Davide Gualtieri
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Davide Gualtieri | ||
Date of birth | 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 |
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 22 years.
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 seven seconds for Belgium against Gibraltar on 16 March 2017. England took twenty minutes to equalise, but eventually won the match 7–1. Both England and San Marino failed to qualify for the 1994 World Cup.[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
- ^ "The qualifiers in numbers". FIFA. 21 November 2007. Retrieved 7 November 2011.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Rewind to 1993: Eight seconds of history - ESPNFC". Soccernet.espn.go.com. 17 November 1993. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
- ^ Jonathan Wilson (10 October 2012). "San Marino's Davide Gualtieri recalls the pain his goal caused England". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Bevan, Chris. "Davide Gualtieri: The man from San Marino who shocked England". BBC. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
- ^ Harry's Heroes: Euro Having a Laugh Episode 2 ITV Press Centre. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
External links