The games may be being played 13 years apart but there are eerie parallels between England's international friendly with Australia in 2003 and tonight's fixture at Sunderland's Stadium of Light.
On the 13th February, 2003, the Socceroos stunned Sven Goran Eriksson's Three Lions 3-1 at Upton Park. It was the night a future England captain and all time record goal scorer Wayne Rooney would make his debut for his country. Over a decade later and, with a Premier League ground as the venue once again instead of Wembley (which was, admittedly, under construction in 2003) another teenage striker is making his bow for the national team in 18-year-old Marcus Rashford.
Goals from Tony Popovic, Harry Kewell and Brett Emerton handed the Aussies victory on a miserable night for Rooney and co. at Upton Park, which was also memorable for Eriksson's decision to make a staggering 10 substitutions at half-time. Francis Jeffers (remember him?) scored a consolation goal for England on his debut, but was never seen around the national team set up again.
As well as the aforementioned Everton academy alumni, Jermaine Jenas and James Beattie also earned their first international caps in East London 13 years ago as Frank Farina's Australia team dealt with the different lineups England's Swedish tactician fielded in each half. Rashford will be hoping that his England career follows his Manchester United captain's trajectory rather than that of Beattie, Jeffers or Jenas, however.
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The full lineups on the night were:
England: James (Robinson 45), Neville (Mills 45), Ferdinand (Brown 45), Campbell (King 45), Ashley Cole (Konchesky 45), Beckham (Hargreaves 45), Lampard (Murphy 45), Scholes (Jenas 45), Dyer (Vassell 45), Beattie (Jeffers 45), Owen (Rooney 45).
Subs Not Used: Wright, Joe Cole, Upson, Parker, Davis.
Australia: Schwarzer, Neill, Moore, Popovic (Vidmar 72), Lazaridis, Emerton, Okon (Muscat 87), Skoko (Bresciano 45), Chipperfield (Grella 76), Viduka (Sterjovski 85), Kewell (Aloisi 56).
Subs Not Used: Kalac, Tiatto.
(H/T BBC Sport)
Topics: Football, England, Marcus Rashford, Australia