Football Dynasty-Chapter 54: Drama Penalties

Before Sunday's game against Cameroon, England had not been awarded a penalty for four years.

There were 17 years between the two goalkeepers: Peter Shilton, 40, and Bodo Illgner, 23.

Illgner would be the first in action—England were taking the first penalty.

"Here we go, Lineker steps up first for England," Motson announced.

Did you expect anything else? It was Gary Lineker, after all. He drilled the ball confidently into the left side of the net as Illgner dived the other way.

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"LINEKER SCORES!"

"YES!" someone shouted, punching the air.

"I KNEW IT!" another yelled, slamming his pint on the table, spilling beer everywhere—though it didn't seem to bother him.

Richard exhaled sharply, his grip loosening on his glass. Beside him, Eric grinned, "Cool as you like," he said, exhaling a cloud of smoke.

Around the betting shop, pub, and living rooms across England, fans breathed a collective sigh of relief. A few dared to smile, but no one was celebrating just yet.

There was still a long way to go.

Now, it was West Germany's turn. Brehme placed the ball on the spot, took a few steps back, and steadied himself.

The room fell silent.

Brehme placed the ball down, took a step back, and waited for the referee's whistle.

An even better penalty—carefully placed into the bottom-left corner with his right foot. Shilton guessed correctly, but the shot was too precise, nestling into the side-netting.

"BREHME SCORES!"

Richard shot up from his seat. "M*THERF*CKER, THAT'S IT!" he roared, slamming his palm on the table so hard that a few heads turned in annoyance.

Beside him, Eric Hall muttered his usual, "Monster, monster," under his breath.

England 1–1 West Germany.

The next:

"BEARDSLEY SCORES!" England 2–1 West Germany.

"MATTHAUS SCORES!" England 2–2 West Germany.

"PLATT SCORES!" England 3–2 West Germany.

"RIEDLE SCORES!" England 3–3 West Germany.

"Shilton keeps going the right way, but he's not getting anywhere near these. It almost looks like he's waiting to see the direction before diving. That's a dangerous tactic against German penalties—they're too accurate."

The tension in the stadium, the betting shop, and living rooms across England was unbearable. Hearts pounded like a drum.

Now, Stuart Pearce steps forward. Always reliable from the spot for Nottingham Forest. He places the ball down, inhales deeply, and keeps his gaze fixed on the ball.

Only after the referee blows his whistle does he lift his head. He takes a short run-up—

BOOM!

Low, hard, almost down the middle—but Illgner, diving to his right, manages to block it with his feet.

"PEARCE MISSES! ENGLAND 3–3 WEST GERMANY! ENGLAND IN TROUBLE!"

The betting shop fell silent for a brief second before an explosion of curses.

Illgner walked away with a slight smirk on his face, glancing back at Pearce, who just lowered his head and walked back toward his teammates. Now, Olaf Thon steps up for Germany.

Thon places another perfect penalty into the bottom-right corner. Shilton went the right way again—but it didn't matter. He wasn't getting close to that.

"THON SCORES! ENGLAND ARE ON THE BRINK!"

WEST GERMANY 4–3 ENGLAND.

If England miss this next one, it's over. Richard's grip tightened around his glass. His knuckles went white.

"Just a little more... just a little more..." he muttered.

He knew what was at stake. With £100,000,000 on West Germany at 1/1 odds, he stood to double his money. If they won, he'd walk away with £200,000,000. If they lost? Nothing.

The wait for England's next taker was longer than expected. From their huddle, something was being discussed.

There was an argument. It looked like Gascoigne was supposed to take it, but Gascoigne—emotional and overwhelmed. If he didn't score, England were out. Plus, with the drama of his tackle before, his teammates knew he wasn't at his best. So, he switched places with Chris Waddle.

Richard took a deep breath. This was it.

Waddle placed the ball just like everyone before him. He took a deep breath and looked toward the goal. He didn't shy away.

Illgner made a move, hopping slightly from side to side, doing his best to unsettle Waddle

"If Waddle misses this, then England are out. We can expect West Germany vs. Argentina in the final, and Italy vs. England in the third-place match," Motson explained.

Pweeeehhh!

The referee blew his whistle, and Waddle took one final deep breath.

BANG!

He smashed his penalty inches over the bar—though the trajectory made it seem like he'd missed by yards.

"WADDLE MISSES AND ENGLAND ARE OUT!"

And England's dream was over.

England 1–1 West Germany (3–4 pens).

This time, Richard didn't hold back. His foot, already halfway onto the chair, surged with energy as he jumped up, grinning from ear to ear. "EVERYONE HERE, IT'S ON ME!' he shouted, raising his arms in celebration.

"TODAY, YOU CAN HAVE ANYTHING—THIS ONE'S ON RICHARD MADDOX! I'M PAYING FOR IT ALL!!!"

Of course, there's no point in kicking someone who's already down. And, being local, there's no need to stir up any more trouble, right?"

It was the cruelest way to go out, particularly after such a wonderful performance.

Waddle sank to his knees, crestfallen. Matthäus broke away from the German celebrations to help him to his feet, a nice gesture from a truly world-class player.

Bobby Robson, caught on camera, smiled ruefully but also proudly, gently punching the air as if to say, 'Bugger our luck.'

He knew how desperately close England had been—not just to reaching the final, but to winning the World Cup.

Their campaign started farcically and ended gloriously. Yes, okay, gloriously and farcically. If he could say it honestly, England had been the better side in normal time, and West Germany in extra time.

The Germans would go on to their third consecutive final, hoping to avenge their defeats in 1982 and 1986.

England would face Italy in the third-place play-off on Saturday, after a night of raw emotion and proud heartbreak that would live with them forever.

After the camera captured everything on the pitch, the cameraman suddenly noticed something and hurriedly spun 90 degrees to focus on Paul Gascoigne.

Gazza had tears streaming down his reddened face as he saluted the England fans.

Time to listen to 'World in Motion' on loop while drowning a million sweet sorrows.