In their quest to qualify for the 1994 World Cup in the United States, England faced tough opposition in their group from the Netherlands, Poland, Norway and Turkey.
Fans and media alike predicted that England and the Netherlands were certain to share the two qualifying spots available. The only thing left to decide was who would finish first.
However, things rarely work out as planned for England at major tournaments. They played the Netherlands in Rotterdam, knowing that the second qualifying spot was their last hope due to a strong showing from Norway, who eventually claimed the group’s top spot.
Early in the first half, with the game tied at 0-0, David Platt raced through on goal only to be brought down by the Netherlands’ captain Ronald Koeman on the edge of the 18-yard box.
Koeman received a yellow card, despite being the last man and went on to score his country’s opener from a free-kick in what would become a 2-0 win.
Norway and the Netherlands ended up going to the World Cup, while England were left at home. Things could have been so different had, after reviewing VAR, the referee decided to red card Koeman and England played most of the game against 10 men.
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