Minster FM News
10 things that didn't exist when England were last in a World Cup semi-final
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Published at 7:23am 11th July 2018. (Updated at 7:58am 11th July 2018)
It’s well documented just how historic an occasion England reaching the World Cup semi-final is.
Wednesday’s game against Croatia in Moscow will be just the third time the Three Lions have played in such a fixture and the first since 1990.
A lot has happened over the past 28 years, so here is a look at what's changed since that iconic night all those years ago:
1. Social Media
Perhaps one of the most obvious examples of how the world has changed, these days with the right combination of Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram you can pretty much follow the whole tournament without turning the TV on.
2. Flat screen TVs
On the note of TVs, whilst we're now used to HD, Ultra-HD and 4K, back in 1990 things were very different. Screens were smaller, tellies were fat and there were only five channels.
3. York Maze
York Maze is now a summer staple, but it only opened in 2002. Since then, Farmer Tom Pearcy has drawn inspiration from Star Trek, James Bond and Harry Potter for his maize designs.
4. Catchup TV
Nowadays you can watch and rewatch every kick, flick and trick from the world’s premier football competition. Back in the 90’s your only option would be to tape it on VHS, but you'd have rewind before you could watch it.
5. England's 2018 World Cup Squad
The Three Lions’ squad is one of the youngest at the tournament, so it’s no wonder then that only seven of Gareth Southgate’s 23 man squad were born before that semi-final against West Germany in Turin.
6. Wembley Stadium
Although Wembley was the home of English football long before 1990, back then England’s home matches happened under the twin towers, rather than the arch. After a long redevelopment the new Wembley opened in 2007.
7. VAR
A bit like catchup TV in a way, VAR (Video Assisted Referee) was introduced for the first time for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. It’s certainly been a talking point…
8. Minster FM
That’s right, not even Minster FM was around back then! Minster hit the airwaves in 1992 when England didn't fare so well in Euro 92 in Sweden (they finished last in their group!).
9. Smartphones
We seem to be addicted to them these days but when Sir Bobby Robson’s team were strutting their stuff at Italia 90, text messaging hadn’t even been invented - let alone the iPhone.
10. Playstation
One of the most successful brand of games consoles in the world, the original Playstation was still more than four years away from hitting the shelves and it's great rival the Xbox didn't arrive in Europe until 2002.
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