It will be the Three Lions’ last match of the year and the last for almost three months until another friendly match, probably against Argentina in February.

After a disappointing scoreless draw at home to Montenegro last time out, Capello is expected to turn to some of England’s younger generation as the side begins to look to the future.

Amongst the more prominent names expected to be chosen are Newcastle’s Andy Carroll, Sunderland’s Jordan Henderson and Phil Jones of Blackburn.

Both players have been left out of Stuart Pearce’s under-21 squad hinting at their probable inclusion in the senior squad for what will be the first time for both players.

Elsewhere, Jack Wilshere will keep his place in the squad and should have a much better chance of making it onto the pitch after being an unused substitute against Montenegro.

One young player who has already been given and grasped his chance is Joe Hart.

The Manchester City goalkeeper will keep his place and hope to continue to build on his fine record of only two goals conceded in his seven appearances so far for England.

Ben Foster and Robert Green should once more provide the backup to Hart, just edging out Scott Carson.

In defence, Capello should be able to call upon both Rio Ferdinand and John Terry for the first time since May.

Phil Jagielka missed out against Montenegro through injury but should return here.

Blackburn youngster Jones is also expected to be named after being left out of the under-21 squad.  Jones has featured primarily in midfield for his club this season but his long-term future is believed to be in the centre of defence.

Jones’ inclusion could leave one or both of Joleon Lescott and Gary Cahill without a place in the squad this time.

At full back there is an injury doubt over Glen Johnson who has missed Liverpool’s last five Premier League games.

Fitness permitting Johnson will still be selected and rumours abound that he will face competition in the squad from Danny Simpson.

Post-World Cup and with the international retirement of Wes Brown, Capello has only selected one right back in his squads but may turn to the Newcastle man now with Johnson struggling with both form and fitness.

Manchester City’s Micah Richards has once again been named in the under-21 squad.

At left back Kieran Gibbs looks set to be ruled out through injury so Stephen Warnock or Leighton Baines will once again back up Ashley Cole.

In midfield, Theo Walcott should return after missing the October international through injury.

Also returning to the squad will be James Milner, who missed the last qualifier through suspension.

Aaron Lennon was also injured for the Montenegro game and has missed Tottenham’s last two matches so may miss out again.

Adam Johnson and Ashley Young will most likely provide the competition on the wings with at least two, if not all of Stewart Downing, Joe Cole and Shaun Wright-Phillips set to miss out from last month’s squad.

In central midfield, Frank Lampard will once more be absent after being ruled out for another two or three weeks.

In his absence, Steven Gerrard and Gareth Barry will be joined by Jack Wilshere and Jordan Henderson with Tom Huddlestone and Michael Carrick likely to miss the cut.

In August this game had been mooted by Capello as an opportunity for David Beckham’s final England appearance but the legendary midfielder turned down a last cap based on sentiment making his inclusion for the match highly doubtful.

Up front the main debate seems to be over whether or not Fabio Capello will select Wayne Rooney.

The Manchester United star is scheduled to return from a week’s training in the USA this weekend and Capello could select him to be assessed by England’s medical staff.

Elsewhere, injuries rule out Darren Bent and Jermain Defoe, and Bobby Zamora is still a longer-term absentee. 

Andy Carroll should receive his debut but otherwise options appear thin on the ground for Capello.

Peter Crouch and Kevin Davies should both be retained by the Italian with Carlton Cole most likely to be the fourth striker involved.

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In all that time, the 1966 World Cup still stands as the only major international trophy in the cabinet for the Three Lions.

Find out exactly how many of that famous side, and what other players made the cut for the Top 25 All-Time England Internationals.

Begin Slideshow

Below them, Brazil move into third, just edging out Germany who now occupy fourth position.

The only other movement in the top 10 sees Croatia move up two places to ninth and Russia who climb 15 places to 10th spot, after two away wins in Euro 2012 qualifying this month.

Italy's 0-0 draw with Northern Ireland sees them fall three places to 16th, whilst France return to the top 20 after a three month absence thanks to back-to-back home wins over Romania and Luxembourg.

Cote d'Ivoire also return to the top 20 as Serbia, Paraguay and the USA drop out. The USA now rank in 25th place after two draws against Colombia and Poland in this month's friendly matches.

Montenegro are amongst a host of teams to achieve their best ever ranking this month.

Following up a home win over Switzerland with an impressive 0-0 at Wembley against England has seen Montenegro rise to 26th place, improving on last month's ranking of 40th which was their previous high.

