Paul Parker: Playing in a World Cup semi-final changes your life forever

Playing in a World Cup semi-final completely changes your life. There is a before and after playing in a game like that and, especially if you aren't one of the big stars, nothing is ever the same again. It makes an imprint in your life which never goes.

I know what players like Harry Maguire and Jordan Pickford will be feeling. I went into the World Cup with a handful of caps and playing for one of the more unfashionable clubs in QPR. I hadn't won major trophies and didn't have the profile of players like Gary Lineker or Chris Waddle.

Admittedly, things are a bit different now: even midtable Premier League teams are known around the world. Back in 1990, though people knew my name, they didn't know my face. All that changed after the World Cup in Italy.

Someone like Pickford will notice the change as soon as he returns home. Anywhere he goes in England, he will be recognised as one of the heroes of this World Cup campaign, whatever happens against Croatia. Everyone will want a bit of him. It's an amazing ride.

In the weeks after Italia 90, I walked into my local supermarket and they had to close the store down because so many people were clamouring for my autograph. They had to close the tills. It was bedlam. I'd lived near that supermarket for quite a while as a QPR player - but everything changed when I'd played for England in a World Cup semi-final.

For a lot of the players now there will be nothing else in their career which compares. The Liverpool boys have just played in a Champions League final, some of the United players have played in League Cup, FA Cup and Europa League finals. But being honest there is nothing which truly comes close in club football. Nothing.

The Champions League has expanded in importance in recent years but nothing is comparable to having a whole nation behind you. Thirty million people are out there watching on TV and cheering you on. The players have been watching the clips on social media, seeing the reaction back home. They know how big this is. It's not a city's hopes they are holding up - it's an entire country.

I didn't really realise how much it meant to everyone until we returned home. Playing in a World Cup semi-final made such a difference in my life. It was so huge. Millions and millions of people in England were hanging on every kick, every moment. It's a unique kind of pressure that you just can't feel anywhere else. The only thing which would probably compare is if you reached the final itself.

It's not just what it means on a personal level. Italia 90 had an impact on the country as a whole and particularly on football, which was reborn at that tournament. Within a few years the Premier League was starting. It's hard to overstate just how important these matches are.

I was incredibly nervous before the match against West Germany. I had my headphones in and I was listening to my CD player. I always listened to Soul II Soul. It was one of my superstitions and that was the CD which got me through Italia 90. I listened to that album before each game. It took away the fear factor, somehow. I was out of my comfort zone but Soul II Soul helped manage my nerves.

I played a part in both goals in the semi-final, as it turned out: the touch on Brehme's free-kick which took it over Peter Shilton but then putting in the cross for Gary Lineker to equalise. I went through every emotion you can imagine during that match.

When the Brehme goal went in I felt completely drained. Negative thoughts overtook me and I was already imagining how the press would react, how England being knocked out of the World Cup would be blamed on me. I could see the headlines - I would be talked about for years. Even in that moment I was thinking about the gravity of the situation - how much the match mattered to me and the whole country.

But then I had the positive experience of setting up the goal. It got me off the hook. And then I started thinking that I might be playing in a World Cup final. It was a whirlwind of emotions and everything was heightened by the context of what that game represented.

I'm really envious of the current players. They are joining an exclusive club: just us from 1990 and the boys who won it in 1966. There's a part of me which would be incredibly jealous if they can do what we didn't do in Italy and make the final.

They have a great opportunity to do it. We were playing one of the best sides in the World in West Germany and I don't think you can say the same about Croatia. They are a team with good individuals, technical players who play for big clubs. But this is a golden opportunity for England. Let's not make any mistake about that.

Croatia impressed in the group stage but they have faded a bit and they have had back-to-back extra-time and penalty shoot-outs so they could tire on Wednesday night. People believe we should win this game: that's the big difference to 1990, when we were the clear underdogs.

When we came home from Italia 90, thousands of people were waiting to welcome us at the airport and I can feel a similar feeling among the general public in 2018. This team have given us reason to believe and whatever happens on Wednesday night, they will get a fantastic reception.