Platt’s classy goal and the iconic celebration changed a career and England’s fortunes in Italia ’90

They used to be quite a handy side the Belgians.

European Championship finalists in 1980 and World Cup semi-finalists six years later.

It was the mechanical West Germans who beat them in the continental final of 1980 and the mercurial talent of Diego Maradona that single-handedly unpicked their tight defence at Mexixo 1986.

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Belgium were not blessed by the iconic names of the 1980s, not by the standards of Michel Platini and Michael Laudrup. But in goalkeeper Jean-Marie Pfaff, full-back Eric Gerets, midfielder Enzo Scifo and striker Jan Ceulemans they had players that elevated their national team towards lofty heights.

By the time of the 1990 World Cup, the majority of that great team had been ushered into retirement, but there were still flickers of God-given talent.

Scifo, in particular, was a classy operator and still in his prime.

There was more than a hint of promise in the way they dispatched South Korea and Uruguay in their first Group E games, scoring five goals in the process. A defeat against Spain in the battle for who would top the group was a portent for things to come but they will have fancied their chances in the last 16 when they ran into Bobby Robson’s England.

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The Three Lions had limped through a particularly tight group, having drawn with the Republic of Ireland and Holland, before Mark Wright’s header gave them a 1-0 win over Egypt in the only non-drawn game in Group F.

The scene was set for the final match of the second round, at Bologna’s Renato Dall’Ara stadium on June 26, 1990.

A place against Roger Milla’s surprise package Cameroon – who had lit up the tournament from the moment they beat Argentina in the opening game – awaited in the quarter-finals.

Belgium had the better chances in the first 90 minutes. Their captain Ceulemans struck the post in the first half and then Scifo left Peter Shilton scrambling across his goal with a stunning right-foot shot from outside the penalty area that clattered off the post.

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Either side of that, England had a goal disallowed when John Barnes was adjudged to be offside when he met Gary Lineker’s cross with a sidefoot past Michel Preudhomme.

David Platt was only a substitute that night. He came on for Steve McMahon in the 71st minute and had been unable to affect the outcome until the 119th minute.

Paul Gascoigne – who had earlier received a booking that two games later would become the famous second that led to those memorable tears – ran at the heart of the retreating Belgian defence and earned a free-kick.

Around 35 yards from goal in a central position, Gascoigne dinked a chip to back post.

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What happened next was sheer footballing poetry. Platt, 10 yards from goal, planted his left foot and wheeled away from the red-shirted defenders, spinning as he did so and connecting with the ball in mid air to sweep it right-footed past Preudhomme and into the far corner.

The celebration is equally iconic. Platt headed off towards the corner flag and sank to the ground. His team-mates flooded in afterwards and piled on.

As the picture depicts, Lineker is seen beckoning the rest of his team-mates, the first of whom is Stuart Pearce who runs in to celebrate with his team-mates.

If Lineker always recalls his opening goal against Poland four years earlier as the one that changed his life, similar could be said of the effect this one strike had on Platt. Robson promoted him to the starting line-up for the quarter-final with Cameroon and he repaid him with the opening goal. He also scored in the third-place play-off against Italy.

A year after the World Cup, Platt left Aston Villa to join Bari, and he also played for Juvetus and Sampdoria. None of which would have been possible without that stunning goal against Belgium.

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