There might not be much in the way of a footballing rivalry between England and Australia, but make no mistake, it’s never just a friendly when the Aussies come to town.

What makes this matchup its place in modern history is that these two sides met as one of England’s greatest-ever players made his Three Lions debut: Wayne Rooney.

Before the Manchester United legend swapped Merseyside for Old Trafford, he was selected as part of Sven-Goran Eriksson’s squad for what was the first meeting between the two nations since 1991.

Unfortunately for the Swede – who fielded a different XI for each half in east London – the visitors picked up their only victory against Friday’s hosts to date with a 3-1 success thanks to goals from Tony Popovic, Harry Kewell and Brett Emerton – all of whom were playing their football in England at the time.

The Three Lions have only faced Australia occasionally in the years that followed, with one of those meetings seeing Rooney amongst the scorers as England won 2-1 in the build-up to Euro 2016 against a side managed by a certain Ange Postecoglou.

Here, we have compiled a list of all 22 England players who participated in the game at West Ham United’s Upton Park back in February 2003 when a fresh-faced Rooney first pulled on a senior international jersey.

Goalkeeper – David James (West Ham United)

Starting between the sticks on Rooney’s debut was none other than David James, although given that the Aussies put two past him before his half-time substitution, we don’t think he’ll have the fondest memories of this particular game.

At the time, he was plying his trade for West Ham United, but he would move to a pre-takeover Manchester City just a year later.

In all, James played for ten professional sides, ranging from Premier League teams to outfits in Iceland and India.

He would finish his career with 53 England caps – including three at the World Cup – and as the fifth-highest appearance-maker in Premier League history.

Goalkeeper – Paul Robinson (Leeds United)

The man who replaced James for the second half was then-Leeds United No 1, Paul Robinson.

Despite making several England squads in the previous years, Robinson had never played for the Three Lions, so his 45-minute stint against Australia was his national team debut.

He would win another 40 caps for England, representing the team in all five games they played at the 2006 World Cup. In fact, he was one of the country’s best players at that tournament and kept a clean sheet in four out of the five games they played.

Defender – Gary Neville (Man Utd)

Gary Neville was the last of the starting defenders and, perhaps alongside Rio, remains the most publicly active.

Before becoming one of the country’s most sought-after pundits, Gary was one of the country’s best full-backs, reflected in the number of caps he earned throughout his career.

In all, the Man Utd legend won 85 caps for the Three Lions, including five at World Cups and 11 at the European Championship.

Defender – Sol Campbell (Arsenal)

Onto the first of the outfield players, and it’s one of the most controversial men in north London – Sol Campbell.

Campbell was an unbelievably talented footballer and one of England’s greatest-ever centre-backs, but he’ll always be remembered for his infamous move from Tottenham Hotspur to Arsenal in the summer of 2001.

On the international scene, he won 73 caps for the Three Lions. He became the first player to represent England in six consecutive international tournaments at the 2006 World Cup after he came on as a substitute for the injured Rio Ferdinand against Sweden.

Defender – Rio Ferdinand (Man Utd)

Rio Ferdinand

The other starting centre-back in this game was Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand.

By this point, the Red Devils defender was firmly established as one of England’s starting centre-backs after making his debut for the team six years prior in a friendly against Cameroon. By the time of his retirement, he had won 81 senior caps – including ten at World Cups – and scored three goals for the team.

Unfortunately, his performance against the Aussies was woeful, and he was directly responsible for their second goal as Harry Kewell easily outmuscled him to run through on goal and finish neatly into the far corner.

Defender – Ashley Cole (Arsenal)

Starting the game at left-back was the then-Arsenal left-back Ashley Cole.

The former Gunner was an instrumental part of the England setup for over a decade, from his debut in 2001 to his final game in 2014.

In all, he won 107 caps for the Three Lions and currently sits as the sixth most-capped Englishman of all time, just one behind fellow defender and World Cup winner Bobby Moore.

He is now working as the assistant manager for England’s under-21 side.

Defender – Danny Mills (Leeds United)

Leeds United defender Danny Mills was the man to replace Gary Neville at half-time.

Mills earned his first cap for the team two years earlier in a friendly with Mexico, with the game against Australia being his 14th.

By his retirement, he had only made another five senior caps for England, but he did play in all five of the team’s games at the 2002 World Cup.

Defender – Ledley King (Tottenham Hotspur)

The man who replaced Campbell for the second half was Tottenham legend Ledley King.

The Spurs star had made just a single 45-minute appearance for England before this one – against Italy – and wouldn’t play a full 90 minutes for the team until a year later in a friendly with Portugal.

King would win 21 caps for the Three Lions across his career, including one at the 2010 World Cup and two at Euro 2004.

Defender – Wes Brown (Man Utd)

Wes Brown was brought on at half-time to replace Rio, and considering the Aussies scored just the once in the second half, we’d have to say he had the better 45 of the two.

Brown earned his first cap for England in a 1999 draw against Hungary and would earn a further 20 caps across the rest of his career.

He never appeared at a major international tournament despite making it into the squad for the 2002 World Cup.

Defender – Paul Konchesky (Charlton Athletic)

Replacing Ashley Cole at half-time was Charlton Athletic defender Paul Konchesky.

Konchesky had a quiet half against Australia, which is understandable, as it was also his debut for the senior side.

He would make just one more appearance for the Three Lions nearly three years later, playing 45 minutes in the team’s 3-2 win over Argentina.