Former England midfielder Paul Gascoigne snubbed several huge names when he named his all-time Three Lions XI based on players he played with.
Gascoigne, 58, is remembered fondly by most England supporters. His international career, which saw him earn 57 Three Lions caps, had huge highs and lows.
The midfielder made his England debut in September 1998 in a friendly against Denmark at Wembley before, almost two years later, his 1990 World Cup campaign ended in tears.
‘Gazza’ was booked in the semi-final against Germany, which would’ve meant he’d have missed the final and could barely hold it together on the pitch - although the Three Lions ultimately lost on penalties and exited the competition.
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Six years later, he scored arguably his most iconic goal during Euro 1996 against Scotland. The then-Rangers man chipped the ball over Colin Hendry’s head before volleying home in a 2-0 win at Wembley.
Of course, despite the memories, the Gateshead-born man could not lead England to glory, but he still shared the pitch with several Three Lions legends along the way.
In 2015, Sky Sports asked Gascoigne to name his all-time England team based on players he played alongside, and there was no place for the likes of Paul Scholes and David Beckham, as well as several other members of the ‘Golden Generation’. But one member of the iconic team did make the cut.
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Gascoigne went for David Seaman as goalkeeper behind a solid back four including left-back Stuart Pearce, centre backs Gary Mabbutt and Terry Butcher.
Right-back Gary Neville, who is more commonly associated with the ‘Golden Generation’ than sides of the mid to late ‘90s, was also named by Gazza.
On Neville, Gascoigne said: “I was fortunate to play with some great right-backs, but it's got to be Gary Neville. Only because his fitness... You see players today as wing-backs, getting forward, getting round the back and whipping in crosses, and people say this is the new game, but he was doing it 10 to 15 years ago.
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“He had a funny run on him, and he was a moaner but what Sir Alex Ferguson did with him at Manchester United was amazing. He came on leaps and bounds. He was confident, he was a really quiet lad, but he got stuck in and he was a team player.
“He was a guy that you would never see jogging back - he was up and down that line. He was an honest player, he moaned a lot, but it has to be Gary Neville.”
Moving into the midfield, Bryan Robson, Chris Waddle, John Barnes and Peter Beardsley made the cut with a striker pairing of Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer.
Topics: Paul Gascoigne, Football, David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Gary Neville
Luke Davies