Beckham's red card from France '98.

By Alistair Grant, PA Sport

England's 1-0 win over Argentina in Sapporo was the latest in a line of fierce encounters with the South Americans.

The two nations have endured an intense rivalry ever since England won their World Cup quarter-final encounter at Wembley in 1966.

England won that day despite being kicked black and blue but, until today, had failed to beat their adversaries on every occasion since.

July 23, 1966 (World Cup quarter-final, Wembley): England 1 Argentina 0

Argentina ruined the carnival atmosphere beneath the Twin Towers with a crude display of late tackles and bad sportsmanship.

After his side had kicked lumps out of most of the home team, the South Americans' skipper Antonio Rattin was sent off - but shamefully refused to leave the pitch until being virtually dragged to the touchline. Sir Geoff Hurst, destined to become a legend with his hat-trick in the final, got the winner.

May 22, 1974 (Friendly, Wembley) England 2 Argentina 2

Eight years later, Argentina were back at the scene of one of their darkest days - and this time it was the artistry of one of the most gifted players ever to emerge from the country which stole the show.

Mick Channon and Frank Worthington fired home either side of half-time to give England a 2-0 lead, but Mario Kempes' brace, in the 57th and 85th minutes, restored the visitors' reputation.

June 12, 1977 (Friendly, Buenos Aires): England 1 Argentina 1

Despite the long haul from London, England started this match in perky fashion. Stuart Pearson bagged the opener as early as the third minute - but the home team were back onto level terms by the quarter-hour mark thanks to Ricardo Bertoni's equaliser.

May 13, 1980 (Friendly, Wembley): England 3 Argentina 1

The packed crowd at the home of football were euphoric as Ron Greenwood's men stuck three goals past the Argentinians for the first time since the 3-1 victory at the 1962 World Cup. David Johnson and Kevin Keegan were the England heroes, with the former bagging an eighth-minute double.

Daniel Passarella stroked home a spot-kick in the 54th minute, but home favourite Keegan wrapped up victory late on.

June 22, 1986 (World Cup quarter-final, Mexico City): England 1 Argentina 2

Diego Maradona scored two astonishing goals to dump Bobby Robson's men out of the competition.

First, the pint-sized playmaker leapt above Peter Shilton and punched the ball into the net for his notorious 'Hand of God' goal.

And then he collected the ball inside his own half, waltzed past most of the England team and scored arguably the best goal of all time.

Gary Lineker pulled one back, but further pressure just failed to yield a deserved equaliser.

May 25, 1991 (Friendly, Wembley): England 2 Argentina 2

England appeared poised for degree of revenge for Diego Maradona's inexcusable cheating five years earlier - but Graham Taylor's team threw away their two-goal lead.

Gary Lineker was on the mark again early on, with David Platt's effort shortly after the break doubling the hosts' lead.

However, Claudio Garcia and Dario Franco struck twice inside seven minutes mid-way through the second half to level.

June 30, 1998 (World Cup second round, St Etienne): England 2 Argentina 2 (Argentina won 4-3 on pens)

A thriller in France which ended in heartbreak for Glenn Hoddle's men.

Gabriel Batistuta and Alan Shearer exchanged early penalties before the inspirational moment which propelled Michael Owen to stardom.

The young striker, who Hoddle decided was only good enough to be a substitute early in the tournament, sliced through the Argentina defence and lashed the ball home for a stunning goal.

But then it all went wrong - Javier Zanetti levelled before the interval, David Beckham was infamously sent off for kicking out at Diego Simeone and the match went to penalties.

David Batty fluffed his kick and England bowed out.

February 23, 2000 (Friendly, Wembley): England 0 Argentina 0

The plus point from this uneventful scoreless draw was an impressive showing from Emile Heskey on his full debut - but that was about it as Keegan's side foundered on a stubborn South American backline.

The result meant England's winless run against Argentina was stretched to 20 years.

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June 7, 2002 (World Cup first round, Sapporo): Argentina 0 England 1

David Beckham laid to rest the ghost of France 98 with the only goal of the game in Japan's space age Sapporo Dome. The England captain scored from the penalty spot in the 44th minute to crown an excellent all-round performance by Sven-Goran Eriksson's side.

England were forced to hold on in the closing moments but after creating several other chances earlier in the game, most notably with Michael Owen hitting the woodwork, they thoroughly deserved their win.