One night in Turin
By Geoff Vickers
The memories of that game still burn very strongly.
Italia '90 was not a great tournament in terms of football, but for England fans nearly it was gut-wrenching, heart-stopping drama. And never more so than one night in Turin - the semi-final of the competition, against the old rivals Germany.
The emotion filled all 120 minutes - and that was even before the penalties. There was a great low when Germany took the lead, through a free kick that took a huge deflection off Paul Parker and seemed to take the length of time itself to drop over Peter Shilton's head.
Then, finally, there came the equaliser from Gary Lineker late in the second half. There was temporary relief - and then the nerves as the agony of extra time began.
Then Paul Gascoigne - the talisman of the team, the player who brought the element of not just talent and skill, but football genius, to the team - was booked. Because he had already been cautioned earlier in the tournament, this meant he would be ruled out of the final. We could see from the screens that he was upset. The talisman of the whole 1990 campaign would be out if England won. I remember we all felt deflated - even before the cruel ending.
The penalty shoot-out was so tense that a lot of England fans couldn't bear to look. I vividly recall Chris Waddle's penalty, which missed so badly it nearly hit me behind the goal - half way up the stand!
As we left the Stadio Della Alpi in Turin that night I never felt so proud as being an England fan at that moment. Only once since perhaps, when we lost again to Argentina on penalties in the 1998 World Cup, have I felt like that again.