How does Glenn Hoddle reflect on 'difficult' decision to leave Paul Gascoigne out of England's 1998 World Cup squad?
Updated 25/03/2026 at 16:45 GMT
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With this summer’s World Cup edging ever closer, Glenn Hoddle, Joe Hart and Joe Cole have been reminiscing about past editions of the tournament - and the difficult decisions they were part of. For Hoddle, that meant leaving out one of England’s best players for 1998, as the former manager explains just why he made the decision and whether he stands by his choice so many years later.
‘It was THE MOMENT’ – Cole on drawing inspiration from Gascoigne
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The 2026 FIFA World Cup begins in less than three months.
Having made the finals of Euro 2024, England go to the tournament with high hopes of producing a strong run, having not lifted the trophy since their fabled victory in 1966.
Glenn Hoddle had his chance to coach England to success when he was in charge from 1996 to 1999.
But he has been recalling one particular decision that generated plenty of headlines at the time.
Back in 1998, Hoddle chose to leave out talismanic midfielder Paul Gascoigne from the squad for the World Cup in France, with David Beckham, Paul Scholes and Steve McManaman forming the crux of the midfield, while Alan Shearer, Teddy Sheringham and a very young Michael Owen offered options up front.
”Gazza would have been the first on the list. He had been brilliant for us through the qualifying, but at the end of the day he wasn't going to be fit until probably three weeks into the tournament and that was a call I had to make there and then,” Hoddle explained on The Breakdown.
”It is a difficult [call], it's a part of the job, but you have to try and read so many scenarios that might happen.
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”If you take that job, you have to have a strong mentality anyway, so you have to, in the end, be honest to yourself and say, right, the decision has got be made at some stage. It's no good losing sleep over it.”
Gascoigne never played for England again, with the team going on to lose to Argentina in the round of 16.
Current head coach Thomas Tuchel has selected a 35-man squad for two friendlies against Uruguay and Japan this month, leaving his options open before deciding who makes the trip across the Atlantic.
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Managing an England team is fraught with difficulties and the manager cannot always be friends with his charges - something Joe Hart found out when he played under Fabio Capello.
”I felt like Capello was [testing me]. I felt unwelcome,” the former goalkeeper said when recalling the 2010 World Cup.
”But at the same time, like the sicko part of me loved it. So obviously, I was standing up to that test. He made you feel unwelcome. But I also now look at it, he wasn't the kind of guy who'd acknowledge you if he didn't care.”
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Joe Cole of England
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Hart remained a substitute in 2010, when England exited by losing 4-1 to Germany in the round of 16. Joe Cole made it off the bench to feature in that loss and he harbours similar memories of Capello from that tournament.
”There's no manager, not even Capello… he could make you feel unwelcome, but he couldn't make a World Cup bad for me,” explained Cole.
”I even enjoyed the 2010 World Cup. I didn't play much. He was making it really difficult, but I just loved being in the footballing environment.
”For me, it was like a youth club, playing football with the best players in the country, watching the best football. I thoroughly enjoyed everything. The regimented thing isn't for me. But even when Fabio made it really regimented, I still loved it.”
England's World Cup campaign begins against Croatia on June 17.
Stream the Premier League, Men’s and Women’s FA Cup, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League and more on TNT Sports and HBO Max.
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