England national football team

England National Football Team

Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)	The Three Lions
Association	The Football Association (The FA)
Head coach	Steve McClaren (as of 1 August2006)
Captain	Vacant
Most caps	Peter Shilton (125)
Top scorer	Sir Bobby Charlton (49)
FIFA code	ENG
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	5
First international
Scotland 0 - 0 England (Partick, Scotland; 30 November 1872)
Biggest win
Ireland 0 - 13 England (Belfast, Ireland; 18 February 1882)
Biggest defeat
Template:Country data Hungary 49-56 Template:Team 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	1968: Third, 1996 Semi-finals

The England national football team represents England in international football competitions such as the World Cup - which it won in 1966 - and the European Championships. Controlled by The Football Association, the governing body for football in England, they are one of the highest-ranking national teams in Europe.

England is the most successful of the four Home Nations, having won the British Home Championship thirty-four times, as often as the other three nations put together.

Traditionally, England's greatest rivals have been Scotland. In recent years, other rivalries have developed. England-Argentina and England-Germany are two of the most heated in the world today.

History

Early years

England, captained by Cuthbert Ottaway, played in the first ever international football match, against Scotland at Hamilton Crescent in Partick, Scotland on 30 November 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 they did defeat 1934 World Cup winners Italy in the "Battle of Highbury" in November 1934.

Post-war

The FA rejoined FIFA in 1946, the same year they appointed the first dedicated team manager, Walter Winterbottom (although 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 defeat to the United States and failed to get beyond the first group stage.

England's tactical inferiorities were highlighted on 25 November 1953, when Hungary came to visit Wembley Stadium. One of the best sides in the world at the time and fielding legendary players such as Sándor Kocsis and Ferenc Puskás, Hungary 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.

England struggled in the 1954 World Cup, losing to Uruguay in the quarter finals, and their hopes of success at the 1958 finals were almost completely shattered by the Munich air disaster in February that year, which claimed the lives of key internationals Roger Byrne, David Pegg, Tommy Taylor and, England's greatest single talent of the era, Duncan Edwards. Bobby Charlton, who was injured in the crash, recovered sufficiently to make his England debut in April that year and begin one of the great England international careers. He was named in the squad which travelled to Sweden for the finals but didn't kick a ball as England exited in the group stages after a play-off defeat against the USSR, a game deemed necessary after the two finished entirely equal in second spot of their group.

All the signs pointed to how far English football had fallen behind the rest of the world, although by the end of the 1950s, emerging talents such as prolific goalscorer Jimmy Greaves suggested that sufficiently talented players were available, provided the tactical and coaching side of the game could bring the best out of them.

By the 1960s English tactics and training started to improve, and England turned in a respectable performance in the 1962 World Cup, losing in the quarter-finals to eventual winners Brazil. By now, more young players were making their mark, including elegant young defender Bobby Moore. After Winterbottom retired in 1962, former captain Alf Ramsey was appointed and crucially won the right to choose the squad and team himself, taking that role away from the selection committee. 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. An unremarkable group phase saw England win two and draw one of their games, with a 30 yard strike by Bobby Charlton at Wembley against Mexico proving a highlight. An injury to centre forward Jimmy Greaves in the final group match against France prompted Ramsey into a re-think for the quarter final against Argentina, and inexperienced replacement Geoff Hurst responded by scoring the only goal of the game. Charlton then hit both goals in a 2-1 semi-final win over Portugal and England had reached the final, where they would meet West Germany. By now, Greaves was fit again, but Ramsey kept faith with Hurst, despite calls from the media for the main goalscorer to return.

England's "Wingless Wonders" (a phrase coined by the press after Ramsey devised a new 4-3-3 system which relied on stamina-based midfield players rather than natural wingers) won the final 4-2 after extra time, with three goals from Hurst and one from Martin Peters. Hurst's second goal became the most talked-about and controversial in England football history, with West Germany's players protesting - to this day - that the ball from Hurst's shot did not fully cross the goal-line after bouncing down from the crossbar. Numerous attempts to decide the matter once and for all have not been fully conclusive, although the sporting consensus suggests that England were slightly fortunate to be awarded a goal. Bobby Moore became the first and, to date, only England captain to lift the World Cup, and no other player has yet equalled Hurst's feat of a hat-trick in a World Cup final.

