England v Trinidad & Tobago
2006 World Cup Finals, Group B
5pm (BST), Thursday 15 June 2006
Frankenstadion, Nuremburg
Live on ITV

England's win against Paraguay in their opening Group B fixture on Saturday was their seventh in a row.

The results since the defeat to Northern Ireland in Belfast last September have gone like this:-

1-0 v Austria, 2-1 v Poland, 3-2 v Argentina, 2-1 v Uruguay, 3-1 v Hungary, 6-0 v Jamaica and 1-0 v Paraguay.

The record under Sven - and indeed for the whole post-war period - is eight consecutive wins. This run came after a home defeat to Australia in February 2003 and featured, in order, wins against Liechtenstein 2-0, Turkey 2-0, South Africa 2-1, Serbia & M 2-1, Slovakia 2-1, Croatia 3-1, Macedonia 2-1 and Liechtenstein 2-0 (pictured below).

The sequence ended with England's battling 0-0 draw in Turkey that clinched qualification for the Euro 2004 Finals.

But England's best ever run of wins - TEN - came almost a century ago.

It began with a 6-1 win in Austria in June 1908 and then went…11-1 v Austria, 7-0 v Hungary, 4-0 v Bohemia, 4-0 v Ireland, 2-0 v Wales, 2-0 v Scotland, 4-2 v Hungary, 8-2 v Hungary and 8-1 v Austria. In all fairness the likes of Austria and Hungary were only "emerging nations" in football terms at that time and didn't provide very taxing opposition.

Amongst the goals for England in those far-off days were Vivian Woodward (Spurs) and George Hilsdon (Chelsea). Woodward finished with 29 goals in 23 internationals, a fantastic haul.

So England will equal a post-war record if they achieve a win on Thursday in Nuremberg. A new all-time record is certainly in their sights.