Revival under Robson - England

Although at the time he was widely derided by the press, Bobby Robson is now looked upon as one of England's more successful managers. Having failed to make the final stages of the 1984 European Championships by losing out to Denmark, he took England to the 1986 World Cup. Following a poor start, in which England lost to Portugal, drew with Morocco and were without their injured captain Bryan Robson, three goals by Gary Lineker against Poland ensured a place in the next round. Having defeated Paraguay 3-0 in the second round, they were to fall short in controversial circumstances against the eventual winners Argentina in the quarter finals, thanks to two goals from Diego Maradona - the first the infamous "Hand of God" goal, where Maradona punched the ball into the net, the second after a 50-yard dribble past five England players that is widely regarded as one of the finest goals in history. As a small consolation, Gary Lineker won the tournament's Golden Boot.

England's 1990 World Cup was their best since 1966; after a slow start in the group stage, England squeaked single-goal wins over Belgium and Cameroon in the knockout rounds, before being beaten on penalties by West Germany in the semi-finals, after drawing 1-1. Stuart Pearce and Chris Waddle missed from the spot. The team's good performance, the relative lack of violence and the emergence of Paul Gascoigne - England's player of the tournament, who famously cried after being booked against West Germany (which would have ruled him out of the final had England won) - were all factors in the rehabilitation of football in British society in the 1990s. After the World Cup, Peter Shilton retired from international football with 125 caps, a record which remains to this day.