West Germany 3-2 England, quarter-final, Mexico 1970, after extra time. Müller, 108th minute.
England arrived in Mexico as world champions and, in the quarter-final, looked like staying that way. They led West Germany 2-0 in normal time. Then the lead slipped, the Germans pulled level and the match went to extra time.
In the 108th minute the ball reached Gerd Müller in the area with his back to goal. He swivelled and hit a volley on the half-turn past Peter Bonetti. That was the end of England's reign as world champions.
Müller did not deal in long-range screamers. His gift was doing something useful before a defender had worked out what was happening, and this goal shows it better than most. No time to control the ball, no time to set himself. Turn, strike, done. Other strikers would still have been deciding what to do.
Ten goals in one tournament
This was not a one-off. Müller scored 10 goals at the 1970 World Cup and took the Golden Boot, and the swivel-and-volley against England was the pick of the bunch. Der Bomber, as they called him, lived in the six-yard box and rarely left it without something to show.
His talent for scoring in tight spaces is why many rank him as the finest penalty-box striker the game has produced. Look at the angle and the space he had here and the argument makes itself.
The defending champions were out. Müller had struck again, and he would keep striking for years.
Tomorrow: number 9.
