2010 World Cup

Ostensibly, the England team of the 2010 World Cup were borrowed from their time by the Chronos Corporation to play at the New Wembly Space Stadium in 2050, with a team of computerised robots playing in opposition.

The Eleventh Doctor investigated as the eleven players from the England squad walked onto the pitch. Behind the scenes the Doctor used his psychic paper to pass himself and Amy Pond off as laundry service to gain access to the England changing room. The Doctor soon recognised a perception field generator with a big on / off lever. Without hesitation the Doctor turned it off and the players on the pitch were revealed to be multi-tentacled purple alien players. With an angry crowd outside in the stadium the Doctor and Amy made a sharp exit with the Doctor explaining he knew the England team were impostors when he spotted one of them had a tentacle and revealed the outcome of the World Cup to Amy. (COMIC: Foul Play)

Behind the scenes

The airing date of TV: The Lodger, in which the Eleventh Doctor played football, was two days into the FIFA World Cup 2010. As the episode finished, the first match, played between England and the USA, started on ITV.

As COMIC: Foul Play was written before the England team's disappointing performance at the 2010 World Cup, the outcome was never revealed but left open. Ultimately, it was Spain that won.