The game prompted an unwitting piece of flawless and immortal broadcasting from the BBC's Kenneth Wolstenholme when describing the last-ditch run and shot from Hurst which led to his third goal - "And here comes Hurst, he's got ... (notices spectators on the field) ... some people are on the pitch, they think it's all over! (Hurst shoots and scores) It is now!" Wolstenholme's words became as much part of the folklore from the 1966 World Cup as England's victory.

Decline in the 1970s

At the 1968 European Championships, England lost to Yugoslavia in the semi-final - Alf Ramsey's first competitive defeat for five years - and Alan Mullery became the first player to be sent off while playing for England.

In Mexico, for the 1970 World Cup, despite the altitude conditions, England progressed with some ease to the quarter finals, despite a 1-0 defeat to Brazil in their group, which was most notable for a stunning save from Pele by goalkeeper Gordon Banks. In the quarter final match against West Germany England coasted into a 2-0 lead but the Germans fought back to 2-2, then in extra time Gerd Müller scored the winner. Some blame was attached to Peter Bonetti, Banks' replacement for this match, but ultimately the culpability for defeat was shared by the whole team.

England failed to reach the final stages of the 1972 European Championships thanks to West Germany again. The crucial two-legged qualifier resulted in a 3-1 win for the Germans at Wembley and a goalless draw in Berlin. In the first of these games, 1966 hat-trick hero Geoff Hurst made his final England appearance. Attention then turned to qualification for the 1974 World Cup but England failed to reach the finals after an infamous 1-1 draw against Poland, who went to the finals instead as a consequence. England's inability to win was largely down to the eccentricities and heroics of Polish goalkeeper Jan Tomaszewski. In the aftermath of this failure, however, the FA sacked Ramsey.

After a brief period where Joe Mercer was caretaker manager of the side (during which time 1966 hero Peters played his final England game), the FA appointed Don Revie as Ramsey's permanent successor. But Revie fared worse than Ramsey, as England failed to qualify from the group stages of the 1976 European Championships, despite a memorable 5-0 group win over Cyprus in which Malcolm Macdonald scored all five of England's goals, a post-war record which remains. Revie also fell out with Alan Ball, the last of the 1966 winners, in the summer of 1975, removing him from both captaincy and team and bringing a sudden end to his international career. Revie himself resigned controversially in 1977, halfway through England's ultimately unsuccessful bid to qualify for the 1978 World Cup in order to take a lucrative offer in the United Arab Emirates. He was punished by the FA and banned from working in English football for a decade, and although he overturned the ban on appeal, he would never work in English football again.

The Greenwood era

After the departure of Revie, Brian Clough applied for the post but the FA gave the role to Ron Greenwood, who had been brought out of retirement to act as caretaker after Revie's exit. He was unable to rescue England's campaign to reach the 1978 World Cup - the damage had been done by a defeat to Italy during Revie's era - but he did take England to its first tournament in a decade when qualification for the 1980 European Championships in Italy was secured. During the qualification campaign, England played a friendly match against Czechoslovakia, in which Viv Anderson became the first black player to win an England cap. England were unspectacular at the finals and did not progress beyond their group. At the same time, the team were attracting an ever-growing hooligan element in their support, especially at matches abroad, and against Belgium, Italian police were forced to deploy tear gas.

Greenwood had begun to plan England's future upon taking the job, and the likes of Bryan Robson, Kenny Sansom, Terry Butcher and Glenn Hoddle were already fully-fledged internationals as England turned attentions to qualifying for the 1982 World Cup in Spain. The campaign was long and topsy-turvy, with England unable to put a reasonable run of victories together but eventually England benfitted from other results and qualified in the final game with a 1-0 win over Hungary at Wembley.

At the finals, England won all three of their group games and Robson scored one of the fastest goals at a World Cup finals when he netted 27 seconds into the opening match against France. England went into the second round pool but were eliminated despite ultimately not losing a game. Greenwood announced his immediate retirement. This was also another tournament marred by violence, a problem which would continue through the rest of the decade when England went overseas.

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. He started badly on a PR front by not telling captain Kevin Keegan that he would not be calling him into his first squad, and Keegan heard the news via the media, aired his disgust and retired from the international game.

