Copy linkFacebookXPinterestEmailShare this article 0Join the conversationFollow usAdd us as a preferred source on GoogleNewsletterSubscribe to our newsletterFew international teams in modern football history have been able to capture the imagination like Jack Charltons Republic of Ireland side of the early 1990s.Under the former Leeds United lynchpin, Ireland qualified for their first ever World Cup in 1990, reaching the quarter-finals in Italy, and soon proved that not to be a one-off, as they again reached the last-eight in the USA four years later.Striker Tony Cascarino was a key member of Charltons team, and his memories of these two tournaments are dominated by his former bosss larger-than-life personality.Play our FREE match predictor below and win �1kCascarino on Big JackCascarino looks back at his time at the 1990 and 1994 World Cups with enormous affection and credits the squads camaraderie to Charlton.The lads were phenomenal and the manager, Big Jack, was hilarious, the former striker recalls to FourFourTwo. You may like Roy Keane was the one player every country at the World Cup would have picked from our squad, so I do wonder what we could have achieved had he stayed in 2002 Matt Holland opens up on Irelands Saipan bust-up Everybody wanted to be in the post-match drug test, because you could drink as much alcohol as you wanted until you needed a wee! Gordon Strachan on his Scotland World Cup adventures 'Roy Keane leaving Saipan in 2002 galvanised us but Mick McCarthy wasn't right to question him in front of the squad' Ex-Republic of Ireland international Clinton Morrison gives first-hand account of famous 2002 World Cup fallout As a player, Charlton was known for his uncompromising style of play and his infamous little black book and his managerial style could be equally as old-school.If you were having a Coke at dinner the night before a match hed say, What are you doing with that s**t? Id rather you had a beer, Cascarino adds.Get FourFourTwo NewsletterThe best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.For Charlton, there was logic in going against the sports scientists and nutritionists.He felt itd help you sleep better, Cascarino explains.Even when the stakes were at their highest on the eve of the biggest match in Irish football history, Charlton stuck to his guns.He used that tactic with us against Italy in the quarter-finals of Italia 90, Cascarino continues.His line was, 'Look, youre playing Italy in Rome. The referee wont give you a thing, and youll be going home the next day, you may as well have a drink.' He wanted to take the pressure off us.TOPICSRepublic of IrelandWorld CupJoe MewisSocial Links NavigationFor more than a decade, Joe Mewis has worked in football journalism as a reporter and editor. Mewis has had stints at Mirror Football and LeedsLive among others and worked at FourFourTwo throughout Euro 2024, reporting on the tournament. In addition to his journalist work, Mewis is also the author of four football history books that include times on Leeds United and the England national team. Now working as a digital marketing coordinator at Harrogate Town, too, Mewis counts some of his best career moments as being in the iconic Spygate press conference under Marcelo Bielsa and seeing his beloved Leeds lift the Championship trophy during lockdown.