Armenia have risen 45 places to 60th, beating their previous best of 79th spot, after an impressive 3-1 qualifying win over Slovakia.

Several African teams sprung surprise results in qualifying for African Cup of Nations, which have catapulted them up the rankings—none more so than the Central African Republic, who have risen 60 places to 112.

They returned to international football after a three-and-a-half year absence to record a 2-0 win over World Cup qualifiers Algeria, which has lifted them to their highest ever ranking.

Other big climbers are Guinea (up 34 to 47th) who recorded a 1-0 win over Nigeria and Niger (up 54 to 100th) after they defeated African Cup of Nations Champions Egypt 1-0.

England remain sixth in the rankings despite their highly disappointing draw at home to Montenegro.

The Republic of Ireland climb one place to 32nd, despite only picking up one point from six in their qualifiers this month; Northern Ireland move up four places to 41st, largely thanks to their draw at home to Italy.

Scotland fall 10 places to 57th (their lowest position in just over four years) despite a narrow defeats to top dogs Spain and the Czech Republic, but it's even worse news for Wales who have dropped 20 places to 104th spot, their lowest ranking since September 2001.

FIFA World Rankings, Oct 10, Top 20

(movements from September rankings in parenthesis)

1.  Spain (-)
2.  Netherlands (-)
3.  Brazil (+1)
4.  Germany (-1)
5.  Argentina (-)
6.  England (-)
7.  Uruguay (-)
8.  Portugal (-)
9.  Croatia (+2)
10.  Russia (+15)
11.  Egypt (-2)
12.  Greece (-)
13.  Norway (+1)
14.  Chile (-4)
15.  Slovenia (+4)
16.  Italy (-3)
17.  Ghana (+3)
18.  France (+9)
19.  Cote d'Ivoire (+4)
20.  Slovakia (-4)

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Those two nations were expected to be England’s main challengers in the five-team group but the Three Lions currently find themselves locked on a maximum of six points with Montenegro.

Two 1-0 wins over Wales and, more impressively, away in Bulgaria see Montenegro trail England only on goal difference and they head to Wembley in high spirits having also achieved a highest ever ranking of 40 in FIFA’s latest rankings.

Not bad for a nation who only started playing independently three years ago.

For Tuesday’s match Fabio Capello is missing only a few key names, most notably in the shape of Frank Lampard with Jermain Defoe, Theo Walcott and Bobby Zamora also missing whilst James Milner is suspended.

Lampard did not feature in either of September’s qualifiers but Defoe, Walcott and Milner each played their part in the two wins and will need to be replaced.

Rio Ferdinand, John Terry, Joe Cole and Jack Wilshere are amongst the names returning to the squad and Bolton’s Kevin Davies has also been handed a first ever international call-up at the age of 33.

The following previews who Capello may turn to in order to maintain England’s position at the head of the group before Euro 2012 qualifying resumes next March.

Begin Slideshow

The Italian has opted to recall regular names such as Rio Ferdinand and John Terry, as well as recalling Joe Cole, whilst also finding space for Jack Wilshere.

Amongst the players to miss out this time are Gary Cahill, Michael Carrick and Carlton Cole who featured in the squad for last month’s qualifiers but miss out this time.

However, Wayne Rooney has been included in the squad despite not featuring for Manchester United in their draw at Sunderland at the weekend.

Davies’ inclusion represents the first ever international call-up for the 33-year-old striker who recently scored his 100th league goal.

The former Chesterfield and Southampton man made three appearances for England at under-21 level but must have thought his chance at senior level was gone.

However, Capello has been forced to shuffle his strikers in Jermain Defoe’s absence through injury and has turned to the Bolton man after Emile Heskey rejected the opportunity to return from international retirement.

Carlton Cole, who had recently lost his place in the West Ham first team, also misses out on the squad.

Club teammate Rob Green's experience is on the opposite end of the spectrum with his return to form in the past two games earning him a recall at the expense of Scott Carson.

In defence, experienced pair Rio Ferdinand and John Terry are recalled with Gary Cahill and Matt Upson making way.

Aston Villa’s Stephen Warnock also returns to the fold for the first time since the World Cup, taking the place of Kieran Gibbs who has been named in the under-21 squad.

Jack Wilshere was also named in Stuart Pearce’s under-21 selection but has also been included in Capello’s senior squad.

The young midfielder is expected to play for the under-21 side on Friday night before joining up with the seniors for their game on Tuesday.

