THE Socceroos will attempt to reprise memories of their Upton Park triumph when they play their first international friendly against England in 13 years.

Football Federation Australia confirmed the Socceroos appear set to play a one-off friendly against England on May 27 in Newcastle or Sunderland.

The match will be the first between the nations since the Socceroos shocked Sven Goran Eriksson’s men 3-1 at Upton Park in 2003.

We take a look at Australia’s footballing history against England.

Australia 3, England 1 — Upton Park

February 12, 2003

Headline "Kanga Poo" on page one of The Sun newspaper. Source: News Limited

“Kanga Poo — Stinking England Dumped On By Aussies”.

That was The Sun’s none-too-subtle summation of England’s abject defeat to the Socceroos — and the home fans agreed.

England’s young squad — featuring Wayne Rooney on his international debut — was jeered as they left the pitch 2-0 down at halftime, and again after the final whistle.

“The game was already lost at halftime and maybe the booing at the end was intended as a reflection on our first-half performance,” said England captain David Beckham.

“We all get frustrated and I can understand that. But this has not helped morale and the fans have got to get behind us in the next game.

Eriksson added: “If England lose at home to Australia, you have to expect a reaction like that and even to accept it.”

Tony Popovic, Harry Kewell and Brett Emerton were Australia’s goal scorers.

's Tony Popovic celebrates scoring the opening goal against England in 2003. Source: News Corp Australia

England 1, Australia 0 — Sydney Football Stadium

June 1, 1991

Less than 11 months after losing a penalty shootout to West Germany in the World Cup semi-final, England made the trek to Australia for the first time in eight years.

Gary Lineker led a side that contained World Cup heroes Des Walker, Stuart Pearce and David Platt against a Socceroos outfit led by Paul Wade and featuring Graham Arnold, Ned Zelic and Aurelio Vidmar.

More than 35,000 fans streamed into the SFS to watch managers Graham Taylor and Eddie Thomson match wits, however the majority of them would leave the stadium underwhelmed.

The match was a largely unspectacular affair and was decided by Ian Gray’s own goal in the 40th minute from an English free kick.

Australia 1, England 1 — Olympic Park, Melbourne

June 19, 1983

It was the three-match tour England didn’t want — and manager Bobby Robson wasn’t subtle in getting his point across.

“It was of little value to anybody, and nothing like the sort of preparation we needed for the European championships,” Robson said at the time.

Such was the low esteem in which the tour was held, serious consideration was given by the English FA not to award full caps to their players.

In the end, they relented, and the Peter Shilton-captained touring side closed with a 1-1 result in Melbourne.

The inexperienced English opened the scoring through Trevor Francis in the 23rd minute, however the Socceroos, led by John Kosmina, drew level four minutes later via a Phil Neal own goal.

Headline "Shockeroos" in The Daily Mail newspaper in 2003. Source: News Limited

England 1, Australia 0 — Lang Park, Brisbane

June 15, 1983

As noted by England Football Online’s Norman Giller, “there were just 10,000 to watch Paul Walsh score the only goal of the match.”

“Mark Barham, Steve Williams, Danny Thomas, John Gregory, Nick Pickering and Nigel Spink were, along with Walsh, the new full caps, and not one of them was still in the frame for England when the 1986 World Cup build-up started,” Giller continued.

Australia 0, England 0 — Sydney Cricket Ground

June 12, 1983

The Australians employed a physical, defensive style of play against the English — and manager Frank Arok was unapologetic.

“I was given the job to get results and I did it,” Arok said at the time. “Who cares how we played?”

England 2, Australia 1 — Sydney Cricket Ground

May 31, 1980

Many of England’s stars were omitted from their country’s first official match in Australia to prepare for the European Championships.

Nonetheless, a strong England team took the field featuring the likes of Brian Robson, Terry Butcher (who would later coach Sydney FC on the same sporting precinct) and Glenn Hoddle.

It was Hoddle who opened the scoring in the ninth minute of the one-off friendly, organised to celebrate Australia’s Centenary of Football.

Paul Mariner added to the tourists’ tally in the 25th minute before Gary Cole contributed the Socceroos only goal via an 85th minute penalty.

