The World Cup of 1990, held in Italy, was one of the most eventful and memorable for England.

A valiant effort from Bobby Robson's side propelled them to the Semi-Final stage, and they came within a penalty shootout from reaching the Final for only the second time.

Starting out with draws against the Republic of Ireland and Holland, England needed a win against Egypt to progress to the knockout phase. They got it with a 1-0 victory thanks to a Mark Wright header.

In the second round they faced dark-horses Belgium in a tight encounter. The game was tense and remained goalless until the last minute of extra-time when David Platt magnificently volleyed home Paul Gascoigne's free-kick.

In a hugely entertaining Quarter-Final against surprise package Cameroon, the Africans matched the English team all the way to extra-time, as the sides were level at 2-2 after 90 minutes.

Having already dispatched one penalty to level things up in the second half, Gary Lineker was given the chance from the spot again in the second period of extra time.

He converted the penalty emphatically to set up a Semi-Final clash with old rivals West Germany. If the second round match with Belgium was tense, then England fans needed nerves of steel to get through this nail biter.

After falling behind to a deflected free-kick, England battled gamely and conjured an equaliser through Lineker's dogged persistence and clever finish, which forced yet another period of extra-time.

In the added period, Gascoigne - who had lit up the tournament with his dazzling skills - was booked for a foul.

He immediately knew the yellow card would rule him out of the final if England progressed and the image of him struggling to hold back the tears became iconic.

The match went on to penalties, where England lost in heartbreaking fashion, with Stuart Pearce and Chris Waddle the unfortunate pair who missed.

England faced hosts Italy in the third place play-off but lost 2-1. Despite the disappointment of losing in the semis, the tournament went down as one of the most successful from an English perspective, uniting the nation behind Bobby Robson's battling team.