James Milner misses out through suspension and Michael Carrick has failed to make the cut this time despite returning from injury for Manchester United against Valencia last Wednesday.

Theo Walcott does miss out through injury and this means there are recalls for Joe Cole and Tottenham pair Aaron Lennon and Tom Huddlestone.

Up front Capello sticks with Darren Bent and Peter Crouch who will in all likelihood battle with Kevin Davies to line up with Wayne Rooney for the Euro 2012 qualifier next Tuesday.

England 23-man Squad to Face Montenegro

Goalkeepers:  Ben Foster (Birmingham City), Rob Green (West Ham United), Joe Hart (Manchester City)

Defenders:  Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Phil Jagielka (Everton), Glen Johnson (Liverpool), Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United), Joleon Lescott (Manchester City), John Terry (Chelsea), Stephen Warnock (Aston Villa)

Midfielders:  Gareth Barry (Aston Villa), Joe Cole (Liverpool), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Tom Huddlestone (Tottenham), Adam Johnson (Manchester City), Aaron Lennon (Tottenham), Jack Wilshere (Arsenal), Shaun Wright-Phillips (Manchester City), Ashley Young (Aston Villa)

Forwards:  Darren Bent (Sunderland), Peter Crouch (Tottenham), Kevin Davies (Bolton), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)

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The Three Lions will look to continue their bright start to Euro 2012 qualification as Montenegro visit Wembley next Tuesday. Like England, Montenegro also boast a 100 per cent record in the group so far, having picked up wins over Wales and Bulgaria last month.

The Three Lions will again be without Frank Lampard after the Chelsea star was ruled out for the next couple of weeks as he recovers from his hernia operation.

Wayne Rooney is also a doubt for the game. Club manager Sir Alex Ferguson initially ruled the striker out of action for two to three weeks but has now suggested that the forward will be fit in time for England’s match next Tuesday.

Rooney’s potential absence, however, did look set to open the door for a first England call up for Andy Carroll.  The Newcastle No. 9 has been left out of Stuart Pearce’s under-21 squad and now looks likely to feature in Capello’s thinking.

Carroll was only on the bench for his side’s defeat against Manchester City yesterday and rumours abound that his exclusion from the under-21 squad stemmed from a fall-out with manager Stuart Pearce.

Therefore, it remains to be seen whether this absence also points towards a first ever senior call up.

Capello looks likely to stick with his three goalkeepers of choice with Joe Hart continuing as No. 1 with Ben Foster and Scott Carson providing back-up.

Rob Green returned to form with a strong display against Spurs last weekend but may continue to find himself out in the cold post-World Cup.

In defence the big news should be the return of John Terry and Rio Ferdinand. Terry missed the games against Bulgaria and Switzerland last month whilst Ferdinand has only appeared in two of England’s 10 games so far this year.

Ferdinand has just completed back-to-back games for Manchester United and helped them to their first clean sheets away from home this season against Valencia and Sunderland.

Capello used four centre-backs in the two games last month but with Dawson injured it should now be a simple case of retaining Phil Jagielka, Joelon Lescott, and Gary Cahill with Matt Upson most likely to be cut from the squad.

Kieran Gibbs has been named in the under-21 squad this time out so Capello will probably opt to use Lescott as back-up to Ashley Cole at left-back.

On the right-hand side of defence it will be interesting once more to see if Capello names a second right-back to compete with Glen Johnson.

Micah Richards was the most likely by far but, like Gibbs, was named in the under-21 squad and so remains uncapped by Capello and hasn’t been included in a senior squad since 2008.

Lampard’s continued absence means that Steven Gerrard and Gareth Barry should continue their central midfield partnership which worked well in the September qualifiers.

James Milner was booked in each of those games and is now suspended for the Montenegro game so will miss out on this occasion.

Also out of contention is Theo Walcott. The Arsenal man was injured early on in England’s win in Switzerland and is still a few weeks away from returning.

Milner and Walcott’s respective absences should open the door for the likes of Aaron Lennon, Stewart Downing or Joe Cole to return to the squad.

Lennon and Cole have both been struggling for form of late whilst Downing has enjoyed a bright start to the season with three goals in six matches but Capello has plenty of options to pick from out wide.

Downing’s club teammate Ashley Young will retain his place in the squad and may push to start along with Adam Johnson, who scored in both September qualifiers, on the flanks.

Michael Carrick and Tom Huddlestone will compete to back-up Gareth Barry in the defensive midfield spot although space is unlikely to be found to include Jack Wilshere in the squad after he too was selected for the under-21s.

