England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson picked a 23-man squad to take on Wales and Azerbaijan in World Cup Qualifiers in October 2004.
With the Wales game taking place at Old Trafford, it was handy timing with a return to the fold for Manchester United trio Rio Ferdinand, Phil Neville and Wayne Rooney.
It was Rooney’s first game back after recovery from the metatarsal injury he sustained at the EURO 2004 Finals earlier that year, while it was Ferdinand’s return to the squad after serving an eight-month ban for missing a drug test.
But Eriksson had to contend with a few injuries too, with Wes Brown, Kieron Dyer, Steven Gerrard and Wayne Bridge all ruled out of action.
Michael Owen also reported for duty carrying a slight niggle from his previous game with Real Madrid, but after missing an early training session, Eriksson declared he would be fit to face Mark Hughes’ Wales team.
The game with Wales from Saturday 9 October 2004 will be replayed this week in our ReLions series on the official England YouTube channel. Kick-off will be at 8.05pm.
The Squad
Goalkeepers: Robert Green (Norwich City), David James (Manchester City), Paul Robinson (Tottenham Hotspur)
Defenders: Sol Campbell (Arsenal), Jamie Carragher (Liverpool), Ashley Cole (Arsenal), Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United), Ledley King (Tottenham Hotspur), Gary Neville (Manchester United), Phil Neville (Manchester United), John Terry (Chelsea)
Midfielders: David Beckham (Manchester United), Nicky Butt (Manchester United), Joe Cole (Chelsea), Owen Hargreaves (Bayern Munich), Jermaine Jenas (Newcastle United), Frank Lampard (Chelsea)
Forwards: Jermain Defoe (Tottenham Hotspur), Michael Owen (Liverpool), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Alan Smith (Manchester United), Darius Vassell (Aston Villa), Shaun Wright-Phillips (Manchester City)
