England

England
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname Three Lions
Association The Football Association
Coach Swedish Sven-Göran Eriksson,
2001-present
Most caps Peter Shilton (125)
Top scorer Sir Bobby Charlton (49)
First international
Scotland 0 - 0 England
(Partick, Scotland; 30 November 1872)
Largest win
Ireland 0 - 13 England
(Belfast, Northern Ireland; 18 February 1882)
Worst defeat
Hungary 7 - 1 England
(Budapest, Hungary; 23 May 1954)
World Cup
Appearances 12 (First in 1950)
Best result Winners, 1966
European Championship
Appearances 7 (First in 1968)
Best result Third, 1968, Semi-finals, 1996

The England national football team represents England in international football competitions such as the World Cup and the European Championships. It is controlled by The Football Association, the governing body for football in England.

As the founders of the game and sport, England's governing body is the only one to use the acronym FA without a preceding letter signifying national affiliation as the English would believe it redundant.

Due to historical precedent, and continuing national sentiment among them, each of the four Home Nations of the United Kingdom possesses its own separate football association, domestic league and national team. Because the IOC does not accept regional representative teams, England, like the other three, do not compete in Olympic football.

England are by far the most successful of the Home Nations, having won the 1966 World Cup and the British Home Championship outright thirty-four times, as many as the other three nations have won outright altogether.

History

Early years

England played in the first ever international football match, against Scotland at Hamilton Crescent in Partick, Glasgow, Scotland on November 30, 1872.(See Match Report Here) The result was 0-0; England had to wait until the following year to record their first win, 4-2, over Scotland at the Kennington Oval.

England would only play the other Home Nations (Scotland, Wales and what was then Ireland) for nearly 40 years - partly due to the dominance of the UK in international football, as well as the problems of arranging internationals in the days before air travel was commonplace. England first played Continental opposition in a 1908 tour of Central Europe, recording easy wins over Austria, Hungary and Bohemia. England's first defeat to a team outside the British Isles came in 1929, when they lost 4-3 to Spain in Madrid.

The FA had joined FIFA in 1906, but the relationship between FIFA and the British associations was fraught, and the British nations withdrew from FIFA in 1928, in a dispute over payments to amateur players. This meant that England did not enter the first three World Cups. However many in England declared the team unofficial "World Champions" after they defeated 1934 World Cup winners Italy in the "Battle of Highbury" in November 1934.

Post-war

After the Second World War, the FA started to modernise their approach; they rejoined FIFA in 1946, the same year they appointed the first dedicated team manager, Walter Winterbottom (before then, the team was picked by a committee). England lost their first match at home to non-British opposition when they were defeated 0-2 by the Republic of Ireland in 1949 at Goodison Park, Liverpool. England's World Cup debut came in 1950; however, they suffered an infamous 1-0 loss to the United States and failed to get beyond the first group stage. England struggled in the 1954 and 1958 tournaments, and all the signs pointed to how far English football had fallen behind the rest of the world.

England's tactical inferiority was highlighted on November 25, 1953, when Hungary came to visit Wembley Stadium. Hungary, one of the best sides in the world and fielding legendary players such as Sándor Kocsis and Ferenc Puskás, outclassed the English 6-3 - this was England's first ever home loss to Continental opposition. In the return match in Budapest, Hungary won 7-1, which still stands as England's worst ever defeat.

By the 1960s English tactics and training had started to improve, and England turned in a respectable performance in the 1962 World Cup, losing in the quarter-finals to eventual winners Brazil. After Winterbottom retired in 1962, former captain Alf Ramsey was appointed; Ramsey boldly predicted that England would win the following tournament, which England were hosting.

1966 World Cup

Ramsey's prediction came true, and the 1966 World Cup was England's finest moment. Captained by Bobby Moore, England's "Wingless Wonders" dispatched Argentina and then Portugal to set up a final with West Germany at Wembley. England won 4-2 after extra time, with three goals from Geoff Hurst and one from Martin Peters. The game created the famous English catchphrase "They think it's all over... it is now!", which were BBC commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme's words as Hurst scored his third goal in the 120th minute.