Wilshere made his senior debut in the friendly win over Hungary in August and has continued to impress for the Gunners recently but looks set to wait to add to his one senior cap.

Up front Wayne Rooney will be Capello’s biggest worry but if he is unavailable for selection then the Italian should still be able to find enough fire power from elsewhere.

Jermain Defoe will also be missing with an ankle injury which means that Darren Bent will be favourite to fill the No. 9 shirt.

Bent netted England’s third as a substitute in the win in Basel last month but may face competition from Peter Crouch who famously boasts a superb scoring record at international level.

Carlton Cole made the squad last time out but has yet to find the net for West Ham this season and found himself on the bench for the Hammers' last two games. 

Bobby Zamora is still a long way from fitness which should count in Cole’s favour and his spot is expected to be challenged by Newcastle’s Andy Carroll.

The young striker continues to impress on his return to the Premier League and, unlike Gibbs, Richards and Wilshere, has been left out of the under-21 squad hinting at his probable inclusion in the senior squad for the first time.

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World champions Spain continue to lead the way from runners-up Netherlands, despite their headline-grabbing 4-1 loss in Argentina earlier this month.

Germany have swapped places with Brazil to climb to third and England have also risen one place to sixth, replacing Uruguay who fall to seventh.

Norway and Slovakia have both catapulted themselves into the Top 20 after impressive starts to their respective qualifying campaigns.

The Scandinavians enjoyed wins over Israel and Portugal and climb to 14^th, their highest ranking in over nine years. 

Slovakia have improved by 11 places to reach 16^th place, which represents their best ever ranking, beating their previous high of 17 back in 1997. The feat was largely achieved thanks to a brilliant 1-0 win in Russia.

Russia are one of three teams to drop out of the Top 20, slipping out alongside Switzerland and Australia. Ghana have moved up three places to take 20^th place. 

The Republic of Ireland (up three to 33) and Northern Ireland (up 14 to 45) have both risen after good starts to their qualifying campaigns.

Scotland, despite topping their group, have dropped six places to 47 whilst Wales hold their position at 84.

Other movers of note are France (down six to 27), who now occupy their lowest ever ranking, surpassing a previous low of 25 in April 1998.

The Czech Republic (down six to 37^th) have fallen to their lowest ranking since August 1994, after a home defeat by Lithuania.

Montenegro have made huge ground after back-to-back 1-0 wins over Wales and Bulgaria. They have climbed 33 places to reach 40^th, an incredible feat given that they are FIFA’s newest member, having only started collecting ranking points in June 2007.

Cyprus (up 20 to 43^rd) and Belarus (up 23 to 55^th) have also achieved best ever rankings.

Outside of Europe three African nations have also achieved their highest ever ranking: Burkina Faso (up 6 to 39^th), Uganda (up 6 to 63^rd), and Botswana (up 11 to 82^nd).

Also worthy of note is Cape Verde Islands’ rise of 31 places up to 77^th after a 1-0 win over Mali in qualification for the African Cup of Nations.

The biggest mover however is Guinea-Bissau, who climbed 48 places to 140^th after ending their absence of almost three years from the international game, with a 1-0 over Kenya, also in African Cup of Nations qualifying.

FIFA World Rankings, September 2010

(movements from previous rankings in parenthesis)

1.   Spain (-)
2.   Netherlands (-)
3.   Germany (+1)
4.   Brazil (-1)
5.   Argentina (-)
6.   England (+1)
7.   Uruguay (-1)
8.   Portugal (-)
9.   Egypt (-)
10.   Chile (-)
11.   Croatia (+3)
12.   Greece (-)
13.   Italy (-2)
14.   Norway (+8)
15.   Serbia (-2)
16.   Slovakia (+11)
17.   Paraguay (-2)
18.   USA (-)
19.   Slovenia (-)
20.   Ghana (+3)             

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With regular names such as John Terry and Frank Lampard, not to mention long term absentee Rio Ferdinand, missing there were plenty of points to prove from players new and old.

Below are some key points that can be drawn from the two games.

1. England are best at the beginning of the season

When organising England’s qualifying fixtures Fabio Capello has requested the toughest games to be played as early on in the season as possible. 

England’s visit to Basle fell into that group given Switzerland’s second-seeding in the pool. Capello, having come under severe criticism for his organisation in South Africa, got this call spot on once again.

