England and Germany have been continuously paired in significant matches, each carrying with them an inflated sense of occasion, and everyone loves a good pantomime villain.

In international football, the England national team have never been slow to make enemies - be it our loving neighbours Scotland; Argentina; or more recently, Turkey.

This bad blood can stem from a whole range of sources - geographical-based animosity, an ingrained sense of injustice, or sometimes simply because we feel like it.

Obviously, the one nation which will always stand out as England's Old Enemy is Germany. The teams meet in a (supposedly) friendly match later this month in Munich, so let us reflect back on some of the more memorable battles between the two - in a purely sporting sense, of course.

Before we get to some of the more conspicuous encounters – with one in particular which has long been branded into the country's collective consciousness - there is actually a far more gallant and courageous example of human endeavour provided by this fixture. For this, we have to refer back nearly a century to the 1914 No Man's Land ceasefire match.

Although often dismissed as a myth, mention of the Christmas Day ceasefire of 1914 which saw the troops of opposing forces cease hostilities and briefly return to humanity among the bloodshed has been identified in several letters home from both sides.

It is little known that French and Belgian troops also took part and it is likely that there were several small games across the vast expanses of No Man's Land. The game that was most frequently remembered tells of a 3-2 victory to Germany, and the truce was instigated by the German troops initially inviting the British to a concert and sending chocolate cake.

However, unconfirmed reports that a goal scored by one 'A. Hitler' which was erroneously disallowed for offside, thus planting the seeds of his hatred for all things British, are perhaps a tad far-fetched.

Since then England and Germany have been continuously paired in significant matches, each carrying with them an inflated sense of occasion. Whether this importance is artificial is almost academic now - after all, everyone loves a good pantomime villain.

In 1970 West Germany gained revenge for their loss four years previously, Gerd Muller volleying past the inept Peter Bonetti in injury time to knock England out and curtail their hopes of retaining the World Cup as the Germans scored three goals in twenty minutes.

In 1990 and 1996 Germany solidified their position as England's superiors, both times cruelly sending the English team home in the semi-finals of both tournaments by exposing England's severe lack of penalty-shootout practice. Although in 1996 we were already playing at home - which just makes it worse.

 But the full-page advert the German team took out in the Evening Standard following their triumph at Euro '96 'thanking' their hosts was probably deserved, given The Sun's sensitive reaction to drawing Germany before the match.

The downward trend continued, with Germany winning 1-0 in the last-ever game at the old Wembley stadium before it was demolished in 2000. Not only did this somewhat predictable outcome tarnish the memory of the old place, it again exposed the English footballers' propensity for wit and whimsy - upon returning to his league club Liverpool, German scorer Dietmar Hamann was presented with a copy of "Mein Kampf" for Christmas.

By this point, the country was in dire need of a fight-back, and on September 1 2001, Beckham and co. duly provided. Trouncing Germany 5-1 at their home ground - the site of this month's encounter, coincidentally - England went goal crazy after a wobbly beginning, with even Emile Heskey scoring. Cheerfully ignoring the fact that England still very nearly didn't qualify for the World Cup that followed - and when they did it was Germany who got to the Final - this match gave England fans reason to believe again.

Finally, any countdown of England-Germany showdowns would be incomplete without our beloved World Cup Final triumph of 1966. Yes, it's been overexposed, and like all glorious sporting moments it will forever live on as a video repeat rather than the memory of the event itself, as that's the postmodern age we live in.

But this was true 'Roy of the Rovers' stuff that even the finely-coiffured blond comic hero would've found fanciful. Losing the trophy and then a dog finding it in the bushes! Playing in our own 'backyard'! The twin towers of Wembley! A hat-trick! A late equaliser! The fact that our third goal didn't really go in!

This backdrop will be in the minds of the players when they step out at the Olympia stadium on November 19th as both teams aim to fine-tune their squads for qualification to the World Cup in South Africa in 2010.

 It's too hot to play football in the UK in summer, let alone in Africa, so I'm not sure quite how the England team will manage it if they do qualify, but who knows - maybe with a plucky dog called Pickles, a dodgy linesman, and the 'Spirit of '66' they'll be able to finally prosper once more. And if they do, you can already guess who they'll meet in the Final.