’86 England v Poland, 3-0

England had to endure a torrid start in Mexico when Ray Wilkins picked a suspension and Bryan Robson a tournament-ending injury. They went into the final group game with Poland in need of a result and, having failed to score against Portugal and Morocco, it looked as though Bobby Robson might drop Everton striker Gary Lineker. But Bobby Robson kept faith in Lineker, and his decision paid dividends as the prolific marksman weighed in with a devastating first-half hat-trick. Delight turned into delirium in Monterrey as Lineker grabbed his third after just 34 pulsating minutes.

’66 England v W Germany, 4-2

Famous for the iconic image of Bobby Moore lifting the Jules Rimet Trophy, Kenneth Wolstenholme’s classic commentary and Tofik Bakhramov’s controversial decision, the final at Wembley was a match which lived up to its billing. Goals from Martin Peters and Hurst helped England recover from going a goal down, but West Germans equalised in the dying minutes.  Cue extra-time and ‘that goal’. Having lost his marker with a neat turn, Geoff Hurst’s shot from the edge of the six-yard box bounced off the underside of the bar and was adjudged to have crossed the line. Hurst completed his hat-trick to seal England’s first, and only, World Cup triumph.

’54 England v Belgium, 4-4

The ’54 tournament in Switzerland remains the highest-scoring World Cup, with 140 goals scored in 26 matches. Notably, the West Germans recovered from an 8-3 humiliation at the hands of Hungary’s ‘Golden Team’ to beat the Hungarians, including the prolific Sandor Kocsis and footballing great Ferenc Puskas 3-2 in the final. The Three Lions were left stunned when Belgium came back to draw after Nat Lofthouse and Ivor Broadis had helped England to an ostensibly unassailable 3-1 lead. A 94th minute own goal from defender Jimmy Dickinson brought the scores level at 4-4. This encounter with Belgium was just one of numerous memorable encounters in this World Cup that has gone down in history for its remarkable scorelines and great comebacks.

Capello’s managerial career got off to a flying start at AC Milan, where he led the Rossoneri to the Scudetto four times in five seasons. Capello has also enjoyed successful spells at Juventus, Real Madrid and Juventus.

Having taken over from Steve McLaren, Fabio Capello’s arrival was immediately reflected in England’s performances on the pitch. He stamped his authority by introducing more intensive training and a number of new rules aimed at improving team spirit and making the squad more focused on winning. Nowhere was this new winning mentality more evident than in England’s impressive World Cup qualifying campaign. The Three Lions announced themselves serious tournament contenders by winning all but one of their World Cup qualifying games, scoring 34 goals in the process.

Highly respected by players, a strict disciplinarian and astute tactician, there are obvious parallels between the Three Lions’ current manager and Alf Ramsey. Like England’s current boss, Ramsey thought the team was more important than the individual and refused to brook the notion of some players enjoying a special status. In a famous demonstration of his no-nonsense approach, Ramsey punished a number of England’s players for failing to return to the hotel before a 10.30 curfew by leaving their passports on their beds.

Like Ramsey, Bobby Robson made his name at Ipswich. But Robson was a different kind of manager to both Capello and Ramsey. He enjoyed success at some of Europe’s top clubs, including Barcelona and Porto, motivating his players with his infectious enthusiasm for the game he loved. Robson led England to two World Cup Finals, and at Italia ’90 helped the Three Lions to one of their most successful tournaments since the triumph of 1966.

With his extraordinary CV and wealth of experience, it is hard to think of anyone better placed to try to emulate the achievements of Ramsey and Robson than Fabio Capello, together with the England captain Steven Gerrard.

Charlton played at three World Cup finals and will always be remembered for his role in England’s 1966 success. He made 106 appearances for England, scoring a record 49 goals. When Gary Lineker ended his career one short of Charlton’s record, he modestly said the great United midfielder was the better player and deserved to keep the record. He helped England reach the final with three crucial goals, including his famous wonder strike against Mexico.

Charlton, then, is remembered fondly for his ability to score goals from midfield. In Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard, the current England team has two players capable of getting goals at any level.

Lampard’s form for Chelsea has established him as one of Europe’s top midfielders. He has scored over 20 goals for the last five seasons, a record any striker would be proud of. Lampard announced his arrival on the international stage with three goals during Euro 2004.

Steven Gerrard is another player who has a habit of scoring great goals. Gerrard’s stunning strike in England’s second group match against Trinidad and Tobago four years ago resembled the dozens of similar goals he has scored for Liverpool. Like Charlton and Lampard, the Reds midfielder can punish sides who allow him the luxury of time and space outside the box.

With 27 goals in all competitions, double-winner Lampard has again been in prolific form this season. Whereas Lampard will travel to South Africa looking to continue his club form, Gerrard will doubtless see the World Cup as a potential silver lining to a relatively gloomy season at Anfield.

Pundits often put the case for the importance of goals from midfield. The contribution of England’s attacking midfielders could make the difference between success and failure.

