Bobby Charlton
England World Cup winner in 1966

The Germans are favourites. The responsibility to put England into the World Cup final is on the players, and the players alone.

I was more nervous in the semi-final of 1966 than the final itself. We are the underdogs but we are here and we are ready.

In the studio with Des Lynam is Match of the Day stalwart Jimmy Hill, England midfielder Bryan Robson and current Spurs boss Terry Venables. Am I the only one thinking El Tel might make a cracking national boss one day?

They've also got World Cup winner Bobby Charlton on call to give his advice to Bobby Robson's side...

Following that extremely sad news, I'll now take you back to 1990 and to the BBC Sport studio...

Image source, Getty Images

To break away momentarily and return to 2020, we have some very sad news to bring you. Former Chelsea and England goalkeeper Peter Bonetti has died aged 78 after a long-term illness.

Bonetti, nicknamed "The Cat" because of his athleticism and reflexes, played 729 games for the Blues and seven times for England.

Our thoughts and condolences towards his family. RIP Peter.

You can read more about Bonetti here.

Des Lynam
BBC MOTD presenter

Good evening and welcome to the most momentous day for English football since 1966.

Over half of the population will be watching. What the other half are doing - well, that's up to them...

Ah, Des. Is there a smoother man in Britain?

Play Nessun Dorma, role titles, cue Des Lynam...

Our coverage of the 1990 World Cup semi-final is up and running and you can watch it above by pressing the play button. You can also watch on red button and the iPlayer.

Classic BBC, we've started with a montage, comparing the class of 1990 with the winning side of '66. No pressure then, eh?

Image source, Getty Images

No such issues for West Germany. They've been methodical, clinical, efficient and any other similar quality you lazily reach for when trying to describe how enviably good they are.

They won their group pretty comfortably, saw off the Netherlands in a high-profile and controversial encounter (looking at you, Frank Rijkaard), and dug in to grind out a 1-0 victory over Czechoslovakia in the quarters.

They have talent all over the shop - Andreas Brehme, Thomas Berthold, Thomas Hassler, the imperious Lothar Matthaus, Jurgen Klinsmann, Rudi Voller.

This is all familiar stuff for West Germany, an eighth semi out of nine over the last 20 years.

OK, my confidence is draining by the second here.

Image source, Getty Images

So, how did England reach this stage? Well, the rollercoaster has had plenty of ups, downs and gasp-inducing drama that's for sure.

We can probably brush over the group stage, in which England's 1-0 win over Egypt was the only game not ending in a draw, meaning our lads topped the group, despite some pretty underwhelming displays.

That led to Belgium in the last 16 and a tense affair settled gloriously by David Platt's twisting volleyed winner in the very last minute of extra-time.

Then came Cameroon, the tournament's surprise package, who nearly did for Robson's lads until two Gary Lineker penalties dragged us off the plane home and into the semis.

For the record, this is the aforementioned WWF sticker album I was so determined to complete back at the start of the 90s...

Image source, OSW Review

There were big portraits of all your favourites - Hulk Hogan, Legion of Doom, Jake the Snake et al - that took six stickers to complete. I'm pretty sure I never got Tugboat's right bicep.

Have a gander here to see it in all its glory., external

Oh, and let me know if you were slavishly collecting something back in 1990. Yo-yos? Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? Polly Pocket? Maybe even stickers for the Italia 90 Panini album...

Image source, classicfootballstickers.co.uk

As I said earlier, 30 years is a long old time. Do you remember what you were up to? If you were alive and old enough to watch this game, how did you do so? Down the pub (remember that?!)? At home with your parents? Or maybe, just maybe, you were one of the 4,000 England fans in the stadium in Turin that night?

If you've got any photos of yourself from 1990, now is surely the time to share them with the nation.

We're after things like this...

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Tweet us using the hashtag #bbcfootball.

Still not quite feeling it?

How about now?

Here's a question... is this the best football song of all time? It's bound to provoke some fierce debate between generations. The World in Motion-ites versus the Three Lioners. With the Back Home service crew ready to take them both on.

Image source, Getty Images

It is 4 July 1990 in Turin, Italy. Yesterday saw the tournament hosts exit on penalties to Argentina. The loveable Robert Baggio and Toto Schillaci bested by the dastardly Diego Maradona.

But tonight, all eyes are on the Stadio delle Alpi, where England are about to play in their first World Cup semi-final since winning the whole thing on home soil back in 1966.

And wouldn't you just know it; the nation standing in their way is the same one beaten at Wembley 24 years prior - West Germany, led by none other than the man who starred in their midfield in '66, Franz Beckenbauer.

It's all set up for a stone cold classic.

Image source, Getty Images

All'alba vincerooo

Vinceraaa

Vincerooooooooooooooooo

Is it really just a few months short of 30 years since Italia 1990?

Where has all that time gone?

You could say quite a lot has happened since then to the England national team - they were terrible, briefly really good, terrible again, promising, terrible for a long time before recently giving us a team to really root for once more.

But put all that out of your mind, because this afternoon we are going back three decades to a time when Back to the Future III was in the cinema, Baywatch was on the telly, MC Hammer was in the charts, and, on a tense, dramatic night I put aside my World Wrestling Federation sticker album to watch, along with the rest of the nation, Bobby Robson's men take on West Germany for a place in the World Cup final...