‘Yes, Ronald Koeman should have been sent off against England in 1993, but David Platt also could have stayed on his feet – that’s never mentioned’ Former Three Lions star on playing in one of the country’s most infamous matches

England begin their qualifying campaign for a World Cup in North America this month – the last time that happened, it didn’t turn out very well.

The Three Lions were expected to qualify for the 1994 World Cup in the USA after reaching the semi-finals of the previous tournament, but ended up finishing third in their group behind Norway and the Netherlands.

The match that sealed their fate was a 2-0 defeat in Rotterdam in October 1993, when Ronald Koeman somehow escaped a red card for a professional foul on David Platt, then put the Dutch ahead with a free-kick.

Former defender has his say

Paul Parker started for England that night – his first appearance of the qualifying campaign under Graham Taylor, having been a regular starter at Italia 90 during Bobby Robson’s time in charge.

“I was called back after being left out for a while – Graham Taylor initially said I didn’t suit what he was looking for, as he wanted the game to be longer and said I didn’t play in that way,” he said.

“He brought me back in due to injuries and said I was going to the World Cup if we beat the Netherlands. It was a scary stadium in Rotterdam, with barbed wire facing the pitch.

“The squad was massively under pressure going into that game. Graham Taylor was getting it from all quarters in the media and he needed the win badly – you could sense that just from his demeanour.

“If there’s positivity in the manager, they can pass that on to players; managers have made careers for players by giving them the positivity they need.

“But Graham was worried, nervous, knowing every decision was critical. The weight of the country rested on his shoulders.”

Asked his view on the Koeman incident, Parker points out something that has rarely been mentioned.

“We have to also look at David Platt, who started the phenomenon of players going down easily…” the former defender said, speaking in association with Cardplayer.com

“David could have gone on into the box to ask a bigger question. Should Koeman have been sent off? He obstructed a player – he fouled someone going through one-on-one – so yes, he should’ve been.

“Would it have made a difference to the result? It would have guaranteed that someone different took the free-kick!

“But the bigger question, which is never discussed, is if David Platt could have stayed on his feet to get a shot away or a penalty.”