Just 14 minutes of the 1986 World Cup quarter-final remained when, with his side trailing 2-0 to Argentina, the late Sir Bobby Robson turned to a young John Barnes to resuscitate a flat-lining England.
The 22-year-old had an almost immediate impact as he crossed for Gary Lineker to head in his sixth goal of the tournament, halving the deficit in the process. From that moment onwards England looked to Barnes at every available juncture and he produced a replica cross three minutes from time, but Lineker, who still to this day doesn't know how, failed to apply the finishing touch.
With it went England's participation in Mexico, but Barnes's appearance – no matter how fleeting – had many bemoaning Robson's reluctance to utilise his pace and trickery sooner.
Glenn Hoddle and Sven-Goran Eriksson, in the cases of Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney respectively, have not been as cautious when it has come to unleashing a youthful talent on a major tournament in recent years and with a World Cup opener against Italy on the horizon, the pressure is growing on Roy Hodgson to include 19-year-old Raheem Sterling within his starting lineup.
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The clamour is certainly understandable, with Sterling having contributed nine goals and five assists as Liverpool pushed Manchester City for the Premier League title. What's more, the four-capped youngster produced the sort of wing play not seen at Anfield since Barnes in his pomp.
Yet, from his own experiences with the Three Lions, Barnes believes that Sterling, who like him was born in Jamaica, would find it difficult at this stage in his career to adjust with the contrast in styles between his club side and England.
"For me to play for England how I did for Liverpool, England would have needed to play the same way that Liverpool did. Sterling had a great season, but with Liverpool having so much possession, he got to see a lot of the ball," the 50-year-old told Sports Mole
"Before he got sent off [against Ecuador last week], he had the ball about five times and he tried to dribble. He may have beaten a couple of players, but then he lost it. For Liverpool, that's how he used to play, but as the season wore on he adapted his game and sometimes he passed the ball first time and other times he dribbled. He knew that he was going to get a lot of [the ball].
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"The problem I had and the problem that he has is that England don't have a lot of the ball so whenever you do get it, you think that you've got to do something special. That's exactly what he was doing against Ecuador. He doesn't need to do that for Liverpool because he so much of the ball that it is much easier for him to make the right decision of when to pass and when to carry the ball himself. He wants 10 touches for England each time because he's aware that it might take a while for him to get on the ball again.
"It's very similar to me because that's why I felt that I never played as well for England as I did for Liverpool. It also comes with experience and he's only been doing it for Liverpool for one season. I'd bring him on if England are winning comfortably or need to rescue the game."
Another tournament debutant, Ross Barkley, has also earned plaudits for his displays in the Miami warm-up friendlies. His bullish yet skilful style from a central midfield position has drawn comparisons with Paul Gascoigne, who starred as England reached the semi-finals of Italia '90 and Euro '96.
However, while the temptation may be there for Hodgson to release Sterling, Barkley and their fellow teenagers against the Azzurri, Barnes believes that the veteran coach should remain true to his values, both for the good of the team and the younger members of the squad.
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"No matter how many exciting young players that we have, the team has to be a reflection on the manager. We've known Roy Hodgson for over 20 years and we know the way that he plays and likes his teams to play," he said.
"Regardless of all these attacking players, he has to be true to himself and his ideologies. We know what we are going to get from Roy. A lot of the younger players will be used as impact players, whether we are winning or losing.
"Sterling and Barkley have been involved in senior high-level football for one year. Some people want to compare Barkley to Gazza in 1990, but Gazza was older and he'd already been playing for four years at the top level. I wouldn't want to put these young players under too much pressure just now because if you put them in this situation and it doesn't go well, that could knock their confidence for a number of years.
"Against Ecuador, the team was changed and all these young players came in. Individually, they did okay, but as a team it was bit like schoolboy football. Jack Wilshere, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Luke Shaw, Barkley and Sterling – everybody was just attacking and dribbling so when we lost the ball, Ecuador were running straight at our back four.
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"We didn't have any balance. If that was against Argentina or Brazil, they would have beaten us by five. Against Honduras, while we didn't play too well, that team was again close to being what it will be against Italy."
It's widely accepted that Joe Hart will keep goal against the Italians in Manaus, with a back four of Leighton Baines, Gary Cahill, Phil Jagielka and Glen Johnson in front of him. Skipper Steven Gerrard will roam in front of that rearguard, but further forward, opinions tend to differ.
As far as Barnes is concerned, "Jordan Henderson, Adam Lallana, Danny Welbeck (fitness permitting), Rooney and Daniel Sturridge" should start. And what result will those 11 players achieve in what Barnes has described as a "must-not-lose game" for Hodgson's men? "1-1" came the assertive reply.
John Barnes was speaking at the launch of ESPN FC's partnership with TfL to provide live score updates on the Tube throughout the World Cup.
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