‘I used to be a part of England World Cup – all of us spent hours in a single lodge room’

David Seaman fondly remembers a hotel that the England squad stayed in during the 2002 Korea/Japan World Cup, due to it having a full floor made out as an amusement arcade.

The iconic England goalkeeper travelled to Asia as a key part of Sven-Goran Eriksson’s star-studded side during the tournament 22 years ago alongside the likes of David Beckham, Rio Ferdinand, Paul Scholes and Michael Owen. And while the side would come up short in the prestigious tournament – knocked out by Brazil in the quarter-finals – Seaman detailed some of his fond memories from the competition.

When asked by the Daily Star about antics on tour this week, Seaman laughed: “There’s always lots of stuff – not everything I can tell you. Obviously, my last tournament was the World Cup in ’02 which is a long time ago now but I remember just being in the hotel and having a whole floor made out in like an amusement arcade.

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“We had everything in there, every game in there, dart boards, pool tables, the whole shebang in there.” Fondly remembering a game of darts that he enjoyed with the squad, he went on: “Just spent many an hour in there and I actually got a 180 in Japan – so that’s quite a claim to fame.”

England would finish second in Group F after draws with Sweden and Nigeria, as well as a 1-0 victory over Argentina before meeting Denmark in the round of 16. A 3-0 thrashing, with goals from Rio Ferdinand, Michael Owen and Emile Heskey would see the Three Lions advance to the quarter-finals, but a cruel 2-1 defeat at the hands of Brazil – in which Ronaldinho would famously score a free kick against Seaman from around 35 yards out, before being sent off for a rash challenge on Danny Mills seven minutes later.

And while England have failed to capture glory at a major tournament since 1966, Seaman believes that could change at the upcoming Euros in Germany. He said: “We’ve got a great chance. We’ve had, I was going to say ‘really great experiences in the past’ but they’ve not been as great as in the final result.

“But you know, we’ve got to a final, like semi-finals and things like that, so the most positive thing about it now is that we’re going into tournaments and we’re joint-favourites. Not obviously favourites, France look really strong – I’m sure Germany will be as well – but we’re genuine contenders and that’s where Gareth has got us.

“It’s great for him – all of the hard work he’s done – but when you look at our squad, especially going forward, you’ve got so many options. Trying to work it all out is going to be tough for Gareth, to try to get…not to get everyone playing but just trying to get the right team.

“Defensively we’ve got new players in there that have not been in tournaments before. I was surprised that Harry Maguire was left out if I’m honest but then I don’t know how fit he was and how close he is to getting back you know.”

David admitted that major tournaments come with a different level of pressure, but had a word of advice to Southgate’s team going into their first game against Serbia on Sunday (June 16). He explained: “It’s tough. It really is, and there are different levels of pressure you know?

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“Obviously playing for Arsenal and you’re playing in the Champions League or playing in cup finals whatever that is – then there’s international pressure and ‘now I actually play in tournaments’. That’s where it really ramps up. You know you’ve got the game because that’s why you’re there.

“It’s just a case of can you handle the pressure and can you produce? And these guys do it and that’s the beauty of the squad. It’s got a good mixture of experience and young players coming through and I think he [Southgate] has got that perfectly right.

“It’s tough, it’s just play your game and not the occasion – that’s always been my advice to people when they’re in a final or something like that, or even if it’s like a North London derby. Play your game, not the occasion – and that would be my advice to the England players.”