The Italian considers his players to be in the best condition at this early stage of the season and he appeared to be correct.

The Three Lions turned in a couple of big wins over Bulgaria and Switzerland this time out and have now won their last 10 games played in the month of September, with an aggregate score of 32-4 in the process.

In fact, in the last 12 years England have only lost one game in September, when they fell to a 1-0 defeat in Belfast to Northern Ireland back in 2005.

2. Adam Johnson is ready for international football

Two goals from two substitute appearances from the Manchester City man has firmly established himself as part of Fabio Capello’s set-up, if not quite the first XI.

Theo Walcott’s early injury on Tuesday gave Johnson a chance which he grabbed with both hands and even if the Arsenal man returns to fitness for England’s next outing in October he may well have found himself supplanted by the Eastlands winger.

What does seem strange is that England have waited for 20 years for a naturally left-sided player to give balance to the midfield. Yet when one finally comes along he prefers to operate on the right.

However, if he can continue to offer such a goal threat cutting inside onto his left foot then it’s doubtful that we’ll hear many people complain.

3. Plentiful options in the centre of defence

Only a few months ago England’s centre-backs of choice were Rio Ferdinand, John Terry, Ledley King and Jamie Carragher.

The gamble bringing back the latter two for the World Cup failed and with Terry and Ferdinand injured Capello was forced to turn to four new names in Michael Dawson, Phil Jagielka, Gary Cahill and Joleon Lescott.

Each played their role in helping England to maximum points from the two opening qualifiers and showed that there is life without Terry and Ferdinand.

What this also means is that Matt Upson’s England career is all but over. He was recalled to the squad after missing out against Hungary in August but didn’t see any time on the pitch and is now effectively seventh choice in the heart of defence.

4. Joe Hart looks the real deal, if not perfect yet

A supremely confident performance in the win over Bulgaria on Friday night was followed up by a more up-and-down showing in Basle on Tuesday. Nevertheless Hart continues to live up to his potential in the England goal.

A couple of good saves at important moments against Bulgaria will perhaps be forgotten in time given the final 4-0 scoreline. However, having been made with the score only at 1-0 they were very important indeed.

A couple of juggled crosses in a five minute spell against Switzerland on Tuesday night passed without punishment and hopefully will not be repeated too often in the future.

Perhaps more care also needs to be taken with his kicking as he allowed the Swiss forwards to almost charge down his clearances on several occasions. This ‘criticism’ is really nit-picking in comparison to recent ‘keepers' that have gone before him.

5. Manchester City: England’s future?

At the final whistle over half of England’s team was made up of Manchester City players with Joe Hart, Joleon Lescott, James Milner, Gareth Barry, Adam Johnson and Shaun Wright-Phillips all on the pitch for the last 11 minutes.

This was the most by any one club side since Manchester United had seven players on the pitch at the end of England’s 3-1 win over Albania in 2001. With Roberto Mancini's side pressing hard for a Champions League finish this year the six players above should get plenty of big game experience playing alongside each other. This should only help Capello and England down the road.

Micah Richards is the most likely to make it seven. His return to the senior fold cannot be too far away given the paucity of options available to Capello at right-back. There has been no cover named for Glen Johnson in either squad since the summer.

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Ottmar Hitzfeld’s Swiss side are ranked 17^th in FIFA’s World Rankings, 10 places below England, and as second seeds in the group tonight’s away trip represents the toughest test that the Three Lions will face in qualifying.

Yet if history is anything to go by then Capello need not worry as England have lost only three of 20 meetings going back almost 80 years.

On the other hand, each of these three defeats has come on Swiss soil, although England themselves have won seven in Switzerland.

The nations first met in 1933 when England triumphed 4-0 in a friendly in Berne, with Arsenal legend Cliff Bastin bagging two of the goals.

Friendlies in Zurich in 1938 (2-1) and 1947 (1-0) saw Switzerland claim back-to-back victories, but England hit back with a thumping 6-0 win in 1948 at Highbury.

This started a sequence of six consecutive victories for the Three Lions, including a 2-0 win over the hosts in the group stages of the 1954 World Cup.

The most remarkable of these wins was an 8-1 success at St. Jakob Park, Basle in 1963 which saw Bobby Charlton net a hat-trick in a huge England win.

The sides met in the qualification for the 1972 European Championships with England claiming a 3-2 in Basle before the sides drew 1-1 at Wembley, as England qualified for the championships in Belgium ahead of Switzerland.

