England can wrap up their place at next summer's European Championship finals by avoiding defeat away to Montenegro, their closest challengers in Group G, on Friday night. But who are these guys?
With your definitive guide, here's MirrorFootball's Chris Bloor .
1) If England think they're in for an easy ride in Podgorica, they can think again, as even their opponents' name should strike fear into the hearts of Rooney and Co. 'Montenegro' translates as 'Black Mountain', a reference not to any one mountain but to the peaks that line its borders with Serbia and Albania. It's like Lord of the Rings - without the giant eagles.
2) Montenegro declared independence from Serbia in 2006, starting its third period of independence having broken free of the Byzantine Empire in 1042 and from the Ottoman Empire in 1878. They have a population of less than 700,000 - fewer than Birmingham.
3) The country's first ever competition as an independent state was the 2006 Miss World contest. Their representative Ivana Knezevic was named in the top 24 finalists of sub-category Miss Sport, thanks to her status as a three-times table tennis champion.
4) Beauty pageants aren't the only string to the Montenegrins' bow. The basketball team went on a 13=game run before they were unceremoniously beaten by Israel in August 2010, their first ever defeat. And in 2009, they won gold when hosting the FINA Water Polo World League, knocking Serbia into second place. Which must have been nice.
5) Their last football tournament was the 2006 World Cup, where they competed as Serbia and Montenegro. They finished bottom of their group, without picking up a single point, but in fairness, they were pitted against Argentina, Holland and the Ivory Coast, so we'll let them off.
6) As an independent team the Montenegro national side played their first ever game on March 24, 2007, beating Hungary 2-1 in Podgorica (the capital of Montenegro), sending the home fans into raptures. Two months later, they became FIFA's 208th member.
7) Relative infants they may be, but they've made short work of moving up the FIFA ladder, and are already ranked 26th in the world - ahead of the Republic of Ireland (and Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales), Turkey and South Korea. Don't expect a goalfest though. Of their six qualifiers so far, three ended 1-0, one 0-0 and another 1-1.
8) Montenegro will have a different man in charge than when they held England 0-0 at Wembley a year ago. Former Croatia boss Zlatko Kranjcar - father of Tottenham's Niko - paid the price for last month's 2-1 loss to Wales in their previous qualifier. Kranjcar's assistant Branko Brnovic, who's never been a manger before, now occupies the big chair, assisted by Aston Villa, um, legend Svo Milosevic.
9) Their star player is Mirko Vucinic, who Chelsea fans will remember from his brace against them in 2008's Champions League group stage, when Roma won 3-1 in the Stadio Olimpico. If he scores - and he's got 11 in 21 appearances for his country - watch out for his somewhat cheeky celebration. You'll certainly cop an eyeful, as he removes his shorts and reveals a tasty pair of Y-fronts. Here's a sneak peak, just in case England's defence once again stands strong, as we wouldn't want you to miss out.
10) As well as Vucinic, the Brave Falcons' ranks including Blackburn new boy Simon Vukcevic, Stevan Jovetic, who plays for Fiorentina and has been dubbed the new Roberto Baggio, and Stevan Savic, who moved to Manchester City this summer. Vukcevic formerly played at Sporting Lisbon, where he did this sort of thing.
By Mirror Football in Mirror Football Blog
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