On the pitch, Robson's England failed to make the final stages of the 1984 European Championships by losing out to Denmark, but a fresher, younger squad took England to the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. England had a poor start, losing to Portugal and then drawing with Morocco in a game which saw Ray Wilkins become the first England player to be sent off at a World Cup and captain Bryan Robson helped from the field in agony, not to return again in the competition, after dislocating his shoulder. Pressure mounted on England to rescue themselves with a win over Poland and Gary Lineker's first-half hat-trick did just that. In the second round, England defeated Paraguay 3-0 thanks largely to two more goals from Lineker, but were to fall short in controversial circumstances against the eventual winners Argentina in the quarter finals, thanks to two very different but equally memorable goals from Diego Maradona - the infamous "Hand of God" goal, where Maradona punched the ball into the net, and then the second after a 50-yard dribble past five England players that is widely regarded as one of the finest goals in history and is often called the Goal of the Century. Lineker scored England's late consolation, his sixth of the tournament, and duly won the Golden Boot. His star increased so profoundly as a consequence of the World Cup that he was purchased by Barcelona immediately afterwards.

England's impetus and progress was lost when, at the 1988 European Championships in Germany, a lethargic and misfiring group of players lost all three of their group games, including a shock 1-0 reversal against the Republic of Ireland, managed by 1966 England hero Jack Charlton. The tournament also marked the final England appearances of stalwarts Glenn Hoddle and Kenny Sansom, the latter of whom attained a total of 86 caps, which remains the record for a full back. Robson offered his resignation, which was declined, and England recovered to go through their qualifying campaign for the 1990 World Cup without conceding a goal.

The 1990 World Cup in Italy was to be Robson's last tournament in charge, having decided against extending his contract in order to return to club football with PSV Eindhoven. The competition turned out to be England's best since 1966; after a slow start in the group stage, England managed narrow 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, with Stuart Pearce and Chris Waddle failing from the spot. The team's good performance, the relative lack of violence, winning the Fair Play Award and the emergence of Paul Gascoigne - England's player of the tournament, who famously 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 into British society in the 1990s. After the World Cup, Shilton retired from international football with 125 caps, a record remains to this day.

Mixed 1990s

Robson's successor, Graham Taylor, did not build on the team that fared well in 1990. He discarded senior players like Bryan Robson and Chris Waddle (in the form of his life at Olympique de Marseille) and, although qualification was relatively smooth, Taylor's team ultimately failed to win a single game at the 1992 European Championships in Sweden. Taylor was also widely castigated for taking off Gary Lineker in what turned out to be his final England appearance, when England needed a goal, and Lineker himself needed to score just one more goal to equal Bobby Charlton's record of 49 goals for the national team.

England missed out on qualifying for the 1994 FIFA World Cup altogether; defeats in Norway and then the Netherlands ultimately ruined England's hopes, and the team infamously went 1-0 down to tiny San Marino in their final qualifying match after just eight seconds, one of the fastest international goals of all time, before recovering to win 7-1. Taylor was sacked soon after the San Marino game and took some years to re-establish his reputation as a coach and manager.

Terry Venables was the next appointment to the post. Venables oversaw a much improved performance at the 1996 European Championships - although he was helped from the start as the tournament was to take place in England and therefore he did not have to go through a qualifying campaign. It was also the 30th anniversary of the 1966 World Cup victory, so fans' expectations were high as the tournament began with Venables deploying emerging younger stars such as Steve McManaman, Darren Anderton and Gary Neville alongside established mainstays of previous campaigns, including Paul Gascoigne, Stuart Pearce, David Platt and Tony Adams, a player featuring in his first tournament since the debacle of the 1988 European Championships. After famous victories over Scotland - a 2-0 win featuring a crucial David Seaman penalty save and a brilliant Gascoigne goal - and the Netherlands by 4-1, and a rare penalty shoot-out win over Spain, England fans were subjected to déjà 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. Alan Shearer, who had taken over from Lineker as England's core centre forward, emerged from the tournament as its top scorer with five goals.

Due to tension between himself and the FA over the extension of his contract after the tournament, Venables announced in advance of the 1996 European Championships that he would step down after its completion [2], although it became widely and inaccurately reported that Venables was told by the FA he would not be employed further because of ongoing worries about his business interests.

