Ireland's first World Cup was 1990. It was our second major tournament in a row. Euro 88 was magical. England should have beat us 6-0. Instead we won 1-0. One of my favourite footballing memories. I digress....back to Italia 90......

We faced England, Netherlands and Egypt. The Dutch had knocked us out of the Euros with a bizarre goal. We knew nothing about Egypt. We knew England inside out.

The England game was full of tension. There was zero chance of the English taking us lightly this time around. Gary Lineker scored a typical Lineker goal. It stayed that way until Kevin Sheedy lashed a daisy cutter into the corner of the net with 17 minutes to go. It finished 1-1. 

Next up was a 0-0 draw with Egypt. It was one of the worst games I have ever seen. Egypt didn't attack. Ireland didn't know what do. By the time we figured it out, time was slipping away. Brutal. Absolutely brutal. 

And then the Dutch again. They stood between us and the knock out stage again. Gullit scored a brilliant goal to give the Dutch the lead. Niall Quinn rescued Ireland with 20 minutes left. We were in the last 16.

The Dutch got West Germany. We got a decent Romanian side who were capable of anything. It wasn't the best of games and Romania deserved to win but we managed to take it to penalties. Pat Bonner saved 1. We scored all 5. Unbelievable scenes across the country. 

Next up was the hosts in Rome. As per usual, Ireland raised their game against superior opposition. The Italians deserved their 1-0 win but it was a hell of a scrap. And just like that, our adventure was over but the memories live on. 

24 of the best sides in the world competed in Italia 90. It was an elite competition. The current edition is the equivalent of trophies for everyone. A pat on the head for participating. A diluted competition. No thanks.

Italy v Brazil 1982 came up in conversation today - I realised I still haven't gotten over it!

Brazil v Italy 1970. One of the best footballing matches I have ever seen. I think it was the best Brazilian team in history & their have been some great Brazilian sides over the years.

That move which led to the Carlos Alberto goal, which was Brazil's fourth, was one of the all-time great moves in an international match.

Another big memory was the Portugal v North Korea Quarter Final match in 1966 at Goodison park. North Korea went into a 3:0 lead only to lose the match 3-5 to Portugal, Eusebio scoring 4 goals for Portugal including 2 penalties.

Then last but not least watching England win the World Cup 4:2 as a 9 year old boy watching on a small black and white TV. The World Cup of 1966 introduced me to watching football on the TV & to eventually support Notts the following year.

My earliest memory was the 2002 World Cup in South Korea, that England v Brazil was the first time I felt properly gutted after an England match. I remember going to school extra early as they'd set up the assembly hall with two tv's at the front, the old boxy ones 20 something inches but at the time these were considered big, there were about 100 kids sitting on the floor watching!

I was lucky enough to go to one of the matches in 2006 when my uncle worked in Germany. It was for a group stage match, Portugal v Iran, Portugal won 2-0 and I got to see Deco, Luis Figo and Ronaldo in the flesh!

1974 for me...so many memories

running home from school (the usually busy streets empty, I must have sprinted out at the bell) trying to catch Yugoslavia v Zaire. Gutted that I was watching highlights on the small black and white telly. Finally the penny dropped it wasn't highlights, it was just Yugoslavia running up a 9-0 win.

I used to watch international football games without missing a match, that's if I wasn't working. 1990 and 1994, they are too early for me to remember. I remember Euro 96's, rushing home from school because the games kicked off at 3pm. I hear me out, I felt encouraged by how England played and I thought losing to Germany was heartbreaking.

Those Pizza Hut adverts felt quite cruel to Gareth Southgate, and I think if we had kept Terry Venables on we might have done better in 1998.

Glenn Hoddle wasn't a bad choice to takeover, and I do recall feeling confident about us winning it. The Michael Owen debut is etched in my memory, how he made his darting run and gave us hope. How David Beckham got sent off for tripping Diego Simeone, who naturally made a meal of it. Yet, I felt the same frustration as the players and I think the 2002 World Cup, is where I lost faith in what was becoming known as the "Golden Generation".

I do wonder if Terry had stayed on, what he would have gotten out of England. Hoddle seemed stricter, and less focused on game management for me. Venables seemed like someone who could lift a nation, Hoddle just tended to complain from what I remember. I did like Hoddle's time; he did get England to do well enough but he was always too hot headed for me.