| It had to come good sometime for Chris Waddle and gradually he began to show consistency, if not too many mind-blowing displays of showmanship, when in an England shirt. Through 1988 and 1989 England had a settled midfield of Waddle on the right and Barnes on the left with Neil Webb and skipper Bryan Robson in the middle, though the emergence of a certain Paul Gascoigne threatened to change that once Bobby Robson finally released his leash. Gascoigne, a like-for-like Geordie in Waddle's image, helped Chris to relax more on the international scene and after Webb suffered a dreadful achilles injury on World Cup qualification duty in Sweden, it opened the path for Gascoigne and Waddle to combine in their playground football manner, to the delight of the England fans and the devastation of opponents. England qualified for the 1990 World Cup without losing a game or conceding a goal. Waddle started every qualifier, scoring only his third England goal in a 5-0 Wembley win over Albania with a close range header after Gascoigne had set him up. In the first game after qualification, England played World Cup hosts Italy at Wembley and, among some stunning individual performances throughout the team, Waddle gave Paolo Maldini a lesson in wingplay which few wingers would manage again in the Italian fullback's enviable and much idolised career. The game ended 0-0 purely through Italian luck, but Waddle, thanks partly to Gascoigne's presence and partly to his own blessed club form which had seen him clinch an enormous move to Marseille, was really in the mood, possibly for the first time in his England career. Chris won his 50th England cap in a 1-0 win over Denmark and duly accepted his place in the World Cup squad, famously smashing an oversized chocolate birthday cake into Gascoigne's face when his fellow Geordie turned 23 in the pre-tournament build up. (Matthew Rudd) |