Venables' successor was Glenn Hoddle, merely eight years after he finished his international playing career. Hoddle immediately courted controversy by giving Alan Shearer the captaincy ahead of Tony Adams, but he also gave real hope to England fans by exploiting the talents of numerous young stars emerging in the English game, including the Manchester United midfield trio of of Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt and David Beckham and central defenders Rio Ferdinand and Sol Campbell. Hoddle oversaw England's successful qualification for the 1998 World Cup with a 0-0 draw at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome and drew out a winning perfomance in the Tournoi de France, a friendly tournament held before the World Cup against competition hosts France, Brazil and Italy. However after this promising build-up they were knocked of the World Cup on penalties, this time in the last 16 to Argentina, although the game itself had been galvanised by a wonder goal from 18 year old striker Michael Owen, upon whom Hoddle had taken a chance and put into the starting XI.

Hoddle's reign itself was riddled with ridicule over his religious convictions and insistence on employing a faith healer as part of the set-up, and he resigned after expressing his controversial beliefs about the disabled in a newspaper interview; he said that he thought disabled people were paying for sins committed in former lives.

Under considerable media and public pressure, the FA appointed former captain Kevin Keegan, who only just managed to get England into the 2000 European Championships after a 2-1 aggregate playoff win over Scotland. At the finals in Belgium and Holland, a lacklustre England failed to get beyond the group stage, losing to both Portugal and Romania after leading in each game. After England's exit, Alan Shearer retired from international football - he had announced his intentions prior to the tournament and numerous efforts subsequently to change his mind failed. In September 2000 Keegan himself resigned, citing that he was "a little bit short" [3] tactically at international level, after England lost their very last match at the old Wembley Stadium, a World Cup qualifier against Germany. That defeat also prompted the retirement from international football of Adams after a 13 year England career. The FA's chief executive of the time, Adam Crozier, reluctantly accepted Keegan's resignation in the Wembley tunnel's lavatory and before leaving the stadium, had telephoned the agent of Sven Göran Eriksson to talk about the vacancy.

The Eriksson era and World Cup 2002 Korea/Japan

In 2001, Eriksson was duly appointed as Keegan's successor, and as a Swedish national, he became the first foreign national to manage England. Eriksson immediately turned around the team's campaign to qualify for the 2002 World Cup with a 5-1 victory over Germany in Munich, where 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 - with Beckham scoring the only goal as he exorcised his ghosts of the red card four years earlier - and reached the quarter-finals before being beaten 2-1 by the eventual winners Brazil.

Euro 2004 in Portugal

For the 2004 European Championships, England came top of their qualification group after drawing 0-0 away to Turkey. During the campaign, teenage striker Wayne Rooney was installed as a new star in England's attack, with much expected of him for the finals. His emergence was tempered by the loss of defender Rio Ferdinand, who was given an eight month ban from all football at the beginning of 2004 after missing a drugs test, meaning he was unable to go to Portugal for the finals. Despite a last-minute loss to France in the group stage, England progressed with Rooney scoring in games against Switzerland and Croatia. Although favoured to do well in the quarter-finals, England's challenge was greatly affected early in the game when Rooney suffered a broken metatarsal in his foot. England eventually lost in yet another penalty shootout, this time to hosts Portugal, after a 2-2 draw. Beckham and Darius Vassell missed the crucial kicks. Michael Owen's goal during the game enabled him to become the first England player to score in four consecutive tournaments.

Qualification To Germany

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, David Healy scoring the goal in the 73rd minute, which despite a previously excellent qualifying record led to further 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 travelled 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. Michael Owen scored twice in the last four minutes and emerged as a clear candidate to eventually beat Bobby Charlton's long-standing goals record for England as he surpassed the numerous players on 30 goals or below to go a clear fourth in the scoring chart.

New Manager After World Cup

Despite this, following revelations made 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 23 January 2006, it was announced that Eriksson was to stand down after the summer's World Cup Finals. A number of possible successors were linked with the job; after a series of interviews that were widely criticized for their length, Portuguese national team manager Luiz Felipe Scolari was allegedly offered the job, but declined due to the belief that accepting the offer before a World Cup would conflict with his managerial duties at Portugal. On 4 May 2006, it was announced that Steve McClaren would succeed Eriksson after the World Cup. His first game in charge will be against Greece at Old Trafford on 16 August.

