After meetings in 1962 (England won 3-2, Jimmy Greaves on target), 1966 (England won 1-0 in the quarter-finals) and then Maradona and the ‘Hand of God’ in Mexico in 1986, the teams met in the Round of 16 in France in 1998.
Teddy, then at United, was an unused substitute as England’s penalty curse continued in Marseille as another clash for the ages brought us Michael Owen’s solo goal, David Beckham’s red card and another hard-luck story as the 10 men lost 4-3 in the shoot-out.
In Japan/Korea in 2002, the narrative was very much Beckham’s redemption. Now captain, he and Teddy scored the goals against Greece that took England to the finals. Drawn with Argentina in the group stage, Beckham struck the winner from the penalty spot and Teddy was denied one of England’s great World Cup goals when his first-time volley was tipped over by Pablo Cavallero. England won 1-0, Argentina went out at the group stage and England lost to eventual-winners Brazil in the quarter-finals.
“It’s a shame I didn’t score at the World Cup,” reflected Teddy in an exclusive interview on Wednesday afternoon, hours before the rivals meet again, this time in the semi-finals in Atlanta (8pm UK) for the right to face Pedro Porro and Spain in Sunday’s final.
Q1 | You did it twice, Teddy - what’s it like to face Argentina in the World Cup?
Teddy: “Well, when you play against the South Americans, you think it's going to be glamorous, right? You think it's going to be a lovely, skilful, flicky, entertaining game of football. When you play against the Brazilians, the Argentinians, Mexicans, Chile, you think they're going to have that flair. Let me tell you, they are the toughest defenders you’ll ever play against. Think Martin Keown and treble it. They would not let you have a biscuit if it was on the side of a cup of tea. It's aggressive, constant, horrible - you know you're in for a rough ride from start to finish.”
Q2 | Spurs fans will remember your volley in 2002…
Teddy: “It's a shame I didn't score at the World Cup. I had two volleys, one against Tunisia in 1998 and then that one in 2002. Sometimes, when the ball leaves your foot, you think, ‘that's a goal’. The goalkeeper tipped it over. It came off the boot sweet, and I thought I'd finally scored, but we won the game, so it was great to be part of that.”
Q3 | It looks like being another battle this time around, doesn’t it?
Teddy: “Yes, a tough old battle, but when you look at both teams' front players, midfield attacking players, I think there's going to be goals. I think we're going to edge it by one - maybe a 3-2, 4-3. It could be an absolute whirlwind of a game that you just don't know how it's going to finish. I hope it's like that anyway. I hope it's an entertaining one and that we go for it and it's not a cagey one. We get the ball forward quicker than most teams and hopefully we'll finish them off and get to the final again at last.”
Q4 | I remember talking to you regularly about Harry Kane’s progress going back years now – look at him now!
Teddy: “He's amazing, isn't he? He's grown in stature. He's a proper player now, a proper leader of men as well, takes on the mantle, takes it all in his stride...”
Q5 | How do you see him as a player now?
Teddy: “For me, he's the full package. You know that if he gets half a chance, he's going to hit the target. That’s the way I used to speak about Jurgen Klinsmann - you give him half a chance anywhere in that last third and he’s ridiculous. He can hit it from wide left, wide right, six-yard box. The way he drops off as well, he can join in games, like the little ball he played into Jude Bellingham for his second goal against Mexico the other day. He's got it all.”