Mercurial former England, Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle United, Lazio and Glasgow Rangers midfielder Paul Gascoigne flew into Malta’s International Airport yesterday afternoon as the build-up for England v Italy, which takes place at Malta’s Ta’ Qali stadium tomorrow at 7pm, kicked off.

Gascoigne, who earned 57 caps for his country and made almost 400 first class appearances for nine different clubs over a 20-year career, will spearhead England’s drive to revenge the defeat when the two sets of Legends met in Florence, Italy in 2004.

Upon his arrival, Gascoigne enthused: “I can’t wait to get to get my boots on. I hope that Malta will come out and support the teams for what will be a brilliant occasion. The defeat against Italy a couple of years ago was hard to take and on Thursday night, I want revenge. The game in 2004 was a fantastic spectacle with 42,000 people packed into the stadium and I’m sure the Ta ‘Qali stadium will be throbbing. I’m also looking forward to seeing more of Malta; I’ve heard a lot of lovely things about the people and place.”

Gascoigne will embark on a 48-hour promotional tour of Malta in the build-up to the game, signing autographs and meeting the Maltese general public and media.

Event organiser Lester Holcombe added: “It’s fantastic to have a player of the stature of Paul Gascoigne on board for England v Italy. Gazza remains one of world football’s most recognisable faces who continues to capture the hearts and minds of the football world. He’s fit, lean and raring to go. We, along with all of the players, are looking forward to putting on a great match tomorrow.”