Glenn Hoddle's squad traveled to Rome to face Italy in a crucial World Cup qualification match. With the game goalless and England on course for the point they needed to secure top spot in Group 2 and a place in the finals in France the following year, Ian Wright danced around the goalkeeper.
The nation was watching from afar, but the angle of the goal proved too tight and it cannoned back off the post.
A goal would have capped an outstanding display from Wright, whose energy and speed had troubled Italy center-backs.
Wright remembers playing eight-a-side games when he was a member of the squad. Glenn Hoddle went crazy when I kept flicking it. He told me to stop flicking it. Don't let it go The ball needs to be kept. I knew I was playing at that time.
I was close to scoring at the end. It would have been the best game I've played. If you get a chance, see if you can take it, I closed them all down and made sure I kept the ball. I had the best 90 minutes of my life.
Italy had reached at least the semi-finals of the previous two World Cup, finishing third on home soil in 1990 and being beaten on penalties by Brazil in 1994. Cesare Maldini's side included several of the division's biggest names, including Paolo Maldini, Filippo Inzaghi, and Zola.
They should have had their World Cup fate in their own hands after beating England at Wembley eight months earlier, but a draw with Georgia meant England went top of the group.
In June, England beat Italy 2-0 in Le Tournoi.
The Costacurtas and the Maldinis were the defenders. They were the big hitters. We were not afraid of anyone in the forward positions.
You're nervous going out because it's a partisan crown. We're strong enough, we've all been in European games, and we're good enough.
The Stadio Olimpico's away dressing room was a calm place prior to the match.
"We used to play a two-touch game in the dressing room, where you keep the ball in the air, one touch to control it and then you play it back," says England's then assistant manager. I beat him and he got upset. Glenn was having a good time. It made the atmosphere calm down.
Gary Lewin said that Glenn had a strength of relaxation. He liked to be relaxed and normal and that's what he was like to us.
In what would be Paul Gascoigne's last competitive international appearance, England played confident, passing-focused football with David Beckham and Paul Ince in the middle.
England showed their technical credentials when they played with 10 men.
Ince had to leave the pitch for treatment after Demetrio Albertini's elbow opened a gash on his head. The most famous image of the match was Ince with his head bandaged and blood soaking his shirt, it was unthinkable for football's highest level.
Lewin was the one who attended to the bleeding skipper after the dressing rooms were locked. It took about eight minutes to finish. Incey was getting upset and Glenn was not happy.
We used a lamp to set up the equipment in the dressing room. We didn't have the keys to the room. It had been locked. They just kept shrugging their shoulders when we told them we needed the key. We bandaged him up and got him back on.
They locked the doors because it was amateur hour. It's similar to protecting their valuables on a Sunday league pitch.
Italy continued to press for a breakthrough despite the fact that Di Livio was sent off in the 76th minute. They were close to finding it in the last moments of the game.
Italy moved forward after Wright hit the post. Christian Vieri's headed shot went inches past David Seaman's right-hand post.
England's qualification was confirmed at the end of the match. There were fights in the stands between England fans and police. The players and staff only found out about the problem after the game.
Lewin says there were three cardboard cut-out of Minis, and fans were singing the song from The Italian Job. It was chaotic. Emotions were running high during the celebrations.
The performance seemed to indicate a bright future for the Three Lions. They were eliminated from the World Cup in the last-16 stage, losing to Argentina on penalties, and Hoddle was fired in February 1999.
The apogee of Hoddle's England was in Rome. It was amazing.
It was special to qualify in that situation. The whole staff was happy. It felt good.
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