Last Time England Played Colombia, Foo Fighters Played Glastonbury

3 July 2018, 15:31 | Updated: 4 July 2018, 18:11

We remember the last time the two nations battled it out in The World Cup during a mud-ridden Glastonbury 1998.

This year sees Glastonbury a much-needed break or a fallow year, which means football fans don't have to make any tough choices between watching important matches and their favourite bands.

And as Somerset Live notes, with England and Colombia set to kick off at 7pm tonight (3 July) in the hopes off progressing in the FIFA World Cup, veteran Glasto fans are looking back at the last time the countries played each other in a World Cup, back in 1998, and how the Foo Fighters had the misfortune of playing at the same time.

We may be experiencing a heatwave in 2018, but twenty years ago it was very different.

The festival was not only experiencing a particularly dismal year for weather, forcing punters to watch the match while calf-deep in mud, but there were gig and World Cup match clashes a-plenty.

Glastonbury: A History In Mud - 1998

Because of the tournament, Foo Fighters played to a rather thin crowd at the Pyramid Stage on Friday 26 June, as some music fans ditched their set altogether to watch England play Colombia in the World Cup instead.

Playing around the same time were Asian Dub Foundation, Faithless and The Unbelievable Truth, who were fronted by Thom Yorke's brother, Andy.

The Foos may have topped the bill at the event in 2017, but 20 years ago they were only worthy of the early evening slot on the Pyramid Stage, playing their set ahead of James in a year in which saw Primal Scream, Blur and Pulp headline.

And just in case that doesn't sound '90s enough for you, also on the bill were the likes of The Lightning Seeds, Finlay Quaye, Ben Harper, Taj Mahal and Gomez who replaced Beth Orton.

Oh... and a festival ticket was only £80.

A Guardian review of the festival that year wrote: "This year Glastonbury belonged to football. Few of the bands could compete with the World Cup, televised on a huge screen a few fields west. But even if the unlucky acts who played between 8pm and 10pm each night, attracted sparse crowds, there were moments of fabness throughout the weekend."

England and Colombia - both in Group G and level on points - were vying to qualify for the final 16, with Romania previously having made the cut after drawing with Tunisia.

However, England had a better goal difference, meaning all they needed to get to the next stage was a draw- something no England fan would ever take for granted.

The stakes were pretty high, with Baddiel & Skinner & The Lightning Seeds' Three Lions rebooted as Three Lions '98 for England's World Cup bid. In fact, the band were also playing the festival that year - and ended their set with the classic footballing tune.

The Lightning Seeds - Three Lions '98 (Official Video)

The Story Of Three Lions By Baddiel & Skinner and The Lightning Seeds.

Clearly, Foo Fighters, who had just released their second album The Colour and the Shape in 1997, didn't stand a chance. But they gave it a good go anyway...

Opening their rain-drenched set with My Hero, the band played 15 tracks to a meagre-looking crowd.

See the Foo Fighters play their This Is A Call track, which ended their set:

Foo Fighters Live Glastonbury 1998

Ever the gentleman, Dave Grohl didn't take it to heart, and even let fans know when the score was "one-nothing England" before launching into their Big Me track, causing the crowd to erupt into cheers.

At the time, a not-so-big Dave dedicated the track to Rocket From The Crypt, who pulled off this amazing feat of crowd participation:

Rocket From The Crypt - On A Rope - (Live At Glastonbury)

Luckily for Foo Fighters and the England fans watching them, the set which was marred by bad weather, wasn't marred by defeat.

England went on to win the match, beating Colombia 2-0, with Darren Anderton scoring in the 20th minute, and a little-known player named David Beckham scoring a free kick in the 29th.

Re-live those goals here:

England v Columbia 2-0 WC 1998 (Goals)

Hopefully England will have similar success this time around, but if you're superstitious, the great weather and lack of a Glastonbury festival might just be cause for alarm...

All we can do is channel these two from 1998 and hope for the best!

See Foo Fighters' Glastonbury 1998 setlist:

1. My Hero

2. My Poor Brain



3. For All the Cows



4. Monkey Wrench



5. Alone + Easy Target



6. See You



7. Gas Chamber 
(Angry Samoans cover)

8. Up in Arms



9. Enough Space



10. Big Me



11. I'll Stick Around



12. Hey, Johnny Park!



13. Everlong



14. New Way Home



15. This Is a Call