When David Batty's penalty was saved by Argentine goalkeeper Carlos Roa to eliminate England from the 1998 World Cup, David Beckham had little idea of the backlash that was going to come his way.
The Manchester United midfielder had earlier been red carded for kicking out at Diego Simeone and it was he that took the blame for another early England exit from a major competition.
The headline in The Mirror read: '10 heroic lions, one stupid boy', while some of the abuse that Beckham and his family received, which included bullets being sent to his home address in the post, was criminal. The bitterness was arguably at its very worst when United visited Upton Park early on during the 1998-99 season, when some West Ham United fans strung up an effigy of Beckham.
Yet, he continued to represent his country and when Sven-Goran Eriksson was appointed the new head coach of the Three Lions during the qualification phase for the 2002 World Cup, he made Beckham captain.
England's participation in South Korea and Japan, who would be co-hosting the tournament, was dependent upon the result that was achieved against Greece at Old Trafford 13 years ago today. Avoid defeat and Eriksson's men would qualify automatically, but defeat would demote them to the playoffs, with Germany advancing instead.
With little riding on the outcome from their perspective, the visiting Greeks played with freedom and broke the deadlock in the 36th minute when Angelos Charisteas fired across goalkeeper Nigel Martyn and into the far corner of the net.
As the second half got underway, with his team struggling, Beckham started to control proceedings. It was his cross in the 67th minute that substitute Teddy Sheringham looped into the net just 10 seconds after he had replaced Robbie Fowler to level up proceedings.
However, just minutes later, Demis Nikolaidis got the better of England centre-back Rio Ferdinand inside the area and had enough space to poke Greece back into the lead.
From that moment onwards, it was all one-way traffic as England pegged back their opponents in search of the goal that would send them to the Far East. But, for all their pressure, it seemed that the hosts would be confined to the playoffs - that was, until, Sheringham was fouled 30 yards from goal three minutes into stoppage time.
Set-piece specialist Beckham spotted the ball up, despite Sheringham's desire to strike it. His effort drifted over the four-man Greek wall and seemed to pick up pace as it left keeper Antonios Nikopolidis grounded on its way into the top corner of the net, sparking scenes of wild celebration among players and supporters alike.
It was a watershed moment for Beckham, who became a national hero just three years after he was made public enemy number one.
Writing in his most recent autobiography, Beckham revealed: "I had tons of energy left, despite the fact it was in extra time. 'It's too far out for you, Teddy,' I said. 'Trust me. I've got it'. Nothing was going to stop me taking that free kick. I felt confident, calm, certain. I knew I could make it."
ENGLAND: Martyn; G Neville, Ferdinand, Keown, Ashley Cole (McManaman); Beckham, Gerrard, Scholes, Barmby (Andy Cole); Fowler (Sheringham), Heskey
GREECE: Nikopolidis; Patsatzoglou, Dabizas, Vokolos, Konstantinidis; Fissas, Zagorakis, Kassapis, Karagounis; Charisteas (Lakis), Nikolaidis (Machlas)
Liam Apicella