“I can promise the public that the Australian team is not treating this as a friendly match,” coach Rudi Gutendorf said before the match. “I am sure that the Australian public would not expect our part time players to be as fit or play better soccer than a full professional England side. However I can promise that the spectators will see the one thing which has become the trademark of the Australian team, and that is the outstanding courage and fighting spirit they show when they play in the green and gold colours.”

While this match is recognised as the first official encounter between the two nations, Australia’s footballing rivalry with England in fact dates back 91 years.

We chronicle England’s four “B-international” tours.

Michael Owen attempts to tackle Tony Popovic at Upton Park in 2003. Source: Getty Images

1925 — AUSSIE RULES DENIES ACCESS TO GROUND

The tour was not without its share of controversy.

The South Australian Football League refused to allow the England FA match to proceed on the Adelaide Oval and only acquiesced to the game being played at Barton Oval if it was handed 25 per cent of the gate takings, according to the Adelaide Register.

England’s manager, Mr J Lewis, also lodged a complaint that the Australian team was not abiding by the rules of amateurism by paying players.

According to the Melbourne Argus, Lewis said “he would have to report the matter when he returned to England”.

The report continued: “Mr. Lewis said that Australian players who travelled to Brisbane for the match there were allowed £1 a day, were paid a bonus of £5 each, and were compensated for loss of work. This was a clear violation of the laws of amateurism. English teams were allowed only bare expenses.”

Nonetheless, the touring Englishmen were largely well received through Sydney, Maitland, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide.

“A fine body of sportsmen” the Perth Daily News noted.

The England FA side won both warm-up games and all five “Tests” against an Australian XI in 1925.

As noted by the Melbourne Argus at the time: “In defeating Australia in the fifth test match at the Fitzroy Cricket ground by 2 goals to nil, the English team will return home with the honour of having won all five tests with a score of 22 goals against 4.”

1937 — 131-GAME WINNING STREAK BROKEN

After playing nine games in 23 days in New Zealand, an England Amateur squad made its way to Australia in July, 1937.

The Australians won their first ever game against England — albeit not their “A” side — in a 5-4 victory at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

According to England Football Online, the match represented “the first ever defeat suffered by an FA touring side, following 131 successive victories in Germany, Austria, South Africa, Australia, Canada, Southern Rhodesia and New Zealand.”

Australia went on to win the high-scoring, three-match series 2-1.

The England Amateur team also played exhibition games against Queensland, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia before concluding their tour in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka).

Wayne Rooney and Craig Moore come together during the 2003 friendly. Source: Getty Images

1951- HOBART HOTEL HISSYFIT

A powerful England FA side embarked on an ambitious 20-game tour of Australia in 1951.

The Australian Online Football Museum notes the series was notable for big crowds, a thumping 17-0 loss by Australia in Sydney and an English walkout over small hotel rooms in Hobart.

“We represent the greatest sporting organisation in the world,” England’s joint manager David Wiseman told the press at the time. “These boys are used to the best hotels. That was what we thought we would get when we came to Australia but we have been disappointed.

“The rooms were clean and the amenities were all right, but the accommodation was small and cramped.”

The England FA tour cost GBP36,000 and the touring players were insured for GBP350,000.

The visitors won all five matches against Australia — including the 17-goal rout in Sydney — and a further two against Australian XIs.

Former Australian International “Tugger” Bryant, analysing the match for the Sydney Morning Herald wrote, “ It became farcical,” wrote for Australian International Tugger Bryant in the Sydney Morning Herald. “Our players spent more times on the backs in the mud than on their feet. One spectator commented, ‘The only time they were on their feet was when the band played God Save the Queen’.”

1971 — WORLD CUP SOCCEROOS TAKE SHAPE

Only Barry Bridges of Millwall had played a full international, but that didn’t stop an England FA squad posting a clean sweep in a nine-game, 27-day tour of Ausrtalia in 1971.

England won both internationals against Australia 1-0 in Sydney and Melbourne, while also posting exhibition game victories against NSW, northern NSW, Victoria, Tasmania, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia.

The series was Rale Rasic’s first at the helm of the Socceroos. As noted by the Australian Online Football Museum: “This Australian team would go on to make up the bulk of the legendary 1974 World Cup side”.