Decline in the 1970s

England came third in the 1968 European Championships, and were one of the favourites to win the 1970 World Cup; however, they fell in the quarter-finals to West Germany 3-2, having been 2-0 up. West Germany also beat England 3-1 on aggregate in the quarter-finals of the 1972 European Championships. Worse was to come as England failed to qualify for the 1974 World Cup after only managing a 1-1 draw against Poland in a qualifier at Wembley, largely thanks to the heroics of Polish goalkeeper Jan Tomaszewski. In the aftermath of England's failure to reach the World Cup Finals, the FA sacked Sir Alf Ramsey. Of their 113 matches under Ramsey, England had won 69 and drawn 27. There was widespread distaste that, given his distinguished record, Ramsey had not been given the opportunity to resign.

After a brief period where Joe Mercer was caretaker manager of the side, the FA appointed Don Revie as Ramsey's permanent successor. He fared even worse than Ramsey, as England failed to qualify from the group stages of the 1976 European Championships; Revie resigned halfway through England's unsuccessful bid to qualify for the 1978 World Cup. At the same time the team were attracting an ever-growing hooligan element in their support, especially at their matches abroad - at the 1980 European Championships Italian police deployed tear gas during a group match with Belgium. England qualified for the 1982 World Cup but failed to progress from the second group stage despite not losing any of their matches, in another tournament marred by violence.

Revival under Robson

Although at the time he was widely derided by the press, Bobby Robson is now looked upon as one of England's more successful managers. Having failed to make the final stages of the 1984 European Championships by losing out to Denmark, he took England to the 1986 World Cup. Following a poor start, in which England lost to Portugal, drew with Morocco and were without their injured captain Bryan Robson, three goals by Gary Lineker against Poland ensured a place in the next round. Having defeated Paraguay 3-0 in the second round, they were to fall short in controversial circumstances against the eventual winners Argentina in the quarter finals, thanks to two goals from Diego Maradona - the first the infamous "Hand of God" goal, where Maradona punched the ball into the net, the second after a 50-yard dribble past five England players that is widely regarded as one of the finest goals in history. As a small consolation, Gary Lineker won the tournament's Golden Boot.

England's 1990 World Cup was their best since 1966; after a slow start in the group stage, England squeaked single-goal wins over Belgium and Cameroon in the knockout rounds, before being beaten on penalties by West Germany in the semi-finals, after drawing 1-1. Stuart Pearce and Chris Waddle missed from the spot. The team's good performance, the relative lack of violence and the emergence of Paul Gascoigne - England's player of the tournament, who cried after being booked against West Germany (which would have ruled him out of the final had England won) - were all factors in the rehabilitation of football in British society in the 1990s. After the World Cup, Peter Shilton retired from international football with 125 caps; a record which remains to this day.

Mixed 1990s

Robson's successor, Graham Taylor, was largely a failure - the team failed to win a game at Euro 92. Taylor was widely castigated for substituting Gary Lineker in his final England appearance, when England needed a goal. England missed out on qualifying for the 1994 World Cup altogether; the team infamously went 1-0 down to minnows San Marino in a qualifying match after just eight seconds, one of the fastest international goals of all time, before recovering to win 7-1. Taylor was sacked in 1993 and replaced by Terry Venables, who oversaw a much improved performance at Euro 96. With the tournament hosted in England and it being the 30th anniversary of the 1966 World Cup victory, fans' expectations were high; however, after famous victories over Scotland - featuring a brilliant Paul Gascoigne goal - and the Netherlands, and a rare penalty shoot-out win over Spain, England fans were treated to déjŕ vu as their side lost a semi-final on penalties to Germany again after drawing 1-1. Gareth Southgate missed the vital penalty this time.

Venables stepped down after Euro 96; his successor Glenn Hoddle oversaw England's successful qualification for the 1998 World Cup with a 0-0 draw at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, but the team were knocked out of the tournament on penalties again, this time to old enemies Argentina after David Beckham had been sent off. Hoddle resigned the following year after stating his controversial beliefs about the disabled in a newspaper interview. Hoddle said he thought disabled people were paying for sins committed in their past life. Former captain Kevin Keegan took over, only just managing to get England into Euro 2000 (after a 2-1 playoff win over Scotland), where a lacklustre England failed to get beyond the group stage. Keegan resigned in September 2000, after England lost their very last match at the old Wembley Stadium, a World Cup qualifier against Germany.

