‘It’s still my favourite. I was playing for my country against my own players from Rangers, they’d been giving me grief and I said, ‘Just wait until we get to Wembley…’ Paul Gascoigne on his Euro 96 goal against Scotland

When it comes to iconic moments, Paul Gascoigne’s career has plenty to offer.

There’s the tears in Turin following his Italia 90 semi-final yellow card, the superlative goal for Tottenham against Arsenal in the 1991 FA Cup semi-final, or even that famous photo of Vinnie Jones taking his man-marking of the 20-year-old Newcastle star to a whole new level.

But what does the man himself consider to be the best goal he ever scored?

Gazza on his favourite-ever goal

For this, we have to go back to Euro 96, when Gascoigne - then at Rangers - was taking on Scotland at Wembley. England were narrowly holding onto a one-goal lead when Scotland were awarded a 78th-minute penalty.

David Seaman would save from Gary McAllister and within a minute, England’s tournament had kick-started into life, thanks to Gascoigne, who had flicked the ball over Colin Hendry’s head and volleyed home, before embarking on the equally iconic dentist chair celebration.

Almost 30 years on, Gazza admits that this remains his favourite goal,

“Because I was playing for my country,” he tells FourFourTwo. “I was playing against my own players from Rangers, they’d been giving me grief before the tournament and I said, ‘Just wait until we get to Wembley, tell me then…’”

Naturally, he made the most of the moment when he got back to Glasgow for the start of pre-season. “Oh yeah, I hammered them!” he laughs. “I got the photograph of the goal and put it all around the dressing room.”

A few years ago, he unexpectedly bumped into Hendry again.

“I met him in London,” Gazza says. “He said, ‘What are you doing in London?’ And I asked him, ‘What are you doing in London? I thought I left you at f**king Wembley!’”

Like at Italia 90, the semi-final against Germany is a more painful memory. At the Euros, he came so close to scoring the golden goal, inches from tapping in Alan Shearer’s cross-shot at the far post.

“If it was Shearer or Lineker, they would have scored that,” he admits. “But I thought the keeper was going to get a touch, so I paused for a second.”

Like his dentist’s chair moment, a special celebration had been planned, too – it would have been the first ever golden goal at a major tournament. “We were going to run round the pitch and down the tunnel,” he says.

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