The 1990s began with a memorable tournament for England, as they reached the semi-finals of the 1990 World Cup in Italy, where they lost to West Germany on penalties. The only time they’d gone that far in a World Cup prior to Italia 90 was in 1966, when they went on to win it. The 1990 was a high point of the decade for England.
Yes, they reached the semi-finals of Euro 96 on home soil, but other than that - on an international front at least - it was a decade of disappointment, particularly given the talent at their disposal (the likes of Paul Gascoigne, Alan Shearer and Paul Scholes all spring to mind). GIVEMESPORT has put together a list of the top 10 English players from the 1990s. England's best players of the 1990s Rank Player 10 Stuart Pearce 9 Tony Adams 8 Chris Waddle 7 Matt Le Tissier 6 Paul Ince 5 David Platt 4 David Beckham 3 Paul Scholes 2 Alan Shearer 1 Paul Gascoigne At the beginning of the decade it looked like left-back Stuart Pearce was destined to be remembered for missing his penalty in , but the left-back achieved redemption when he smashed a penalty home during the Euro 96 quarter-final shoot-out victory over .
Known as 'Pyscho' by fans, Pearce had a jack hammer of a left foot, scoring a host of memorable free-kicks, including a winner at Old Trafford and Forest's goal in their 2-1 defeat in the 1991 FA Cup final. Despite his robust nature on the field he commanded respect and gained affection from English football fans around the country. 590 72 78 5 .