The Eriksson era

In 2001, the Swede Sven-Göran Eriksson was appointed as Keegan's successor, becoming the first foreign national to manage England. Eriksson turned around the team's 2002 World Cup campaign with a 5-1 victory over Germany; England came from behind with goals from Emile Heskey, Steven Gerrard and a Michael Owen hat-trick. England ensured qualification after a tense final game against Greece; David Beckham scored from a free kick in the last seconds of the game to make the score 2-2 and put England top of their group on goal difference. In the finals in Japan and South Korea, England beat Argentina 1-0 in the group stage and reached the quarter-finals before being beaten 2-1 by the eventual winners Brazil.

In Euro 2004, England came top of their qualification group after drawing 0-0 away to Turkey in their final qualifier. In the finals, despite a last-minute loss to France in the group stage, England were favoured to do well, but were knocked out in yet another penalty shootout, this time to hosts Portugal after a 2-2 draw in the quarter-finals.

The year 2005 saw Eriksson receive heavy criticism from fans for his defensive strategies and alleged lack of passion, his lack of communication with the players from the bench, and a perceived inability to change tactics when necessary in a game, as witnessed against Brazil in 2002. A 4-1 loss to Denmark in a friendly was followed by a humiliating 1-0 defeat to Northern Ireland in a 2006 World Cup qualifier, which compounded criticism. An unconvincing 1-0 victory over Austria did nothing to relieve the pressure. However, despite these criticisms England qualified for the World Cup finals with one match to spare, and travel to Germany as group winners following a 2-1 victory and a much improved performance against Poland.

In their first friendly match following qualification for the World Cup, England beat Argentina 3-2 in Geneva, Switzerland, in a game many have described as England's best performance in a very long time.

The Swede has also received a degree of criticism during his time in charge for experimenting with his teams excessively during friendly matches, sometimes changing the entire eleven at half-time before FIFA ruled that only a maximum of five substitutions would be allowed in such games from 2004. He also received criticism from some quarters of the English media for 'cheapening' the captaincy of the England team by allowing lower-profile players such as Emile Heskey and Philip Neville to lead the team after substitutions. However, these critics generally ignored or were not aware of the fact that only the player leading the team at kick-off is officially recorded as having captained England, so players inheriting the armband later in games were not 'England captains' in the official sense.

Following revelations in the News of the World newspaper during January 2006, the Football Association decided to come to an agreement with Eriksson over his future and on 23rd January 2006, it was announced that the Swede was to stand down after the summer's World Cup Finals. Possible successors linked with the job include Sam Allardyce, Steve McClaren, Guus Hiddink, Luiz Felipe Scolari, Alan Curbishley, Paul Jewell, Stuart Pearce, Martin O'Neill and current under 21's manager and previous national team caretaker manager Peter Taylor.

World Cup record

1930 to 1938 - Did not enter
1950 - Round 1 (last 15) lost to Spain
1954 - Quarter-finals lost to Uruguay 4-2
1958 - Round 1 lost to Soviet Union 1-0
1962 - Quarter-finals lost to Brazil 3-1
1966 - Winners
1970 - Quarter-finals lost to West Germany 3-2
1974 - Did not qualify
1978 - Did not qualify
1982 - Round 2 (last 12) eliminated on goal difference by West Germany after 0-0 draw
1986 - Quarter-finals lost to Argentina 2-1
1990 - Semi-Finals eliminated by West Germany on penalties after 1-1 draw
1994 - Did not qualify
1998 - Round 2 eliminated by Argentina on penalties after 2-2 draw
2002 - Quarter-finals lost to Brazil 2-1
2006 - Qualified

