After a season during which David Moyes' splendid management and the emergence of Wayne Rooney breathed new life into the club, it is the perfect time for England to head to Goodison.

"We are absolutely delighted to be hosting what is a most prestigious and high-profile fixture," said Everton's Chief Executive Michael Dunford.

"This will be the first competitive international game at Goodison Park since the 1966 World Cup Finals.

"We would like to believe that this game is, in some way, a pre-cursor to a full international fixture coming at Goodison."

Fresh from their 2-0 victory over Slovakia, David Platt's men will play the talented Portuguese in a crucial European Championship qualifier. England currently sit third in Group 7 behind Turkey and Portugal, but still have their fortunes in their own hands and know that a win against the Portuguese could tip the balance in their favour.

However, coach David Platt knows all about the quality of the opposition, having lost out on the last five occasions that the two sides have met: "Portugal are an excellent team with outstanding individual talent," he acknowledged. "However, we go into the match knowing that we are still in control of our own destiny in the group."

With Everton's own Peter Clarke establishing himself in the heart of England's defence, Platt is hoping for a big crowd to roar on his team: "Goodison Park is a fantastic stadium steeped in tradition and famous for its atmosphere. The crowd can play a big part in these matches and I hope that the local fans will turn up in force and help us get a win."

The winners all ten qualifying groups qualify for the play-offs in November along with the six best runners-up. The eight play-off winners then qualify for the European Championship finals in May 2004, with the venue to be decided later this year.

England's first match of the new season will be a friendly against Croatia at West Ham United's Upton Park on Tuesday, 19th August.

England at Goodison Park

Our last 'home' match at Everton was against Poland in a friendly on 5 January 1966 (a 1-1 draw with Bobby Moore scoring a rare goal).

Our team that day was: Banks; Cohen, Wilson, Stiles, Charlton J., Moore; Ball, Hunt, Baker, Eastham, Harris.

We did play Northern Ireland there in a Home International Championship fixture on 12 May 1973 (2-1 win with Tottenham's Martin Chivers getting both). However that was technically an 'away' match.

The team then: Shilton, Storey, Nish, Bell, McFarland, Moore, Ball, Channon, Chivers, Richards, Peters.

Ticket details and kick-off time for England - Portugal have yet to be confirmed.

Current Qualification Table

Teams

Pld

W

D

L

GF

GA

Pts

Turkey

6

5

1

0

15

4

16

Portugal

5

4

0

1

13

7

12

England

5

3

1

1

12

6

10

Slovakia

6

1

0

5

3

11

3

Macedonia

6

0

0

6

2

17

0