Michael Owen (England)

Michael Owen was just 18 when he etched his name on to the minds of football fans around the world with one of the goals of the 1998 FIFA World Cup. In the intervening eight years, he has experienced many things — trophies with Liverpool, transfers

to Real Madrid and Newcastle United, and injuries which have lessened fractionally his once-lightning speed — yet throughout this time he has not stopped doing what he started back in 1998, scoring for England.

Henrik Larsson (Sweden)

Seven years with Scottish giants Celtic turned Henrik Larsson into a football megastar, and his legendary goalscoring prowess earned him a huge domestic trophy haul. In the eyes of the fans, he could do no wrong. Even a brief international retirement could not keep him out of the spotlight when Larsson decided to concentrate on club football after the 2002 FIFA World Cup. When the Swedish media, spurred by demand from the fans, pushed for Larsson to return, his son Jordan cast the deciding vote and he bowed to the pressure, donning the yellow and blue of Sweden again.