Peter Shilton

Peter Shilton MBE OBE (born Leicester, England, September 18, 1949) was an outstanding goalkeeper who holds the record for most international appearances for his country.

Poland & "The Perfect Save"

Shilton was selected by Ramsey for the match, walking out behind captain Martin Peters to earn his 15th cap. Aside from one infamous incident, he spent pretty much all of the game watching the heroics of his opposite number Jan Tomaszewski as he kept chance after chance out of his net.

Related Topics:
Martin Peters - Jan Tomaszewski

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Unfortunately, when the ball finally did get into the net, it was at Shilton's end, in the first moment which formed part of the whole definition of Shilton's career. Midway through the second half, Norman Hunter inexplicably trod on the ball near the touchline and Poland broke, with Grzegorz Lato feeding the ball across to the onrushing Jan Domarski.

Related Topics:
Norman Hunter - Grzegorz Lato - Jan Domarski

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As Domarski shaped to hit the ball first time, Shilton got himself into position to be able to block a shot coming at him from any angle. Domarski's drive, struck beyond Emlyn Hughes' challenge, was low and not well hit but it was on target for inside the near post and Shilton needed to deal with it, yet despite the proximity of the ball to Shilton, he dived to it fractionally too late and the ball skidded under his body and into the net. Though the restricted view of the ball caused by Hughes' late attempt at a tackle mitigated Shilton's case, it was accepted by everyone that he should have saved it. Shilton later said he was trying to make "the perfect save" and momentarily forgot that his first priority was to keep the ball out of the net, rather than make sure he held on to it.

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England equalised swiftly through a penalty from Allan Clarke, with Shilton famously turning his back on the ball at the opposite end because he could not bear to look, but Tomaszewski's continued heroics kept England out to the final whistle, and England failed to qualify for the World Cup. Poland would go on to finish third in the competition.

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