After all, Capello's team are making heavy weather of reaching Euro 2012 despite a straightforward- looking group in which Montenegro are proving their toughest opponents. After drawing 0-0 at Wembley last season, England will probably travel to Podgorica in October needing a result in order to clinch progress to next summer's finals and, whatever happens, will not relish taking on the emerging former Yugoslavian republic twice more.

Assuming that England do make it to next summer's finals in Poland and Ukraine, the players, if not the manager, will soon find themselves being welcomed by both the Euro 2012 co-hosts again.

Poland hold mixed memories for fans of the Three Lions. The two countries have been pitted against each other frequently in the past 40 years and although many will recall with fondness Gary Lineker's hattrick at the 1986 finals, the Poles were, of course, responsible for one the biggest embarrassments in England's history.

For once, Brian Clough was made to eat his words when goalkeeper Jan Tomaszewski, whom he had dubbed 'a clown', kept England at bay in a 1-1 draw at Wembley in October 1973 which prevented Sir Alf Ramsey's team qualifying for the finals in West Germany the following summer.

The result brought a sad end to Ramsey's reign as manager and World Cup -winning captain Bobby Moore's England career, and although Poland are far from the force they once were, they cannot be taken lightly.

Last laugh: 'Clown' Jan Tomaszewski

In different circumstances, another of England's Group H rivals were the final opponents for a later, less celebrated England boss. When Graham Taylor's team travelled to Bologna to play San Marino in November 1993, their hopes of going to the USA were already dead but did the nation 'not like' the goal Davide Galtieri scored for Europe's worst footballing nation after just 8.3 seconds, the fastest in international history. The game finished 7-1 to the visitors, but the way it started summed up a dismal campaign.

Ukraine are the third-seeded team in England's group and were overcome by Capello on the way to South Africa 2010. But they also provided the Italian with his first competitive defeat when goalkeeper Robert Green was sent off early on in Dnipropetrovsk and flares thrown from the stands were the only thing which lit up a dark evening for the team.

Only Hungary are lower ranked among the third-seeded teams than Ukraine, but a side featuring Andriy Shevchenko, still raging against the dying of the light of his career, will be no pushovers, especially on their own territory. Moldova are the only country not to have proved troublesome to England in the past.

Glenn Hoddle oversaw a comfortable 3-0 win in in his first competitive game as manager and went on to get the better of Italy in qualifying top of the group for France 98.

That was the last time the Scots qualified for the World Cup finals and any fears England might have surely pale into insignificance next to the challenge facing Scotland boss Craig Levein and his players.

Drawn against Croatia, Serbia and Belgium, as well as Wales, in Group A, it seems the bikini beauties on Copacabana Beach will not be introduced to the kilts of the Tartan Army. But for England, whatever the historical omens, there will be no excuses.

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