Can the 2003 rugby team emulate the 1966 football team?
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Comparisons with '1966 and all that' were inevitable from the moment the final whistle sounded to confirm England's Rugby World Cup semi-final win over France on Sunday.
The 37 barren years which stretch between England's football triumph of 1966 and the glory that lies within the rugby team's grasp this weekend underline a painful wait for English success.
And a huge generation gap will do nothing to deter the predictable parallels drawn between Sir Alf Ramsey's football team and Clive Woodward's rugby stars.
Woodward himself acknowledges that, vividly recalling watching the 1966 World Cup triumph at the age of 10 at the RAF base on which his father served.
"I remember it very clearly, and it's those things that drive you on, not just the football and
rugby, you want to see all English sport going well," Woodward insists.
Few teams since have come close to emulating England's 1966 glory, but Woodward's team can secure their own sporting immortality if they beat Australia in Saturday's final at the Telstra Stadium.
Here, BBC Sport draws some comparisons with the heroes and events of two teams separated in time but potentially joined by history:
Clive Woodward and
Sir Alf Ramsey
Both coaches were 100% focused on World Cup glory.
Ramsey was widely derided in the media for promising the hosts would win the tournament in 1966, while Woodward has always maintained that winning the World Cup was his sole aim as a coach.
Their similarities are highlighted by their refusal to conform to popular thinking.
Woodward shrugged off media criticism following a slow start and has adopted a relaxed approach to training in the latter stages, with the majority of his preparation already in the bank.
In 1966, Ramsey's reaction to a sluggish opening-match goalless draw with Uruguay was more blunt, as he took his squad to Pinewood Studios and allowed them to get drunk with Sean Connery and Yul Brynner on the set of a James Bond film.
English journalists were outraged, but Ramsey's tactics did the trick as the players' nerves disappeared with their hangovers.
Martin Johnson and
Bobby Moore
It would be some achievement to hoist the 6ft 6in Johnson shoulder-high in the event of an England triumph on Saturday, as in the immortalised image of a triumphant Moore at Wembley in 1966.
But Johnson has the chance to finally match the achievements of the West Ham legend.
As captains, both set sky-high standards which those around them aspired to reach.
As players, both have proved unflinching and peerless in their position. Johnson is regarded as the world's best captain by his coach - and Ramsey would not have swapped Moore for any of his 1966 rivals.
Jonny Wilkinson and
Geoff Hurst
The expectation on Wilkinson's shoulders going into the World Cup has been massive, but Hurst had no such pressures as he emerged almost from nowhere.
Jimmy Greaves entered the 1966 World Cup as England's most likely hero, while the hopes of a nation this time round have always rested squarely with Wilkinson.
Hurst's hat-trick against West Germany in the World Cup final wrote his name indelibly into English sporting folklore, in an almost carefree manner.
Wilkinson, on the other hand, carries England's knockout punch almost single-handedly, but suffers from chronic pre-match nerves such is the weight of expectation.
He will almost certainly finish as the top points scorer in the tournament if he outscores Elton Flatley in Saturday's final, but only a match-winning haul will satisfy Wilkinson now.
Ben Cohen and
George Cohen
England winger Ben has the remarkable opportunity to emulate the achievement of his Uncle George, who played at full-back in England's 1966 World Cup-winning team.
And Cohen senior has backed his nephew to complete a family double, which would be a fitting tribute to Peter Cohen - George's brother and Ben's father - who died three years ago.
George says: "When Peter died it brought us much closer to Ben. He lives 120
miles from us, but I speak to him a lot on the phone, and my two sons are
always in touch with him.
"I suppose I was a bit of a hero for him when he was younger and I am hoping
he's going to be a bit of a hero for me at the end of it all. The whole family are hoping it can come off."
Mike Tindall and
Jimmy Greaves
Tindall breathed a sigh of relief on Wednesday when Woodward recalled him to the England starting line-up, ensuring he did not suffer the same sad fate as Greaves 37 years ago.
Tindall was one of the players seemingly written in ink on Woodward's team-sheet, but lost his place to Mike Catt in the semi-final after the Bath centre impressed as a replacement against Wales.
Tottenham striker Greaves lost his regular place in the England team after suffering an injury in the early stages of the tournament and never won it back, forced to watch on from the sidelines as Hurst took the glory.
Wembley 1966 and
Telstra Dome 2003
Finally, there are the England fans, for so long starved of success.
In 1966, 100,000 roared England to victory inside Wembley, while street parties snaked up and down the country in a simultaneous festival of hysteria.
On Saturday, one large chunk of the Telstra Stadium will take on the appearance of an exported Albert Hall with St George Crosses waving in time to rousing hymns and anthems.
Last night of the Poms could prove the ultimate celebration.
MMIX
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England heroes profiled