1975 saw another friendly in Basle, with goals from Kevin Keegan and Micky Channon giving England a narrow 2-1 win.

England’s 10 match and 34 year unbeaten run against the Swiss came to an end in 1981 Switzerland prevailed 2-1 in a World Cup qualifier in Basle, although in the end it was not enough for them to join England in qualifying for the final tournament in Spain.

A 1995 friendly was notable for English managers of both benches at Terry Venables side beat Roy Hodgson’s Swiss side 3-1 at Wembley.

Fast forward a year and the teams met in competitive action as Wembley hosted the opening match for Euro ’96. This time the Swiss claimed a well-earnt draw with Turkyilmaz converting a late penalty after Alan Shearer had opened the scoring for the home side.

1998 saw a 1-1 friendly draw in Berne as Tottenham’s Ramon Vega scored for the hosts before Paul Merson equalised for England.

The last competitive meeting was in the group stages at Euro 2004 as England won 3-0 in Coimbra with a brace from Wayne Rooney and one from Steven Gerrard.

The most recent match was also the very first of Fabio Capello’s reign as England manager in February 2008, and the Italian got off to a winning start with goals from Jermaine Jenas and Shaun Wright-Phillips claiming a 2-1 win at Wembley.

Thus, the 1981 match remains Switzerland’s last win over England, although it may offer them some hope as it was also their last meeting in Basle where they will play again tonight. However, overall England have won three of four meetings with Switzerland in Basle.

England also played their twice in 1954 World Cup, drawing a group game 4-4 with Belgium and losing in the quarter-finals 4-2 to Uruguay.

England’s away record vs. Switzerland

P11      W7       D1        L3         F26       A10

England’s overall record vs. Switzerland

P20      W13     D4        L3         F47       A16

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This is the third time that the nations have been drawn together in qualifying for the European Championships and the Three Lions will hope that history repeats itself as England have achieved qualification on both previous occasions.

England are unbeaten in those qualifiers, and remain so in all of their previous meetings with Bulgaria, winning four and drawing four from eight matches.

The nations first met at the 1962 World Cup in Rancagua, Chile.  In what was the last group game to be played, a 0-0 draw was enough to see England qualify in second place behind unbeaten Hungary. It was Bulgaria’s only point of the competition, in which they were competing in for the very first time.

Six years later and England, as World Champions, hosted Bulgaria in a friendly at Wembley. Once more the match ended in a draw, with World Cup Final hero Geoff Hurst equalising Georgi Asparoukhov’s opener.

Another six years past until 1974 saw the first positive result between the nations with England recording a 1-0 success in Sofia.

Frank Worthington struck the only goal of the game just before half-time which was enough to give Joe Mercer’s side the win, which would be his third in only seven games in charge during his short reign in the summer of 1974.

The qualifiers for the European Championships in 1980 drew the sides to face each other home and away competitively for the first time.

Ron Greenwood’s England triumphed 3-0 in Sofia, with captain Kevin Keegan on the scoresheet, before winning 2-0 at Wembley a few months later with Glenn Hoddle netting on his debut.

England qualified unbeaten with seven wins from eight whilst Bulgaria finished fourth in the five team group.

Almost two decades passed until the sides met again. In 1996 England were under the charge of Terry Veneables and the March friendly was preparation for Euro ’96 which was only months away.

Les Ferdinand’s early strike decided the game and earnt England a fourth consecutive win over their opponents as Robbie Fowler appeared off the bench late in the game for his first appearance for the Three Lions.

The nations didn’t have to wait long until they met again after they were drawn together for the Euro 2000 qualifiers.

Glenn Hoddle’s side had lost their first qualifier to Sweden and the bad start continued as they only managed a 0-0 draw at home to a Bulgarian side captained by Hristo Stoichkov.

Hoddle would manage only one more qualifier the next month before he was removed from his position as England manager after controversial comments made to the press.

The return match took place in June 1999, by which time England where under the stewardship of Kevin Keegan.

However, despite taking an early lead through captain Alan Shearer’s strike, England found themselves almost immediately pegged back as Georgi Markov equalised to earn Bulgaria a share of the spoils again.

England would eventually scrape a second-place finish behind Sweden and ahead of Poland on goal difference as Bulgaria finished fourth, and would narrowly defeat old rivals Scotland in a play-off for their place at Euro 2000.

England’s home record vs. Bulgaria

P4        W2       D2        L0         F4        A1

England’s overall record vs. Bulgaria

P8        W4       D4        L0         F9        A2

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