TWO EAST Lancashire doctors have showed the England football team how to do it — after lifting the ‘world cup’.

GPs Paul Fourie, 41, and John Zak, 43, were part of the Great Britain medical professionals football team which won the World Medical Football Championship.

The competition took place in Seoul, South Korea.

Mr Fourie captained the side and got to lift the trophy at the 70,000 stadium in Seoul built for the 1988 olympics.

Team GB beat Brazil three-one in the final, and were presented with the trophy in a glitzy closing ceremony featuring the National Opera of Korea.

The doctors are now hoping the England football side will follow their lead in the World Cup in South Africa next summer and end 44 years of hurt.

Captain Fourie, who practices at the Witton Medical Centre, Preston New Road, Blackburn, said: “It was an amazing experience.

"To play against Brazil, in the Jamsil Olympic Stadium and in a World Cup final and come out on top just isn’t British!

“We celebrated with some champagne provided by our WAGs supporters who had travelled out with us.”

Goalkeeper Dr Zak, who works at the Pendleside Medical Practice in Clitheroe, said he was delighted to scoop the silverware: “It's a fantastic achievement to come home with the trophy in our hands.

“The competition was strong and the 30C heat made playing the games really hard.

“Although there were plenty of empty seats in the ground, we were cheered on to success by our friends and families who travelled over to support us.”

Dr Zak, a father of four who plays for Grindleton Football Club and lives in Clitheroe, said the whole experience was fantastic.

He said: “Before each match we stood for the national anthem and this filled us full of pride.

“The comradeship between the teams made the occasion all the more enjoyable as we've got to know each other over the four years we have been competing.

"We also got to see Seoul, which is a huge city I'd recommend anyone to visit.”

The 15th annual 11-a-side competition saw medical professionals from Spain, Brazil, Germany, Lithuania, Austria, Australia, South Korea and Great Britain clash from 26 July-2 August.

In the group stage, Team GB beat Lithuania 4-0, South Korea 4-1, Spain 5-2 and lost to Brazil 1-0.

Cash for Marie Curie cancer charity and the Juvenile Diabetic Research Foundation was raised by the squad while they were in the Far East.

The championship moves to Innsbruck, Austria next year.

Trials for the team begin in the autumn. Only medical doctors are eligible to take part.

For more information go to the website below.