Author of ‘The Best Football Book Ever’ delights in England’s World Cup success

On a tense, fraught night in Turin, England’s World Cup hopes were shattered 12 yards from goal.

With a place in the final of Italia 1990 at stake, England and West Germany were locked at 1-1 after 30 draining minutes of extra time.

Stuart Pearce and Chris Waddle missed the two decisive penalties which led to England’s demise and left mercurial star Paul Gascoigne blubbing, an image that would become synonymous with English failure at the World Cup.

In the intervening 28 years England fans have had little to nothing to cheer – until now.

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“It’s absolutely bloody wonderful,” says Pete Davies, journalist and author of “All Played Out,” dubbed the “the best football book ever,” of the current national team, which will play Sweden in a World Cup quarterfinal on Saturday.

“There’s an image I’ve seen on Twitter of (Gareth) Southgate consoling one of the Colombian players after the shootout,” added Davies, referring to England’s coach.

“It’s an absolutely superb image and to me that’s the England we could be, not just as footballers but as people.

“Inclusive and welcoming to people of other countries and other nations and other cultures and other ethnicities. It’s a lovely, lovely image and that’s what I would want England to be seen as, that’s what is important to me.”

If Southgate’s empathy has caught the imagination so too has the England coach’s sartorial sense – retailer Marks & Spencer’s waistcoat sales have reporteldy risen 35%.

England's coach Gareth Southgate has won plenty of plaudits during the World Cup.

Taxi for Lineker?

Before and during Italia 1990, Davies was given unprecedented access to the England national team, its players and manager Bobby Robson.

One of many incredible anecdotes – unheard of in this day and age – is of Davies meeting Robson for a short chat about football, which ends with the England manager confessing, in the back of a taxi, that he is on the verge of dropping star striker Gary Lineker from the World Cup squad.

Such was the trust Davies built up between everybody associated with the national team, they found their conversations a cathartic, safe space for venting any frustrations, safe in the knowledge it wouldn’t appear in the papers the next day.

At the time, Davies had already written two novels and the players he became closest to at the camp went out to buy his books and read them.

Never before – or since due to the impact his book had – had another journalist been granted such an insight into the workings of a football team.

Gascoigne's tears made headlines as England exited the 1990 World Cup to Germany in the semifinals.

‘People were dying’

In the late 1980s, English football was in a dire state. Clubs were banned from European club competitions in the wake of the Heysel Stadium disaster and hooliganism was rife.

England fans’ reputation preceded them wherever they went and all were tarred with the same violent brush.

READ: England knocks out Colombia on penalties to reach the quarterfinals

READ: The World Cup sexism that won’t go away – and the female reporters on the front line

“If you ask me personally how it feels to look back at being in the Stadio Deli Alpi in Turin for the semifinal in 1990, it feels like yesterday to me,” Davis says.

“But on the other hand, if you compare this World Cup to how things were 28 years ago it’s a different universe entirely.

“How different the world was and specifically how different football was and more specifically how different English football was, it’s a completely different universe. You forget now how dismal the condition of English football was in the late 80s.

“Stadiums were wretched, they weren’t safe and people were dying going to football games. That’s absurd, that’s extraordinary, that’s so unacceptable. How did we allow it to come to that?”

The negative way in which England was portrayed off the pitch became mirrored on it. As Davies puts it, the relationship between team and media was “100% toxic.”

Fast forward 28 years and the vibe surrounding the England national team couldn’t be more different.

Coach Southgate last week spoke of his pride in his diverse, young team on the pitch which is a mirror of Britain’s society. Not since the home European Championships of 1996 has the public felt so connected with its national team.

Southgate says his young, diverse team is a reflection of today's society in England.

“It’s a night and day,” says Davies. “We have a football team that is so sympathetic and that is reported on with nuance.

“We’ve got players with backgrounds from Jamaica, a player that grew up in Portugal (Eric Dier) and you think: ‘This is better than the small-mindedness and the xenophobia that stains England at the moment. ‘

“This is optimism and it’s lovely to be an England football fan at a time like this … because it’s rare!”

Gareth Southgate

Such positivity is mirrored in the way this England team plays on the pitch.

“Yes I want us to win, I want us to play exciting football and there are moments that we’ve seen from this squad where they’ve played fluently, with freedom and they’ve expressed themselves,”said Davies.

“They have played with patches of liberation and excitement that make you think: ‘Yeah, we really could go all the way’ and it’s lovely to be watching a tournament with hope rather than cynicism.

“But the wider thing is you look at how that squad represents us and how Southgate represents us and you think: ‘That’s really valuable.’”

Gianluca Costantini is famous in his native Italy for his satirical drawings. Here he depicts rival superstar footballers Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in advance of the Russia 2018 World Cup. Click or scroll for some of his other depictions of the the key moments of the tournament.

