World Cup: Tennis before the tears as Gazza's Italia '˜90 heroes played waiting game

THE interminable wait is what Tony Dorigo remembers most about England’s last appearance in a World Cup semi-final.

Just 72 hours separated the victory over Cameroon that booked Bobby Robson’s men a place in the last four of Italia ‘90 and that titanic clash with West Germany, but the time dragged like never before.

Harry Kane and his team-mates are no doubt experiencing something similar as the clock ticks down towards tomorrow night’s showdown with Croatia in Moscow and Dorigo has every sympathy.

“The big thing between the quarter-final and the semi-final is the wait,” the former Leeds United left-back told The Yorkshire Post. “Training is great, as that takes the mind off what is happening. Same with working on tactics.

“But the rest of the time can, if you’re not careful, be spent thinking about what is at stake. Earlier in the tournament, it is different. There are two or three games every day and all the lads come together to watch them on TV. It is a big part of the tournament.

“By the time of the semi-final, though, there is no other distraction and that leaves you with time to think. Everyone dealt with it in their own way back in 1990. Some were in a card school, others would read because the weather was red hot and it was important we stayed out of the sun.

“Gazza, though, had to be different and ended up playing tennis all afternoon. None of the lads could believe it when they found out at our team meal before the semi. The funny thing is Gazza was playing a German fan. The manager was not happy.

“But that was Gazza’s way of keeping busy and, looking at how he performed against the Germans, it certainly worked. He was superb that night.”

Paul Gascoigne was, indeed, “superb” in the semi-final. He only put one foot wrong, when stretching to win what was, at best, a ‘40-60’ challenge and catching Thomas Berthold to incur a booking that brought not only a ban from the final if England beat the Germans but also plenty of tears.

Later, Gazza would be too emotionally drained to take a penalty in Turin and his place went to Chris Waddle. He missed, as did Stuart Pearce and England’s hopes of reaching the final were at an end.

Few could have predicted back then that another 28 years would pass before the Three Lions had another shot at reaching the final.

“A World Cup semi-final is a huge thing,” said Dorigo. “Games like this are why we all wanted to be professional footballers as kids. It is just a shame our semi-final had to be settled on penalties.

“I hate penalties at the best of times. I took a few in my career, including in the play-offs, and the pressure is huge. The walk from the halfway line is the bit that can kill you. It can’t be replicated and you can’t practice it.

“I was watching the lads do that walk and praying they scored. Unfortunately, we missed a couple and all the German penalties were superb. That is just how it can be.”

Dorigo’s on-field involvement at the 1990 World Cup was restricted to starting the third-place play-off. Nevertheless, he had to be ready should either first choice left-back Pearce suffer an injury or Robson opt to switch tactics.

“Anything can happen in football,” said Dorigo, who won 15 international caps. “Bobby could have changed it in a variety of ways so every member of the squad had to be ready.

“The difficult bit is that you haven’t played for three or four weeks. You have trained as hard as possible but there is nothing like a game for keeping you sharp.

“Bobby did ask me during the build-up to the Germany semi if I would be willing to take a penalty if he brought me on. Straight away, I said, ‘Yes’. There was no hesitation.

“It was only after our chat that the occasion suddenly became very real. This was a semi-final of the World Cup and I was part of a special group of players who were all desperate to be successful.

“Terry Butcher was our leader. You got to ten minutes before the game and he was the one getting everyone going in the dressing room. Telling us we were going to war and what it meant to pull on that famous white shirt, all that sort of stuff.”

England, despite being unable to emulate the boys of 1966, returned home to a hero’s reception.

“We had been shielded from much of what was going on due to our hotel being out of the way,” added Dorigo. “There wasn’t the social media of today. The England lads in Russia will have been able to see everything that is going on back home, all those crazy fans in Leeds going mad when a goal goes in or celebrating in the streets. So they will have a feel for it.

“But, for us, we saw none of that apart from when we got to the ground in Turin and saw all the England fans. Even then, though, I didn’t realise how big things had become back home until we landed back in Luton and there were thousands of fans waiting for us. Imagine what it will be like if Gareth brings the World Cup back.”