THINK back 11 years and the general euphoria that swept the country when England staged Euro 96.

Well, multiply that euphoria by 100 and that's the sort of atmosphere I would expect again if England is awarded the 2018 World Cup.

That's right, football could be coming home once more if FIFA back the Football Association's dynamic out-of-the-blue bid to host sport's second biggest global sporting event.

And - following the uplifting patriotic experience Euro 96 gave us, when St George flags were unashamedly attached to our cars and decorated our homes - I'm a firm backer of the FA's proposal.

There's a long way to go before we can start to even think about celebrating, though.

FIFA's 24-man executive committee isn't expected to make the final decision on who stages the 2018 tournament until 2011.

England will also have to beat off anticipated challenges from strong contenders such as China, the United States, Mexico and Spain to hold the event.

Dark horses Australia, and outsiders Benelux (Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg combined), Canada and Russia, could also enter the fray.

But most of the infrastructure - stadiums, transport links, hotels, media, communications, training facilities, etc - crucial to putting on a successful tournament are already in place in this country.

So, drawing on the experience of those people who have just won the ballot for London to stage the 2012 Olympics, I feel England has a great chance of getting enough votes to secure the 2018 World Cup.

The FA's surprise bid came on the back of FIFA's decision to scrap its continental rotational system earlier this week after it had confirmed Brazil as hosts for 2014.

With South Africa staging the event in 2010, it would be no surprise if a European country were to get it once more before, perhaps, it goes to Oceania for the first time in 2022.

There is no arguing that England's stadiums are among the best in the world, with the new £800 million Wembley the jewel in its crown.

Most of the 10 to 12 venues needed are already in use, including The Emirates, Old Trafford, St James' Park, the Stadium of Light, the City of Manchester Stadium, Villa Park and Stamford Bridge.

That means only about four other grounds would have to be redeveloped or newly built, and with the cash-rich FA awash with money they, and their business partners, should easily be able to cover those bills.

In fact, only a small amount of public money would be required to boost transport links around the country and cover the huge security bill that inevitably accompanies such an event.

The Government - after years of shamelessly failing to back sport in this country - is now back on side in that respect.

So the Treasury will be able to cover that expenditure without much fuss.

England were accused of breaking a gentleman's agreement with Germany by bidding for the 2006 World Cup and, after struggling to get other European nations on side, their bid embarrassingly failed.

The FA's movers and shakers can only have learnt from that experience, however.

So I can't see them making the same mistakes, especially if they enrol the likes of Sir Bobby Charlton, David Beckham and Seb Coe to front their new bid.

Let's hope the FA gets it right this time because it would be fitting if the country that introduced football to the world was able to showcase the modern game in 2018.

England did a fantastic job hosting the World Cup in 1966, when Bobby Moore captained the side to 4-2 final glory over West Germany.

Based on our Euro 96 experience, when England lost to Germany on penalties in the semi-finals, 2018 on home territory might also give us our best chance of winning the cup since that memorable day at the old Wembley 41 years ago.