European Championship record

1960 - Did not enter
1964 - Did not qualify lost to France
1968 - Semifinals lost to Yugoslavia 1-0
1972 - Did not qualify (last 8) lost to West Germany
1976 - Did not qualify lost to Czechoslovakia
1980 - Round 1 (last 8) lost to Italy 1-0
1984 - Did not qualify lost to Denmark 1-0
1988 - Round 1 (last 8) lost to Holland 3-1
1992 - Round 1 (last 8) lost to Sweden 2-1
1996 - Semifinals eliminated by Germany on penalties after 1-1 draw
2000 - Round 1 lost to Romania 3-2
2004 - Quarter-finals eliminated by Portugal on penalties after 2-2 draw

Forthcoming fixtures

Famous past players

Tony Adams 1987-2000
Viv Anderson 1978-1988
Alan Ball 1965-1975
Gordon Banks 1963-1972
John Barnes 1983-1995
Peter Beardsley 1986-1996
Steve Bloomer 1895-1910
Terry Butcher 1980-1990
Bobby Charlton 1958-1970
Ray Clemence 1972-1983
Dixie Dean 1927-1932
Duncan Edwards 1955-1957
Tom Finney 1946-1958 		Paul Gascoigne 1988-1998
Jimmy Greaves 1959-1967
Johnny Haynes 1954-1962
Glenn Hoddle 1979-1988
Emlyn Hughes 1969-1980
Geoff Hurst 1966-1972
Paul Ince 1992-2000
Kevin Keegan 1972-1982
Gary Lineker 1984-1992
Nat Lofthouse 1950-1958
Stanley Matthews 1934-1957
Bobby Moore 1962-1973
Stuart Pearce 1987-1999 		Martin Peters 1966-1974
David Platt 1989-1996
Bryan Robson 1980-1991
Kenny Sansom 1979-1988
Paul Scholes 1997-2004
David Seaman 1988-2002
Alan Shearer 1992-2000
Teddy Sheringham 1993-2002
Peter Shilton 1970-1990
Nobby Stiles 1965-1970
Chris Waddle 1985-1991
Ray Wilkins 1976-1986
Vivian Woodward 1903-1911
Billy Wright 1946-1959

Current players

Players who have recently been called up to England squads include:

