England enter familiar territory tomorrow when their World Cup fate is decided by their final Group F clash with Nigeria.

The Three Lions have made a habit of testing their fans' nerves for more than a decade in major tournaments. Since 1986, England have needed to take something from their last first-round game in all but one of the World Cups and European Championships for which they have qualified.

1986 - England 3 Poland 0 (World Cup Group Six, Monterrey, June 11).

After losing to Portugal and drawing with Morocco, England had to win to qualify for the second round. Gary Lineker eased fears of an embarrassing early exit with a hat-trick inside the first 36 minutes.

1988 - England 1 USSR 3 (European Championship Group Two, Frankfurt, June 18).

Arguably England's most woeful tournament performance. Defeats to the Republic of Ireland and Holland meant Bobby Robson's team were out of the competition before the final game, where they surrendered meekly.

1990 - England 1 Egypt 0 (World Cup Group F, Cagliari, June 21).

Mark Wright's second-half header clinched top spot in Group F after draws with the Republic and Holland. It was another nervy display but it secured a place in the second round.

1992 - England 1 Sweden 2 (European Championship Group One, Stockholm, June 17).

The game that marked a defining moment in Graham Taylor's England reign as he substituted Gary Lineker to widespread derision. England led after an early David Platt goal but fell apart after half time and came home early.

1996 - England 4 Holland 1 (European Championship Group A, Wembley, June 18).

England reserved their best performance since Italia 90 for Holland's visit to Wembley. Two goals each from Alan Shearer and Teddy Sheringham sealed a memorable and crushing win.

1998 - England 2 Colombia 0 (World Cup Group G, Lens, June 26).

David Beckham marked his first start in a World Cup finals match with a sublime free kick as England cruised home. Again England needed to win - and early goals from Darren Anderton and Beckham sealed the victory.

2000 - England 2 Romania 3 (European Championship, Charleroi, June 20).

A salutary tale for England fans still jubilant after the slaying of Argentina. England were cock-a-hoop after beating Germany - but Phil Neville gave away an 89th-minute penalty to cost his side a place in the quarter-finals.