Rooney's Injury

Another issue which was set to affect England's preparations came on 29 April 2006 when Rooney broke another metatarsal while playing for Manchester United. Despite reservations and protests from medical staff, journalists and Manchester United officials that Rooney would not be fit for the World Cup, Eriksson stood firm and selected him in his squad(it later turned out that the injury was not as serious as the public had been led to believe, and Rooney was passed as match fit near the end of the group stages). Eriksson also took along untried 17 year old Theo Walcott despite never seeing him play. Walcott made his debut in a friendly against Hungary in May 2006, becoming the youngest ever England international and surpassing the record previously held by Rooney. In addition to the injured Rooney and the untried Walcott, Eriksson selected just two more strikers to take to Germany - Michael Owen (who had only just returned from a 6 month injury lay off) and the 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) Peter Crouch.

World Cup 2006

England's 2006 World Cup campaign saw them drawn into Group B alongside Paraguay, Trinidad and Tobago and Sweden. Their opening match of the tournament was against Paraguay in the Waldstadion in Frankfurt on 10 June 2006. The only goal of the game came after 2 minutes and 44 seconds, when a David Beckham free kick was headed in by Paraguayan defender Carlos Gamarra.

The 1-0 win over Paraguay was followed by a 2-0 victory over Trinidad and Tobago on 15 June 2006 in the Nuremburg. The deadlock was only broken in the 84th minute when England took the lead with a Peter Crouch header, and this was followed by a Steven Gerrard strike in injury time. The win secured England's place in the last 16. It also saw the return as a substitute of Wayne Rooney just six weeks after breaking a metatarsal bone in his foot.

England's final group match saw them play Sweden in Cologne. Rooney started the game, but his strike partner Michael Owen was stretchered off with a cruciate ligament injury after less than two minutes, but England still took a first half lead through a wonder strike from Joe Cole. Sweden equalised through Marcus Allback before Steven Gerrard gave England the lead again in the 86th minute. England, however, were denied a first win over Sweden since 1968 when Henrik Larsson levelled again in the 90th minute. Sol Campbell's introduction as a substitute made him the first England player to feature in the final stages of six consecutive tournaments, beginning with the 1996 European Championships.

England beat Ecuador in the last 16 on 25 June in Stuttgart courtesy of a David Beckham free-kick. Beckham duly became the first England player to score in three World Cup tournaments, having also found the net at the 1998 and 2002 competitions. The game also saw Rooney's full rehabilitation as he managed to play for the whole 90 minutes.

The quarter-final against Portugal on 1 July, ended 0-0 after extra time. David Beckham was substititued early in the second half with an ankle injury, and then Wayne Rooney was sent off for stamping on Ricardo Carvalho's groin[4] in a rough tackle, though Rooney later denied it was intentional.

The draw led to a penalty shoot-out that England lost 3-1, thus being eliminated from the tournament. Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher (who had to re-take his initially scored irregular penalty for not waiting for the referee's whistle) all had their attempts saved by keeper Ricardo, with Owen Hargreaves, later to be named man of the match [5], the only England player to score his penalty kick. It continued England's woes in penalty shootouts at major championships as well as Sven-Göran Eriksson's poor head-to-head record against Luiz Felipe Scolari.

The morning after England's exit, a tearful Beckham announced that he was stepping down as captain, although he stressed that he was keen to continue playing for England. In his last press conference prior to the flight home, Eriksson said he only wished to be remembered for being "honest", and a coach who "tried my best".

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 7 October 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 late-2006 or early-2007, 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.

Forthcoming fixtures

• Friendly: England v Greece, 16 August at Old Trafford, Manchester
• Euro 2008 Qualifying Group E:
  • England v Andorra, 2 September at Old Trafford, Manchester
  • Republic of Macedonia v England, 6 September
  • England v Republic of Macedonia, 7 October at Old Trafford, Manchester
  • Croatia v England, 11 October
• Friendly: Netherlands v England, 15 November at the Amsterdam ArenA
• Euro 2008 Qualifying Group E (continued):
  • Israel v England, 24 March 2007 at Ramat Gan Stadium, Tel Aviv
  • Andorra v England, at the Estadio Comunal de Aixovall 28 March 2007
  • Estonia v England, 6 June 2007
  • England v Israel, 8 September 2007 at Wembley Stadium
  • England v Russia, 12 September 2007 at Wembley Stadium
  • England v Estonia, 13 October 2007 at Wembley Stadium
  • Russia v England, 17 October 2007
  • England v Croatia, 21 November 2007 at Wembley Stadium

Recent results

Goal scorers in brackets.

