Davide Gualtieri

Davide Gualtieri (born 27 April 1971) is a Sammarinese former footballer who played as a forward. He scored the second fastest goal in FIFA World Cup qualification history, against England on 17 November 1993.[1] Gualtieri held the fastest goal record for over 23 years. It is still however permanently the fastest international goal of the 20th Century.

Davide Gualtieri
Personal information
Full name Davide Gualtieri
Date of birth (1971-04-27) 27 April 1971
Place of birth San Marino, San Marino
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Striker
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1993–1999 Juvenes
1999–2000 Pennarossa 4 (3)
2000–2009 Tre Penne 168 (50)
International career
1993–1999 San Marino 9 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

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 remained the fastest World Cup goal scored in either qualifying or the finals, until Christian Benteke scored after 8.1 seconds for Belgium against Gibraltar on 16 March 2017. England took twenty minutes to equalise, but eventually won the match 7–1. It is falsely believed that Gualtieri’s goal eliminated England from qualifying for the 1994 World Cup, as England needed to win by 7 clear goals; however, the result was immaterial as England were also relying on Poland to beat The Netherlands, which they failed to do.[2]

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.[3][4][5] In 2020, he appeared on the TV series Harry's Heroes: Euro Having a Laugh, assembling a Sanmarinese team to play against a team of 90s England players once more.[6]

References
  1. "The qualifiers in numbers". FIFA. 21 November 2007. Archived from the original on 8 September 2012. Retrieved 7 November 2011.
  2. "Rewind to 1993: Eight seconds of history - ESPNFC". Soccernet.espn.go.com. 17 November 1993. Archived from the original on 27 March 2013. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
  3. Jonathan Wilson (10 October 2012). "San Marino's Davide Gualtieri recalls the pain his goal caused England". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
  4. England (11 October 2012). "England v San Marino: Davide Gualtieri never tires of reliving the World Cup night in 1993". London: Telegraph. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
  5. Bevan, Chris. "Davide Gualtieri: The man from San Marino who shocked England". BBC. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
  6. Harry's Heroes: Euro Having a Laugh Episode 2 ITV Press Centre. Retrieved 19 May 2020.


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