Australia lined up by England
Wednesday, November 13, 2002
Article summary
England are to play a friendly match against Australia on 12 February.
Article body
England are to play a friendly match against Australia on 12 February - the first time the two sides have met on English soil.
Vital preparation
The game, a warm-up for England's UEFA EURO 2004™ qualifying matches away in Liechtenstein on 29 March and at home against Turkey on 2 April, will be played at West Ham United FC's Boleyn Ground stadium in east London.
Five meetings
The two nations have met before on five occasions, all of which were played in Australia. The last meeting was in 1991, when England won 1-0 in Sydney, although it promises to be a tougher test now with the likes of Mark Viduka and Harry Kewell at Leeds United AFC and Brett Emerton of Feyenoord playing for Australia.
'Ideal game'
"Australia have an excellent team now," England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson told the FA's official website. "We know this from the many players they have playing at the top clubs in the Premier League. It's an ideal game for us to play."
