From the Vault : World Cup Greatest Goal – Michael Owen: 1998

Michael Owen: England v Argentina, 1998

Flash further in 1998 and Owen, fresh out of high school, has scored 24 goals in 46 appearances in Liverpool, gaining inclusion in Glenn Hoddle’s World Cup squad in France as an off-bench impact choice for England.

An equaliser against Romania is followed by a cameo in the opening win against Tunisia, but England falls to a 2-1 defeat. For the teenager, Teddy Sheringham is dropped as England beat Colombia to secure qualification, and for the last 16 tie with Argentina, Hoddle remains faithful to the youngster.

We all know what happens next but it’s just as extraordinary to this day.

The ball is clipped forward by David Beckham and Owen flicks it into his move. His pace takes him past one and he faces a defense already petrified by his fearsome ability.

They just retreated ever further into utter panic. Owen shimmies past the last man and is inside the box now.

Blessed with one of the best right feet English football has ever produced, Paul Scholes is waiting to rifle the ball home, but the Liverpool man is now playing his own game, and he’s stroking the ball into the top corner.

No one has ever made a look easier at the finish.

Though Owen would go on to play for England at another four major tournaments, that goal remained his career’s highlight.

Tournament failure has become all too familiar to the England team and their fans, but Owen was part of the final players’ crop to give the nation hope that they could make a mark on a competition.