Goalkeepers
Player Club Caps (goals) Debut Most Recent Call Up
David James Manchester City 33 (0) v Mexico, March 29 1997 v Uruguay, March 1 2006
Paul Robinson Tottenham Hotspur 19 (0) v Australia, February 12 2003 v Uruguay, March 1 2006
Robert Green Norwich City 1 (0) v Colombia, May 31 2005 v Uruguay, March 1 2006
Chris Kirkland West Bromwich Albion
(on loan from Liverpool)		 0 (0) n/a v Poland, October 12 2005
Scott Carson Sheffield Wednesday
(on loan from Liverpool)		 0 (0) n/a v Colombia, May 31 2005
Defenders
Player Club Caps (goals) Debut Most Recent Call Up
Gary Neville Manchester United 78 (0) v Japan, June 3 1995 v Uruguay, March 1 2006
Sol Campbell Arsenal 66 (1) v Hungary, May 18 1996 v Argentina, November 12 2005
Rio Ferdinand Manchester United 45 (1) v Cameroon, November 15 1997 v Uruguay, March 1 2006
Ashley Cole Arsenal 44 (0) v Albania, March 28 2001 v Poland, October 12 2005
Jamie Carragher Liverpool 23 (0) v Hungary, April 28 1999 v Uruguay, March 1 2006
Wayne Bridge Fulham
(on loan from Chelsea)		 22 (1) v Netherlands, February 13 2002 v Uruguay, March 1 2006
John Terry Chelsea 22 (0) v Serbia & Monten., June 3 2003 v Uruguay, March 1 2006
Ledley King Tottenham Hotspur 16 (1) v Italy, March 27 2002 v Uruguay, March 1 2006
Wes Brown Manchester United 9 (0) v Hungary, April 28 1999 v Uruguay, March 1 2006
Matthew Upson Birmingham City 7 (0) v South Africa, May 22 2003 v N. Ireland, September 7 2005
Luke Young Charlton Athletic 7 (0) v USA, May 28 2005 v Uruguay, March 1 2006
Jonathan Woodgate Real Madrid 6 (0) v Bulgaria, June 9 1999 v Argentina, November 12 2005
Glen Johnson Chelsea 4(0) v Denmark, November 16 2003 v Denmark, August 17 2005
Zat Knight Fulham 2 (0) v USA, May 28 2005 v N. Ireland, September 7 2005
Paul Konchesky West Ham 2 (0) v Australia, February 12 2003 v Argentina, November 12 2005
Stephen Warnock Liverpool 0 (0) n/a v Poland, October 12 2005
Midfielders
Player Club Caps (goals) Debut Most Recent Call Up
David Beckham (Captain) Real Madrid 87 (16) v Moldova, September 1 1996 v Uruguay, March 1 2006
Steven Gerrard Liverpool 40 (6) v Ukraine, May 31 2000 v Uruguay, March 1 2006
Frank Lampard Chelsea 38 (10) v Belgium, October 10 1999 v Uruguay, March 1 2006
Owen Hargreaves Bayern München 31 (0) v Netherlands, August 15 2001 v N. Ireland, September 7, 2005
Joe Cole Chelsea 30 (5) v Mexico, May 25 2001 v Uruguay, March 1 2006
Kieron Dyer Newcastle United 28 (0) v Luxembourg, September 4 1999 v Azerbaijan, March 30 2005
Phil Neville Everton 52 (0) v China, May 23 1996 v Argentina, November 12 2005
Alan Smith Manchester United 16 (1) v Mexico, May 25 2001 v Argentina, November 12 2005
Jermaine Jenas Tottenham Hotspur 15 (0) v Australia, February 12 2003 v Uruguay, March 1 2006
Shaun Wright-Phillips Chelsea 8 (1) v Ukraine, August 18 2004 v Uruguay, March 1 2006
Michael Carrick Tottenham Hotspur 5 (0) v Mexico, May 25 2001 v Uruguay, March 1 2006
Kieran Richardson Manchester United 4 (2) v USA, May 28 2005 v Uruguay, March 1 2006
Stewart Downing Middlesbrough 1 (0) v Netherlands, February 9 2005 v Colombia, May 31 2005
Strikers
Player Club Caps (goals) Debut Most Recent Call Up
Michael Owen Newcastle United 75 (35) v Chile, February 11 1998 v Argentina, November 12 2005
Emile Heskey Birmingham City 43 (5) v Hungary, April 28 1999 v Azerbaijan, March 26, 2005
Wayne Rooney Manchester United 29 (11) v Australia, February 12 2003 v Uruguay, March 1 2006
Darius Vassell Manchester City 22 (6) v Netherlands, February 13 2002 v Poland, September 8 2004
Jermain Defoe Tottenham Hotspur 16 (1) v Sweden, March 31 2004 v Uruguay, March 1 2006
Peter Crouch Liverpool 5 (1) v Colombia, May 31 2005 v Uruguay, March 1 2006
Andy Johnson Crystal Palace 2 (0) v Netherlands, February 9 2005 v N. Ireland, September 7 2005
Darren Bent Charlton Athletic 1 (0) v Uruguay, March 1 2006 v Uruguay, March 1 2006

Coaching Staff

Player records

Most capped England players

As of March 1, 2006, the ten players with the most caps for England are:

# Name Career Caps Goals
1 Peter Shilton 1970-1990 125 0
2 Bobby Moore 1962-1973 108 2
3 Sir Bobby Charlton 1958-1970 106 49
4 Billy Wright 1946-1959 105 3
5 Bryan Robson 1980-1991 90 26
6 David Beckham* 1996- 87 16
7 Kenny Sansom 1979-1988 86 1
8 Ray Wilkins 1976-1986 84 3
9 Gary Lineker 1984-1992 80 48
10 John Barnes 1983-1995 79 11

Members of the 1966 World Cup-winning team are in bold. * denotes a player still playing or available for selection.