Croatia will compete in its first World Cup final after putting England to the sword in Moscow with a dramatic extra-time win.
For the third consecutive match, Croatia was forced to play 120 minutes after this semifinal ended 1-1 in normal time. But unlike in victories over Russia and Denmark, it did not need penalties to decide the outcome as Mario Mandzukic's 109th-minute winner proved decisive.

Twenty years after France first won the World Cup, Les Bleus moved to within one match of repeating the feats of the celebrated team of 1998 by beating Belgium to reach Sunday's final. A set-piece goal from centre-back Samuel Umtiti ensured France will play its first World Cup final since 2006.

Midfielder Luka Modric has played a key role in Croatia advancing to the semifinals. The Real Madrid star scored a brilliant goal against Brazil in the group stage and has been a consistently creative force for Croatia.

Kevin de Bruyne wonder-strike helped Belgium win a compelling quarterfinal against Brazil.

Belgium completed a stunning second-half comeback to rescue its World Cup hopes and crush those of Japan in Rostov-on-Don. Trailing 2-0 in the second half, headers from Jan Vertonghen and Marouane Fellaini hauled Belgium level, before a stunning counterattack saw Nacer Chadli snatch a dramatic last gasp winner with the last kick of the game.

Croatian goalkeeper Danijel Subasic was his team's hero, saving penalties in the shootout from Simon Kjaer, Lasse Schone and Nicolai Jorgensen to inflict a heartbreaking last-16 defeat on Denmark.

Kylian Mbappe ran the show in France's 4-3 last-16 victory over Argentina, scoring twice -- becoming the first teenager since Pele in 1958 to do so -- and winning a penalty for his team's opening goal.

Marcos Rojo's late goal gave Argentina a crucial 2-1 win over Nigeria and sent the South American side through to the last 16 of the World Cup at Russia 2018.

Iago Aspas' deft backheel ensured Spain grabbed a 2-2 draw against Morocco. It was initially ruled out for offside, only for Uzbekistani referee Ravshan Irmatov to award the goal following a VAR review. A point for Spain coupled with a late equalizer for Iran against Portugal meant La Roja topped Group B by virtue of goals scored.

Salem Al-Dawsar scored a late Saudi Arabia winner with the last kick of the game in a 2-1 victory over Egypt to give the Green Falcons their first World Cup victory since 1994.

Toni Kroos' superb free-kick against Sweden delivered a last-gasp winner and brought the Germans the win they desperately needed in the most dramatic fashion to keep the defending champions' World Cup hopes alive.

Romelu Lukaku is having an impressive World Cup. He scored two goals in Belgium's 3-0 win over Panama and grabbed another brace in the 5-2 over Tunisia.

Two delightful goals from the impressive Ahmed Musa secured Nigeria a first victory of the tournament and diminished Iceland's chances of making it into the last 16.

Philippe Coutinho scored one of the goals of the 2018 World Cup in Brazil's opening game against Switzerland with a superb curling shot. The match finished 1-1.

Barcelona striker Luis Suarez scored on his 100th international appearance in Uruguay's 1-0 win against Saudi Arabia. It was the 31-year-old's 52nd goal for his country and one of his simplest, side-footing into the net from six yards following a corner. Suarez also becomes the first Uruguayan to score at three World Cups.

Mo Salah finally made his World Cup bow and scored a goal but the Egyptian could not save his country as the Pharaohs' hopes of progressing to the knockout stages of football's showpiece event were all but ended by a clinical Russia.
On a rainy night in St Petersburg, Russia recorded their second convincing win of the group stages with this 3-1 victory against an Egyptian side which had hoped that Salah's return from injury would kickstart their tournament.

Lionel Messi missed a second-half penalty in Argentina's opening World Cup game -- the 0-0 draw against Iceland.

Cristiano Ronaldo had a barnstorming start to the 2018 World Cup scoring a hattrick in the 3-3 draw against Spain. His third goal was a stunning free-kick in the closing minutes that ensured Portugal secured a point from the game.

Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane scored his first goal at a World Cup finals in England's 2-1 win over Tunisia. After getting his first he then headed in England's winner.

Hosts Russia and Saudi Arabia were pitted against each other in the World Cup's opening match on Thursday, June 14.

Uruguay's Luis Suarez has history in the World Cup -- the Barcelona forward will hope to avoid controversy in his third tournament, while 45-year-old Egyptian goalkeeper Essam El-Hadary will be playing in his first.

Argentina and Iceland faced off in the Group D opener on June 16 -- the so-called "Group of Death." Both Sergio "Kun" Aguero of Argentina and Iceland's Gylfi Sigurdsson suffered knee injuries prior to the World Cup.

The Group E match between Brazil and Switzerland ended up in a 1-1 draw.

Moments of the 2018 World Cup

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