The Premier League is without doubt the best league for drama, passion and excitement in Europe. When you compare this league with let’s say the Serie A in Italy it is just way more exciting; it is way faster and there is a lot more passion!

I am not a footballer myself and I am not involved within the media; the following players are just my personal opinion as to the players that I believe merit being in the top four. I am in fact a person who provides pet insurance; I am also involved with other projects that include selling a quality upvc front door and working helping people to attain cheap flyer printing.

Going back to my top four – the numero uno player has to be Mr Liverpool himself, Steven Gerrard. He is a top class football player. Some would argue that he has never really “done it” for England however I am sure he will put that right in next years World Cup. Steven is certainly a real captain marvel; driving his team forward with a real passion. He is a scouser through and through who always gives one hundred percent.

In second spot I would have to pick John Terry. He is very much a team player, a great motivator and he leads by example; a real champion. As well as being a dominant central defender who is an excellent reader of the game he also chips in with a few goals.

In third place I have Frank Lampard. This midfield dynamo just seems to get better and better. He is the model professional who like Steven Gerrard scores a great number of goals from midfield. I personally would play Frank in the centre of midfield for England with Gerrard “in the hole”, real football fans will understand what I mean by this.

Then there is the fourth place position and this may be slightly controversial as I have chosen Ashley Cole. I really do not want to pick Ashley as he annoys the hell out of me with his petulant behaviour. He is however an excellent player and his FA Cup final performance in the win against Everton (for Chelsea) was quite outstanding.

Well there we have it – my top four – what do you think?

Everyone has heard of at least one famous sporting rivalry in history.  There was Muhammad Ali versus Joe Frazier in boxing, Chris Evert versus Martina Navratilova in tennis and Greg Norman versus Nick Faldo in golf.There’s still a healthy rivalry in cricket between India and Pakistan.  There’s even been a classic rivalry in the world of chess with Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov battling it out in several matches over the years.

But can any of these admittedly classic face-offs hold a candle to the colossal confrontation that occurs whenever the Red Devils of Manchester United clash with the Liverpool Reds?This could be the greatest rivalry in football, but it’s time to take a closer look at things to determine why it exists, and why it continues

1. The Northwest Derby – Matchups between the two clubs are often referred to using this moniker.There’s been quite a rivalry between the cities of Liverpool and Manchester ever since industrial times, and that sense of competition is certainly not lacking in the football world.

2. “The Greatest English Football Club” – Manchester United and Liverpool both lay claim to the title of The Greatest English Football Club.  A similar number of trophies have been won by each club, and they are also the two most successful English teams in European competition.

3. Fans and Money – The two clubs are widely-supported throughout the world and boast some of the most devoted fans in any sport.They are also ranked as two of the richest clubs in the world.

4.  Player Haters – As with a lot of football clubs, the fans can be downright hostile to each other sometimes.  With Liverpool and Man U, though, the hostility spills over to the players too occasionally.Wayne Rooney, United striker, has publicly stated how much he hated Liverpool FC when he was growing up.On another occasion, Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard told a TV crew that, although he often exchanges shirts with opposing players, he would never have a Manchester United shirt in his house.

5. Transfers? Are You Kidding Me? – There have been no direct transfers of players between the two clubs since 1964; the few who have played for both sides have always played for a different city’s club in between. As recently as 2007, United left-back Gabriel Heinze expressed a desire to move to Liverpool, and a bid was made, but Man U rejected the bid and stated that Heinze would only join a foreign club if he chose to leave – all due to the age old rivalry.

The way these clubs are so passionate about their long-standing rivalry is inspiring, in a way.I’m sure some people don’t understand how others can get so worked up about a game, and think the whole rigamarole is just silly.  So, who’s the best team in football?  That’s easy.  Everyone knows it’s Spurs.

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I am not involved within professional football; I personally work selling external doors; I also offer a cheap mobile calls service and sell cheap hotel deals.

England have beaten Croatia in their own back yard, four goals to one. It was an awesome performance with players like Gareth Barry and Frank Lampard running the midfield. Croatia are currently ranked as the fifth best team in the world and they lose 4-1 to England.

Capello is getting the best out of the team at the moment with the majority of the players plying their trade in the Premier League which is probably the most competitive league in the world. For some reason previous England teams played a rather slow continental type game, why? It really makes no sense at all. The manager is now playing a pressing game and has the players laying their lives, as the saying goes, on the line for the team.

The English press and supporters have been very critical of the team over the last few years, quite rightly so as they have not been playing anywhere to the levels that they should be. The negative reaction has been more to do with the apparent lack of effort and passion, it was if they did not care. This was just not acceptable and hopefully has changed for good.

If somehow the team are able to win the world cup the players will become instant heroes, heroes for life. Go for it England - believe in yourselves and bring the trophy home for our wonderful country.

Players like Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, Theo Walcott and Ashley Young will be the catalyst to victory in South Africa, I am convinced about it.