England v USA: ‘Peter Shilton told me to do one!’ – The iconic Sheffield Wednesday moment that changed US soccer forever

He was joking of course. As the ball rolled out in front of John Harkes that evening, few would have encouraged the young American to put his laces through it. If it had been David Hirst or John Sheridan, then maybe, but not ‘the Yank’.

‘The Y-word’ was one that followed Harkes around in his early days at S6. While the Wednesday support was always fiercely supportive of their new man, brought across for a speculative trial with countryman goalkeeper Tony Meola, there was suspicion in English football about Americans coming across to play ‘soccer’ in the English leagues.

Indeed, Atkinson admits Harkes was only given the opportunity because ‘his old man was Scottish’. When Meola told the Owls boss he also had a trial lined up with Italian giants Juventus, the manager responded with ridicule: “You’d be better off with Fray Bentos, lad.”

Meola went on to win 100 caps for USA and featured at three World Cups.

“There was a lot of cat-calling and chants,” Harkes remembered of his time in England, which also saw him play for West Ham United and Derby County, becoming the first American to play in the Premier League.

“It was ‘Go home, Yank!’ and joke accents, that kind of stuff. The British culture was, to a degree, not all that accepting to a lot of foreigners back in those days.

“Every nationality had a stereotype and it’s tough to imagine it today, but in terms of foreign players there were just me and Roly in the Wednesday team. And two was a lot in those days.

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“But if you show you can play, eventually they will accept you. You have to be thick-skinned; you have to be able to take a few shouts here and there. There are tough places in English football. You go to Millwall and they let you know.

“So you have to have strong self-belief, take all the sh*t that is thrown at you and fight through it. That resilience was a big challenge; fighting day-to-day, week-to-week, trying to get acceptance around the league.”

Walking on to their Middlewood Road training ground the day before, John Sheridan sidled up beside Harkes to pass on a word or two of wisdom.

Sheridan was not usually one for profound speeches or moments of emotion, but there was a lack of confidence in his new teammate that had caught his attention. “Harkesy, you can play, lad,” he said. “Don’t let anybody tell you otherwise.”

That acceptance arrived on December 12 1990 when that ball broke just over the halfway line in the Rumbelows Cup fourth round replay at the Baseball Ground. A bobble, what felt like acres of space and the confidence to hit it.

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Standing in its way? 35 yards and England goalkeeper Peter Shilton; ageing, but still regarded as one of the best in the world.

“I was crying out for the ball,” Harkes remembered. “The gaffer had told me that he wanted me to take the freedom to get into the spaces further forward and create, but that we were away from home and I wasn’t to do it too early. I had to protect the centre-backs as well.

“Kingy [Phil King] and Worthy [Nigel Worthington] had been knocking the ball around the left and, by the time it worked its way across to me, I had crept eight or nine yards over the midfield line. I remember feeling as if I was in so much space.

“My first instinct, even when the ball was coming over, was to catch it on the half-volley and push it forward. As soon as I took the second touch, I knew I was hitting it; absolutely no doubt in my mind. It didn’t matter that it was 40 yards out. Nobody was stepping out to me and I thought: ‘Take your chance while you can’. So I did.”

Ricocheting from the stanchion of the goal with Alan Parry’s iconic commentary bursting from every frame, the goal was Harkes’ first in England and softened some of the ridicule that would so often come his way. The goal earned the American respect. The Yank could play.

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Despite the influence the likes of Brad Friedel, Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey have had on the game and despite the success of the US national teams and the MLS, there are strides still to be made nearly 32 years on from Harkes’ remarkable strike, which put the Owls on their way to Wembley immortality and their iconic 1991 Rumbelows Cup win.

Speaking ahead of Friday’s World Cup clash between England and the USA, Leeds United’s American manager Jesse Marsch has spoken about the lack of trust he feels from some fans and media due in no small part to his accent. It’s certainly a difficulty Bob Bradley felt during his time as Swansea City boss.

But Harkes takes great pride in what he was able to achieve with Wednesday in the early 90s – and the barriers he was able to break down for his countrymen.

After the game, Harkes remembers a brief post-match discussion with Shilton and asked the England legend for his gloves. “I got a short answer of about two words and the second was ‘off,’” Harkes laughed.

“He did congratulate me, though – I’ll give him that and that shows a lot for his character. He was the most-capped international player at that time and his fingertips could not have been any closer to that ball. He was a quality goalkeeper and to score like that was amazing.

“That goal changed my life. Without a doubt it was the number-one most influential and positive change in my life I could ever have hoped for. Without a doubt. Incredible.”

This story is adapted from a chapter in ‘91 – The inside story of Sheffield Wednesday's historic 1990/91 season’ – available to buy HERE.