Davide Gualtieri
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Davide Gualtieri | ||
| Date of birth | April 27, 1971 | ||
| Place of birth | San Marino, San Marino | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Playing position | Striker | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1998–2000 | Pennarossa | 4 | (3) |
| 2000–2009 | Tre Penne | 168 | (50) |
| National team | |||
| 1993–1999 | San Marino | 9 | (1) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). | |||
Davide Gualtieri (born 27 April 1971) is a Sammarinese former footballer. He is best remembered for scoring the fastest goal in FIFA World Cup qualification history, against England on 17 November 1993.[1]
In the match, which took place in Bologna, Italy, San Marino had the kick-off and the ball was quickly played through the inside-right channel. England defender Stuart Pearce attempted a back-pass to goalkeeper David Seaman. Pearce's pass was under-hit and Gualtieri ran on to touch the ball past Seaman. The goal was timed at 8.3 seconds, which remains the fastest World Cup goal scored in either qualifying or the finals. England took 20 minutes to equalise [2] and eventually finished winning the match 7–1. Both England and San Marino failed to qualify for the 1994 World Cup. England needed to win by seven goals and for Poland to defeat the Netherlands. As neither happened, England finished third.[3]
The England manager, Graham Taylor resigned shortly after the game took place, and this was to be his last game in charge. Gualtieri continued to play for the San Marino national team until 2000, when he retired due to injury. He now works as a computer salesman in San Marino.[4][5][6]
References
- ↑ "The qualifiers in numbers". FIFA. 21 November 2007. Retrieved 7 November 2011.
- ↑ "1994 FIFA World Cup Qualification". FIFA. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
- ↑ "Rewind to 1993: Eight seconds of history - ESPNFC". Soccernet.espn.go.com. 1993-11-17. Retrieved 2012-10-13.
- ↑ Jonathan Wilson. "San Marino's Davide Gualtieri recalls the pain his goal caused England | Jonathan Wilson | Football". The Guardian. Retrieved 2012-10-13.
- ↑ England. "England v San Marino: Davide Gualtieri never tires of reliving the World Cup night in 1993". Telegraph. Retrieved 2012-10-13.
- ↑ Bevan, Chris. "BBC Sport - Davide Gualtieri: The man from San Marino who shocked England". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-10-13.