ALEX Stepney was England's goalkeeper the last time they beat Sweden and he is hoping that the 34-year hoodoo will be broken on Sunday.

Stepney, who was Burnley's goalkeeping coach last season, won his one and only cap as the then World Champions beat Sweden 3-1.

"It was a memorable game for me," explained the former Manchester United star.

"As a young lad you dream about playing for your country and playing in an FA Cup final.

"I may only have got the one cap but at least I did both. I was on the bench something like 20 times for England but there was a certain Mr Banks in the way."

As the English players come to terms with the stresses, strains and climate changes involved in travelling across the world to play football it brings back a host of memories for Stepney.

"When we went out to Mexico in 1970 Sir Alf worked hard and he was very organised," he said.

"Everything he did, he did through the captain Bobby Moore.

"But it was hard because we were playing at altitude and you had to get used to losing about ten pounds in a training session."

With England's game against Sweden only four days away Stepney is unsurprisingly interested in the men who will be in goals and he confessed: "At the start of last season I would never have thought David Seaman would be the number one.

"He had been injured the previous season and he has had more problems this time but Arsene Wenger has been very sensible with him.

"He used his other keepers well and kept Seaman for the big games when he did exceptionally well. He is definitely Sven's first choice.

"But Sweden's Magnus Hedman showed what a good keeper he is when he made those saves against Gazza on the last day of the season. He is top class.

"For me, Sunday's game is the most important of the three in the group. A win would set them up but anything else and that could be a problem."

Stepney has got a number of media and promotional commitments throughout the World Cup and his future at Turf Moor remains unclear although he admitted: "I really enjoyed last season and I would love to be back.

"But I am well aware of the position that Stan finds himself in in terms of money following the problems with ITV Digital.

"I was only part time last season but he will just have to see what he thinks when he knows what budget he has to work with."

Stepney forged a good working relationship with Clarets number one Nik Michopoulos and he was delighted that he had earned a couple more international caps earlier this month.

"It shows that his form has been noticed even though he is playing in England and he has done well to get back in the squad," he said. "It is brilliant for him because he probably though he was out of it.

"But it is obvious that Stan will still want to bring another goalkeeper in and that will be very good for the club.

"You need to have two good keepers and Marlon Beresford did well when he came here on loan. Two keepers work well together and the competition is good."

But for the next month it is the competition on the other side of the world that will be grabbing Stepney's attention.

And if he can lose the tag of being in the last team to beat Sweden, Stepney will be a happy man on Sunday.