Euro 2012: England need to summon the spirit of Rome 1997 when they face Italy Ian Wright went through and hit the post. I thought we had won it and then, the next minute, they went straight back down and Christian Vieri headed the ball inches wide. At the end, I remember seeing Wrighty on the floor, Teddy Sheringham on the floor, all the Italian bench on the floor, Vieri on the floor. It was an amazing scene. The enduring picture, though, was still provided by Ince, who played more than half the game with blood pouring from his head after an elbow from Demetrio Albertini. "I remember coming off and the doctor said it would take half an hour to put the stitches in," he said. I wasn't thinking at all about the cut, I was just thinking about getting back on the pitch. I didn't want to leave us down to 10 men. Glenn Hoddle was going mad, saying, 'Get him back on. They just patched it up with a bandage and then, at half-time, I had a couple more stitches and it was all right. Not only did Ince deliver a man-of-the-match display but, with Alan Shearer injured, he also became the first black player to captain England. "Glenn Hoddle knocked on my door the night before the game," said Ince. I thought he was going to tell me I wasn't playing. He pulled me out of the room because I was in there with Ian Wright and he said, 'you are going to be England captain. I just thought 'wow. I went back in the room, told Wrighty, and we started jumping about on the bed. It only really sunk in when I told my wife and sat down and thought about it. There were all these pressures. When you play big games like that, thoughts go through your head. You think, 'what if we get beat, will we ever play in the World Cup? If we don't get through, you feel it could reflect on you. It is also a little known fact that Roy Hodgson, the current England manager, assisted Hoddle in his preparations for that match. Hodgson, of course, already had considerable knowledge of Italian football from a spell managing Inter Milan. "Once the game started, we got it absolutely spot on," said Ince. We knew how they would play in their hometown. It was basically a case of letting them play in front of us and try to counter-attack them. I spent most of the game running around, chasing the ball. It was a fantastic, fantastic night. When we got back in the training room, everyone was high-fiving and cuddling each other. That night we all got drunk and it is not until the next day that you realise how much you put in and how much your body aches. You feel exhausted. So what of Sunday's match? Ince retains a close interest in Italian football and is reluctant to simply accept that they will be easier opponents than Spain. "People say it's great to avoid the Spanish but it's always hard to play against the Italians because defensively they are just as solid as England and, attacking wise, with Pirlo, Cassano, Di Natale and Balotelli, if he plays, they will take their chances," he said. We need to improve immensely and hopefully that will be the case. I don't think we can sit back against Italians, I think if we do that we'll get punished. It's a one-off game, we have to show our teeth. Just as Ince did in Rome 15 years ago.