Paul Gascoigne has told England’s young players to enjoy every minute of the 2026 World Cup and to back themselves without fear. The 59-year-old said the tournament can come around only a handful of times in a career, and that the quickest way to waste one is to play like a passenger.
Gascoigne said he was 22 when he was picked for England and had just turned 23 at Italia '90, a tournament he still remembers as pure football from start to finish. He said he loved every minute of it and urged the current generation to do the same, naming Jude Bellingham, Nico O'Reilly and Anthony Gordon as the kind of young players who should go out, express themselves and take people on.
That advice matters because Gascoigne is not speaking like a distant figure from a different era. He is talking from the edge of a career that moved fast, with injuries and selection changes cutting across opportunities long before a player expects them to end. He pointed to his own experience and to what happened before France '98 as a reminder that no one can assume they will get more than one or two shots at a World Cup.
He also widened the message beyond simple confidence. Gascoigne said players should forget the little dance before a penalty, make up their minds early and hit it cleanly, adding that his own effort against Germany in the Euro 96 semi-final struck his shin before still flying into the top corner. The point was not nostalgia. It was urgency: if the chance is there, take it, because there may not be another.
Gascoigne said he would play in the Sahara if he had to, joking that he would beat the camels, and insisted the setting should not matter if a player really wants to compete. He also called the 1990 England team the best side he played in, a reminder of the standard he wants this group to chase as the World Cup draws closer.
The comments came as Gascoigne stays busy with the paperback release of his book, Eight, which won Autobiography of the Year at the 2026 Charles Tyrwhitt Sports Book Awards. He said that after years of stops and starts, he is happier than he has ever been. For England’s younger players, the next test is simpler and harder at the same time: listen to the warning, enjoy the stage, and make sure the opportunity does not pass them by.
