Women’s World Cup: England and Argentina players reunited in chance encounter – 48 years on

The last time their paths crossed, it was on the pitch of the Azteca Stadium in Mexico in front of thousands of people back in 1971.

Forty-eight years later, in a chance encounter at a train station in northern France, some of the trailblazing women from England and Argentina’s unofficial World Cup squads have been reunited.

“Fate was involved in this,” said Gill Sayell, who was 14 years old when she travelled to Mexico.

“It felt absolutely amazing. I’ve got goosebumps thinking about it now.”

The unofficial World Cup first took place in 1970. The FA had banned women’s football in 1921, and Uefa and Fifa were not interested in investing in the game, so a group of Italian businessmen decided to stage international tournaments as the Federation of Independent European Female Football (FIEFF).

A year after its inception, England were accepted into the competition and played against Argentina before meeting hosts Mexico in front of a record attendance which still stands to this day. There is no official figure, but the attendance for England’s game with Mexico was estimated to be around 90,000.

Around 25,000 were in the stands for England’s opener against Argentina, which the South Americans won 4-1.