Best and worst of it

Jeff, Matt, Merse, Thommo and Charlie talk us through some of their personal highs and lows from World Cup history.

Soccer Saturday boys share more World Cup memories

It's not long until the World Cup kicks off - and our panel of experts are here to tell you exactly what you can expect in South Africa. Here on skysports.com, we've brought together the studio stars of Soccer Saturday - Jeff Stelling, Matt Le Tissier, Paul Merson, Phil Thompson and Charlie Nicholas - to share their thoughts on football's showpiece tournament. In the coming days they'll bring you their tips on the players and teams to look out for in South Africa - as well as debating some of the big World Cup talking points. But first they'll share their best and worst memories of the World Cups of yesteryear...

skysports.com: We've heard about your earliest World Cup memories, but what are your personal highlights from World Cup history? JEFF: My absolute favourite moment comes from the 2002 World Cup. I was in Sapporo with Chris Kamara and the Soccer Saturday producer Ian Condron when David Beckham scored that penalty against Argentina, after Michael Owen had been brutally scythed down... not! But it was a fantastic moment and to be there in the stadium with the supporters was just brilliant. The atmosphere was incredible and Sven's other half Nancy was sitting in front of us with her friends and we all shared communal hugs at the final whistle, it was great. LE TISS: Gerry Armstrong in 1982. For Northern Ireland to beat Spain was an amazing moment in World Cup history and it was one of the biggest shocks I'd ever seen in football. England had been quite average in that tournament, Kevin Keegan and Trevor Brooking were injured and we went out without losing a game. But I was so pleased to see Northern Ireland do so well. THOMMO: I'd have to say my greatest memories come from the 1970 World Cup and that Brazil team. I was at Liverpool at the time and I was very impressionable when it came to players and they had them all. I mean there was Tostao, Jarzinho, Rivelinho and of course Pele and those names just left you drooling. One of the standout games from that tournament was between Brazil and England; it was just incredible and Jairzinho's goal is one that will live in the memory. CHARLIE: I went to Mexico in 1986 and thoroughly enjoyed it before injury curtailed me. However, my great memory of being a Scot was the Archie Gemmill goal against Holland in 1978. It was a bit like Diego Maradona's goal in 1986, but on a smaller scale and was something only Scotland could come up with. They'd had a notably poor performance, but then made a statement at the end of a tournament with one of the finest goals you'll ever see. That's still a standout memory for me. MERSE: I also remember that goal. It was a million years ago, but we still remember it - and that's what makes it such a special moment. The Premier League is fine, but you always remember the World Cup because it's the best of the best. LE TISS: I'd also pick out Gary Lineker's hat-trick against Poland in 1986. That really sticks in the mind. England had struggled a bit until that game and it all changed around with those goals. It was a pivotal moment in Lineker's career let alone anything else. MERSE: Every player who has ever played professional football wants to play in the World Cup - and I was lucky enough to play in one during my career. I am grateful for that. I took a penalty in the shoot-out against Argentina in 1998 and luckily enough I scored. We lost the game, which was a great shame but it was just so nice to be there. skysports.com: The World Cup is as famous for its lows as for its highs. What would you choose as your worst moments from the history of the tournament? LE TISS: Every time we've gone out on penalties is a low moment! How can you forget Gazza's tears in 1990, the year we started missing penalties? MERSE: Going out to Argentina on penalties in 1998 was horrible. It wasn't nice at all because you never know what might have happened. There were a lot of teams still to be beaten to win that competition, but if we'd got a little bit of luck you just never know. There's no worse feeling than stepping up and knowing that everybody at home is willing you to score. It seemed everything was against us that day - but at least Argentina didn't go on and win it! LE TISS: It was even more heart-wrenching for me because I'd nearly made the 1998 England squad. I scored for the B-team but was left out of the squad. To see us go out on penalties - when I knew I could have helped - was heart-breaking. Would I have scored in that shoot out? Of course I would! MERSE: Yeah. I'd take Matt all day long as a penalty taker. They weren't many better. But it is so different doing it in a World Cup shoot-out.... LE TISS: Also David Beckham's red card that game was really harsh. If it had been in England it wouldn't have been a red card, but at the time the foreign referees had a different idea on what deserved a red card. For me, if you flick out at somebody and you don't remotely hurt them, it's not a sending off. That red card was the most senseless thing I've ever seen on a football pitch. That game was edge of the seat stuff until that happened - and then Sol Campbell had a goal wrongly ruled out, so that was even more frustrating! JEFF: My worst memory probably comes from the 2002 tournament when England lost to Brazil. I had gone home by then, but the way we so palpably failed to have a go at them when they were down to 10-men was just so disappointing. They were there for the taking and we just sat there and did nothing. I blame Sven for that because we were so lacking in ideas when we should have been writing a piece of history. We were useless and it was just so frustrating. CHARLIE: For me it was Mexico 1986 when Klaus Berggreen of Denmark brutally chopped me in the Achilles and put me out of the competition in the first game. That was a real dampener for me because I was in good form then. THOMMO: From a personal point of view it was probably the 1982 World Cup which I played in. We went into those games with people more worried about the defence than anything else. There were more pages written about the defence and the fact that that was the one area that could let us down, but we were good enough to only concede one goal in the whole tournament. There were two group stages back then and we beat France 3-1 in Bilbao in our first game before winning 2-0 against Czechoslovakia and 1-0 against Kuwait. In the second group stage we drew 0-0 with the hosts Spain and 0-0 with West Germany. So the defence only conceded one goal and we never lost a match in five games but we were still eliminated so that left a bitter taste in all the players' mouths. CHARLIE: In terms of watching the World Cup, I'd go back to 1978 and Scotland with Willie Johnston's drug scandal and Ally MacLeod with his head in his hands. I can say MacLeod is an absolutely wonderful man and one of the great enthusiasts of football and although he was living in a dream in 1978 it didn't matter. The picture of him with his head in his hands covering his face will probably haunt all Scots as one of the most terrible, defining moments of World Cup history. Over to you. Share your World Cup memories with the boys using the feedback form below!