Day 4 and we welcome the Home Nations and Ireland to Italia ’90; not that much was expected from either England or Scotland. Bobby Robson was under intense scrutiny from the English press who not only questioned his managerial ability, they had also begun digging around in his private life. Jack Charlton’s Ireland were their opponents for this opening crunch game in Group F. The heavens opened over Cagliari as the two nations served up a typically brutish ‘Derby’ encounter. The fans, too, were in for ‘special’ treatment from the Sardinian police as our panel recalls. For the Scots; could they finally make it past the group stages at a World Cup? Surely, the unfancied Costa Ricans couldn’t throw a spanner in the works, could they?

HOST: Mark Godfrey

GUESTS: Pete Davies (All Played Out/One Night in Turin), Simon Hart (World in Motion – The Inside Story of Italia 90), Steve Beauchampe (Football Supporters Association fan embassy), Kevin Sheedy (Ireland and Everton)