewhat scary Watson. The strapping centre half met a Barnes corner solidly with two minutes to go but again Zoff was in position to fist clear.
The whole of England knew that this result, good as it was, would not be enough to deny the Italians a trip to Argentina and so it proved. There was a definite feeling that a corner had been turned with this performance, however, and the contributions of the youthful trio of Wilkins, Barnes and Coppell gave great hope for the future alongside the assured displays of Keegan and Brooking.
Ron Greenwood was entitled to feel pleased with himself also. His new look side had surpassed themselves and this game saw him handed the England managers job on a full time basis.
All in all it had been a good night for England.
Full Time: England 2 Italy 0