MX23RW : Tuesday, May 7 21:05:58| >> :120:46061:46061:

On this day: England's Gary Lineker hits four against Spain

Twenty-eight years ago today, Gary Lineker scored all of England's goals in a 4-2 friendly victory over Spain in Madrid.

If you were picking an all-time XI made up of England internationals, who would you choose as the two strikers?

The likes of Jimmy Greaves, Michael Owen, Nat Lofthouse, Wayne Rooney and 1966 hero Sir Geoff Hurst would surely all be in contention, while the country's record goalscorer - Sir Bobby Charlton - often played in a midfield role.

Surely, though, one of those forward places would go to Gary Lineker, a scorer of 48 goals for the Three Lions - 10 of which came in two separate World Cup tournaments.

The penalty box poacher scored another four of that haul in one friendly encounter in the Spanish capital Madrid 28 years ago today.

The home side took the lead early on when Emilio Butragueno converted Chendo's cross, but after that, Lineker took centre stage.

He drew England level in the 24th minute with a close-range header from Glenn Hoddle's chip to the back post, and then four minutes later the Barcelona frontman pounced on Viv Anderson's knockdown to score his second goal of the contest.

The hat-trick was completed just two minutes after the restart when Spain goalkeeper Andoni Zubizarreta parried Peter Beardsley's effort up into the air and Lineker reacted quickest to nod the ball into an unguarded net.

Ten minutes later, Lineker fired in his and England's fourth goal of the match with a left-footed drive from the edge of the area and although Ramon Vazquez reduced the arrears late on, the evening belonged to Lineker.

In a Daily Mail article from 2011, Lineker was quoted as saying: "I became an adopted Catalan when I scored a hat-trick against Real Madrid and followed it a month later with four goals for England. Barcelona's slogan is 'Mes que un club,' Catalan for 'More than a club.' And it really is.

"After the Spanish Civil War, the only place the locals could speak Catalan freely was in the Nou Camp, when the football was on. Barca fans couldn't have been happier after this match - I woke up to headlines in Barcelona along the lines of: 'Catalan player scores four goals against Spain.'"

In the same piece, Beardsley added: "I don't think Gary realised just how good he was. He was one of the best finishers the world has ever seen, and, without being big-headed, I think we had the perfect partnership and he was a dream to play with."

SPAIN: Zubizarreta; Gordillo, Camacho, Arteche, Chendo; Munoz, Michel, Gallego, Vazquez; Carrasco, Butragueno

ENGLAND: Shilton; Anderson, Adams, Butcher, Sansom; Hoddle, Robson, Hodge, Waddle; Beardsley, Lineker

ID:206168: cacheID:206168:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:5076:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
England's David Beckham celebrates scoring against Mexico on May 25, 2001.
Read Next:
Top 10 English footballers of all time
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Arsenal36265588286083
2Manchester CityMan City35257387335482
3Liverpool36239481384378
4Aston Villa36207973532067
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs351861169581160
6Newcastle UnitedNewcastle351751378562256
7Chelsea351591170591154
8Manchester UnitedMan Utd35166135255-354
9West Ham UnitedWest Ham361310135670-1449
10Bournemouth36139145263-1148
11Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton351211125357-447
12Wolverhampton WanderersWolves36137164960-1146
13Fulham36128165155-444
14Crystal Palace361110154957-843
15Everton36129153849-1137
16Brentford3699185260-836
17Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest3689194563-1829
18Luton TownLuton3668224978-2926
19Burnley3659223974-3524
RSheffield UnitedSheff Utd36372635100-6516


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!