Paul Gascoigne smashed England hotel room "to bits" after World Cup axe

Paul Gascoigne is regarded as one of England's most talented players but his run in the national team came to a sad end following his exclusion from Glen Hoddle's 1998 FIFA World Cup squad.

Gazza had put in a series of good performances to help the Three Lions qualify for the tournament but after a series of pictures were published of him eating kebabs late at night just a week before the tournament, Hoddle was swayed into dropping him after concerns over his fitness.

And despite being involved in the pre-tournament training camp, Gazza would not be on the plane to France, which resulted in him smashing Hoddle's hotel room "to bits" following the news.

Each player was individually summoned into Hoddle’s hotel room to learn of their fate ahead of the tournament squad selection, and Arsenal legend Ian Wright was next after Gazza. On the Match of the Day: Top 10 podcast in 2020, he said: "I was in next. I thought Glen was calling me in to tell me that he was not taking me for some reason but he called me in to tell me that he was and what he wanted me to do.

"I remember when I went in and we were actually talking about me being in the squad while cleaning the room up and fixing the mattress. The gaffer and me were talking about what he needed from me and Michael [Owen] all the time while we're tidying the room up – things had been smashed to bits! I was embarrassed because I was thinking about how the gaffer had to deal with Gazza going mad in the room. I just naturally went in and started helping tidy stuff up."

It was news that shocked the majority of the nation, seeing as Gazza had played an important role in England’s qualification to the tournament, although he struggled domestically with just three goals in 36