In the days and weeks leading up to the biggest sporting tournament on the planet, the avenues available to follow the World Cup will present themselves in an influx of technology not seen this side of a bad sci-fi film involving the world’s game. Since a bad sci-fi film involving the world’s game can’t possibly exist, all involved will have to put up with my sad and futile attempts to be funny and simply read my explanation on what’s sure to be (yet another) pretty good Apple application for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

Space Mutant Soccer Ninjas from Jupiter 9 will unfortunately have to wait until after the World Cup.

Without further ado, The Football Association has released The Official England Application in anticipation of the Three Lions conquering all in South Africa this summer. Available at the App Store for a whopping $4.99, this app is sure to come in handy in the weeks leading up to England’s opening round match v the United States and I’m guessing will double in worth once the tournament has started.

The opening screen features a large countdown to the start of the World Cup similar to that of ESPN’s Official World Cup app and is followed by the latest news headlines featuring the England national team. The home screen of the app is customizable depending on the user’s priority of content. (seriously, I’ve never understood these countdowns – we get the point, the World Cup kicks off on June 11th, do we really need the minutes and seconds until the opening match?)

A daily NEWS tab allows users a more in depth look into news articles featuring England, The FA, England player’s performances for club, historic features & dates and more. The news tab stores articles all the way back to the beginning of Feburary, 2010 which means you can catch up on the last few months of England happenings when on your summer beach vacation before the World Cup starts.

The TEAM tab, the weakest of this app’s features, showcases head shots of all the England players who have been capped recently and is followed by their date and place of birth, number of CAPS and goals. Not totally worthless in and of itself, yet not a ground-breaking feature for an app when England player profiles are readily available pretty much anywhere.

The fantastic VIDEO tab features a library of famous England goals at your fingertips. Worth the price of admission and with a faster load time than YOUTUBE videos, users can access this feature and watch some of the best England goals from the past 20-25 years. Ranging from Beckham’s free kick v Greece to Owen’s famous run against Argentina – Crouch on Capello, Gazza v Scotland and even a Noel Gallagher interview, they’re all available on the app’s VIDEO page which I’m guessing will feature all of England’s goals at the World Cup after matches.

A CUP section of the app features a detailed schedule of every World Cup match to come and will feature live match commentary when matches are in progress.

I must again stress that I believe this app will double in worth and end up being one of the apps England fans use the most in the days leading up to England’s opening match and throughout the tournament. The England National team will be covered more than any other country competing in the tournament and fans will want to assure they don’t miss a story, interview, highlight or preview when following their country.

Feel free to share a comment about any other apps you think are worth getting in order to maximize your experience during this summer’s World Cup in the comments section below.