Gascoigne urges England to bring back the 1990 spirit at the World Cup

Paul Gascoigne said on Wednesday that he hopes England can recreate the “unbelievable” team spirit that defined the 1990 World Cup squad as they pursue success in this year’s tournament.

The former midfielder was a key member of Bobby Robson’s side that reached the semi‑finals in Italy before losing on penalties to eventual champions West Germany.

England have won the World Cup only once, on home soil 60 years ago, and the only other semi‑final appearance since 1990 came when Gareth Southgate’s team reached the last four in 2018.

“You want 11 captains on the pitch and when you are playing in a game like that, at a World Cup, you cannot afford to carry anyone,” Gascoigne told ITV.

“Everyone has to be on the ball and the team spirit is important.”

“The players that didn’t play, they were right behind the team, so our team spirit was unbelievable.”

“The most important thing is team spirit because that goes a long way.”

Thomas Tuchel’s men face Costa Rica in their final friendly on Wednesday before a Group L opener against Croatia in Dallas on June 17.

When asked what he would say to the current squad, the 59‑year‑old Gascoigne added: “Enjoy it. Because you just never know it could be your last World Cup.”

Gascoigne famously burst into tears after being booked in the 1990 semi‑final, meaning he would have been suspended from the final had England qualified.

His life has been troubled by addiction problems, but Gascoigne, speaking after the release of his new autobiography, said: “Everything’s going well for us.”

“It’s probably the happiest I’ve been in about five years, definitely, you know.”

Turning to his autobiography, he said: “A lot of people have come up (to me) and said they’ve read it and (it’s) saved their life.”

“If that book can save one person’s life, then I’ve done my job,” he added, joking: “I think I should read it myself, you know! Do myself a favour.”

He added: “Every morning, I don’t think about tomorrow because that’s another day. I just try to keep it in the day, keep it simple. Some days I find it hard.”

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