Top England goalscorers

# Player Career Goals (Caps)
1 Sir Bobby Charlton 1958-70 49 (106)
2 Gary Lineker 1984-92 48 (80)
3 Jimmy Greaves 1959-67 44 (57)
4 Michael Owen* 1998-now 35
5 Sir Tom Finney 1946-58 30 (76)
= Nat Lofthouse 1950-58 30 (33)
= Alan Shearer 1992-2000 30 (63)
8 Viv Woodward 1903-11 29 (23)
9 Steve Bloomer 1895-1907 28 (23)
10 David Platt 1989-96 27 (62)
11 Bryan Robson 1979-91 26 (90)
12 Sir Geoff Hurst 1966-72 24 (49)
13 Stan Mortensen 1947-53 23 (25)
14 Tommy Lawton 1938-48 22 (23)
15 Mick Channon 1972-77 21 (46)
= Kevin Keegan 1972-82 21 (63)
17 Martin Peters 1966-74 20 (77)
18 George Camsell 1929-36 18 (9)
= Dixie Dean 1927-32 18 (16)
= Johnny Haynes 1954-62 18 (56)
= Roger Hunt 1962-69 18 (34)

Members of the 1966 World Cup-winning team are in bold. * denotes a player still playing or available for selection.

England captains

# Player England career Captain (Total Caps)
1 Billy Wright 1946-59 90 (105)
= Bobby Moore 1962-73 90 (108)
3 Bryan Robson 1980-91 65 (90)
4 David Beckham* 2000-Present 51 (87)
5 Alan Shearer 1992-2000 34 (63)
6 Kevin Keegan 1972-82 31 (63)
7 Emlyn Hughes 1969-80 23 (62)
8 Bob Crompton 1902-14 22 (41)
= Johnny Haynes 1954-1962 22 (56)
10 Eddie Hapgood 1933-39 21 (30)

Members of the 1966 World Cup-winning team are in bold. * denotes a player still playing or available for selection.

England managers

Manager England career Played Won Drawn Lost GF1 GA2 Win %
Sir Walter Winterbottom 1946-1962 139 78 33 28 383 196 56.11%
Sir Alf Ramsey 1963-1974 113 69 27 17 224 98 61.06%
Joe Mercer (caretaker) 1974 7 3 3 1 9 7 42.85%
Don Revie 1974-1977 29 14 8 7 49 25 48.27%
Ron Greenwood 1977-1982 55 33 12 10 93 40 59.99%
Sir Bobby Robson 1982-1990 95 47 30 18 151 60 49.47%
Graham Taylor 1990-1993 38 18 13 7 62 32 47.36%
Terry Venables 1994-1996 23 11 11 1 35 13 47.82%
Glenn Hoddle 1996-1999 28 17 6 5 42 13 60.71%
Howard Wilkinson (caretaker) 1999 1 0 0 1 0 2 0.00%
Kevin Keegan 1999-2000 18 7 7 4 26 15 38.88%
Howard Wilkinson (caretaker) 2000 1 0 1 0 0 0 0.00%
Peter Taylor (caretaker) 2000 1 0 0 1 0 1 0.00%
Sven-Göran Eriksson3 2001 - Present 61 36 15 10 115 59 59.02%

Notes

  1. GF = Goals for
  2. GA = Goals against
  3. Accurate up to and including 1st March 2006.

Home stadium

For the first 50 years of its existence, the England team played its home matches at different venues all around the country; for the first few years it used cricket grounds, before later moving on to football clubs' stadiums. England played their first match at Wembley Stadium in 1924, the year after it was completed, against Scotland, but for the next 27 years would only use Wembley as a venue for Scotland matches; other opposition were still entertained at club grounds around the country.

In May 1951, Argentina became the first team other than Scotland to be entertained at Wembley, and by 1960 nearly all of England's home matches were being played there. Between 1966 and 1995, England did not play a single home match anywhere else.

England's last match at Wembley before its demolition and reconstruction was against Germany on October 7, 2000, a game which England lost 1-0. Since then the team has played at 14 different venues around the country, with Old Trafford having been the most often used. The FA have ruled that when the new Wembley is completed in mid-2006, England's travels will end, and the team will play all of their home matches there until at least 2036. The main reason for this is financial. The FA did not own the old Wembley stadium, but it does own the new one, and has taken on debts of hundreds of millions of pounds to pay for it. Thus it needs to maximise the revenue from England matches, and does not wish to share it with the owners of other grounds.

100 Greatest Sporting Moments

In 2002, England featured three times in Channel 4's 100 Greatest Sporting Moments:

External links

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