Javier Zanetti reveals detail of Argentina goal vs. England at 1998 World Cup

By
Roy Nemer
-
22

Javier Zanetti revealed something about his famous goal for the Argentina national team against England at the 1998 World Cup.

Zanetti was at the end of a wonderful set piece play which saw him score one of the most memorable goals in Argentine history. It was a short free kick played in and the Inter man would score in the World Cup Round of 16 match. Speaking in an interview with FIFA.com, here’s what Zanetti had to say:

“It ended up being a party for us, bit it’s an erernal match. I don’t know if many people know this. When the cycle started, it was a play that was prepared but it was always Ortega. When we got to the World Cup, Passarella said “We will do that play and it will be Javier at the point of it instead of Ariel”. And it came out perfectly when we needed it the most.”

Regarding the match itself:

“I still have the shirt of that World Cup, I wore the number 22. For me it meant a lot because it was my first (World Cup), there was a lot of expectations and it was a dream come true. When one plays in the neighborhood with his friends, you always dream about playing in the first division and after that the national team. I got there, to feel that behind us was a country that was supporting us was very important. That match meant a lot. Not just for the goal but for the opponent, for what England means for us.”

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22 Comments

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    Napoli are believed to want €50 million (£45m/$54m) for the Polish forward.

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  4. A great match, i remember that i was watching this match live. The importance of this match was huge due to the opponent and that goal was a piece of art indeed.

    What a player Zanetti used to be and what a wonderful team we had back then. Imagine if we also had at our disposal both legends, Caniggia and Redondo. That team was very strong, had it been for another coach instead of Passarella whom i totally respect as a player as he is one of the best defenders to have ever played the game but as a coach was not the suitable one for that team in my humble opinion, and that team would have gone until the end.

    • Redondo missed so much, but Claudio Lopez was a better player than ageing Caniggia back then in 98, Cani missed as his supersub, plus i would have picked Riquelme too.
      Btw i will upload some super rare argentine matches from the 1990-2000s to footballia.net in the summer. Every full Olympics match from 96, 2004, 2008 Olympics (our last victories), every Conf 2005 match, two friendly matches vs Netherland from 99 and 2003, every full U20WC match from 97, 2001, 2005, 2007 Wc’s and some more. I have even a lot of U20 Sudamericano matches which found nowhere on the internet from this era.

  5. Once national teams are back in action i want to see partnership between Lo celso and Messi.Lo celso should play as LCM.Messi Lo celso and Aguero going to be crucial for Argentina.Messi Lo celso and Paredes are perfect creative players.

    • Except Lautaro instead of Aguero, I agree!
      In a 4-4-2, De Paul – Lo Celso – Paredes – Ocampos make up an awesome creative, hard working midfield behind Lautaro & Messi.

  6. “Already tracked by most Italian high-rank clubs, including Inter Milan, Napoli, AS Roma, AC Milan, and Fiorentina, almost 26-year old Argentinian international attacking midfielder Rodrigo De Paul has also been targeted by Sevilla FC, according to Estadio Deportivo”

    “Argentinian U20 international winger Pedro De La Vega (19) has reportedly been targeted by Atalanta. Previously inquired about by Inter Milan, AS Roma, and Real Madrid, the 2001-born is equipped with a dual Spanish citizenship.”

    “Already tracked by Arsenal, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona FC, Borussia Dortmund, and Chelsea, Argentinian international left-back Nicolás Tagliafico (27) has also been targeted by Paris Saint-Germain. ”

    “According to Estadio Deportivo, Argentinian U23 international striker Nahuel Bustos (21) has been targeted by seven clubs, notably AC Milan, AS Roma, Napoli, Valencia, Boca Juniors, River Plate, and Flamengo. An 18 million euros exit clause is set upon him”

  8. One of the beautiful game in 1998 WC, an excellent creativity by Passarela; a good match to remember and to be honest one of great performance by Michael Owen, respect indeed.

    Passarela’s style almost did a good job although a controversy on dismissed of Redondo remains in the memory.

  11. This is what we need to come back to the team, u see the confidence of the team to try something like that in such a big game and that only happened because of the trust that the 98 squad in one another which was developed over time as even before the tournament started they had already come up with that play, we have the quality of players in the current squad therefore the only thing we’re missing is a longevity of a core group of players through the whole team (not like in 2011-14 where it was higuain,messi, di maria rather in 98 where they had a core throughout the squad in different positions) i feel that scaloni is trying to achieve that abd is aware of the importance so hopefully it will cone to fruition and we’ll be celebrating something soon

  12. Batigol’s trick, Veron’s pass, Zanetti’s first touch and strike were out of this world. Simply, this goal was a piece of art and it will remain fresh in the minds of those who were lucky enough to watch this game. Imagine if Redondo was part of this great squad.

  13. One of the best games in 1998, to me, WC98 is still the best world cup with so many legendary players, unfortunately we played against the best team of this competition in the quarter final …

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