England had hardly taken the ball of Italia 90, Sir Bobby Robson and Gazza’s tears in Turin and run with it.

Graham Taylor, a fine English manager, was reduced to mediocrity, Paul Gascoigne’s injury worries and not a single right-back in the squad, it was the perfect recipe for a disastrous tournament.

They were scheduled to open the tournament in Malmo against Yugoslavia, but their dark horse opponents were sanctioned for their part in the Yugoslav Wars, and replaced by Denmark.

In theory, this should have given England an advantage, but a 0-0 draw against the Danes, and another tedious 0-0 against France three days later in the same venue did little to inspire.

The hosts in Stockholm were next. It was the turning point of England’s tournament.

A win would take them into only their second-ever semi-final in European Championships history and the history books would be able to look fondly back on successive tournament semi-finals.

David Platt scuffed an opener into the net inside 4 minutes and another semi-final against the Germans seemed likely.

However, with Jan Eriksson’s leveller, it put England at a disadvantage.

They needed a win because of their poor goals scored record.

Playing with one man up front, and a man nearing the all-time goal record in Gary Lineker, just wasn’t cutting it.

Instead of reverting to a 442, Graham Taylor subbed Lineker off for Alan Smith. The Arsenal forward couldn’t get the goal necessary, Gary Lineker remained on 48 goals for England and Tomas Brolin scored the memorable winner eight minutes from time.

England were eliminated, Denmark beat France and went onto qualify and subsequently win the tournament.

#Lineker #England #FIFAWorldCup

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Voice: Jake Doyle (@jakedoyle93)
Illustrations: Jake Doyle (@jakedoyle93)
Words: Jake Doyle (@jakedoyle93)
Edit: Jake Doyle (@jakedoyle93)

What If Football is a form of footballing storytelling that takes the audience down a different path to our current reality.

What If Football covers football in all forms, from the Premier League to the Champions League, European football and the EFL as well as international tournaments such as the FIFA World Cup and the UEFA European Championships.

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