• 2006 World Cup Quarter-finals
  • England 0 - 0 (1-3 in Penalties) Portugal, 1 July, at Auf-Schalke, Gelsenkirchen
• 2006 World Cup Round of last 16
  • England 1 - 0 Ecuador, 25 June, at Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion, Stuttgart (England: D. Beckham) 60
• 2006 World Cup Group B:
  • Sweden 2-2 England, 20 June at Müngersdorfer Stadion, Cologne (England: J. Cole 34, Gerrard 86; Sweden: Allback 51, Larsson 90)
  • England 2-0 Trinidad & Tobago, 15 June at Frankenstadion, Nuremberg (England: Crouch 83, Gerrard 91)
  • England 1-0 Paraguay, 10 June at Waldstadion, Frankfurt (England: Gamarra og 3mins)
• Friendly: England 6-0 Jamaica, 3 June 2006 at Old Trafford, Manchester (England: Lampard 11, Taylor 17 og, Crouch 29, Owen 32, Crouch 67, 89)
• Friendly: England 3-1 Hungary, 30 May 2006 at Old Trafford, Manchester (England: Gerrard 45, Terry 51, Crouch 84; Hungary: Dardai 55)
• Friendly: England 2-1 Uruguay, 1 March 2006 at Anfield, Liverpool (England: Crouch 74, J Cole 90; Uruguay: Pouso 25)
• Friendly: England 3-2 Argentina, 12 November 2005 at Stade de Geneve, Geneva (England: Rooney 39, Owen 87, 92; Argentina: Crespo 35, Samuel 54)
• 2006 World Cup Qualification Group 6:
  • England 2-1 Poland, 12 October 2005 at Old Trafford, Manchester (England: Owen 43, Lampard 79; Poland: Frankowski 45)
  • England 1-0 Austria, 8 October 2005 at Old Trafford, Manchester (England: Lampard 24)
  • Northern Ireland 1-0 England, 7 September 2005 at Windsor Park, Belfast (Northern Ireland: Healy 74
  • Wales 0-1 England, 3 September 2005 at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff (England: J Cole 54)
• Friendly: Denmark 4-1 England, 17 August 2005 at Parken Stadion, Copenhagen

Current players

See also: 2006 FIFA World Cup (squads)

The following players have all recently been called up to the England squad.

Goalkeepers

Name	Age	Club	Caps (goals)	Debut	Most Recent Call up
David James	35	Manchester City	34 (0)	v Mexico, 29 March 1997	2006 FIFA World Cup
Paul Robinson	27	Tottenham Hotspur	26 (0)	v Australia, 12 February 2003	2006 FIFA World Cup
Robert Green	26	Norwich City	1 (0)	v Colombia, 31 May 2005	2006 FIFA World Cup
Chris Kirkland	25	Wigan Athletic (on loan from Liverpool)	0 (0)	n/a	v Poland, 12 October 2005
Scott Carson	20	Liverpool	0 (0)	n/a	2006 FIFA World Cup
Ben Foster	23	Manchester United	0 (0)	n/a	As standby for 2006 FIFA World Cup

Defenders

Name	Age	Club	Caps (goals)	Debut	Most Recent Call up
Gary Neville	31	Manchester United	81 (0)	v Japan, 3 June 1995	2006 FIFA World Cup
Sol Campbell	31	Free Agent (released by Arsenal)	69 (1)	v Hungary, 18 May 1996	2006 FIFA World Cup
Phil Neville	29	Everton	52 (0)	v China, 23 May 1996	As standby for 2006 FIFA World Cup
Rio Ferdinand	27	Manchester United	52 (1)	v Cameroon, 15 November 1997	2006 FIFA World Cup
Ashley Cole	25	Arsenal	51 (0)	v Albania, 28 March 2001	2006 FIFA World Cup
Jamie Carragher	28	Liverpool	29 (0)	v Hungary, 28 April 1999	2006 FIFA World Cup
John Terry	25	Chelsea	29 (1)	v Serbia & Monten., 3 June 2003	2006 FIFA World Cup
Wayne Bridge	25	Chelsea	23 (1)	v Netherlands, 13 February 2002	2006 FIFA World Cup
Ledley King	25	Tottenham Hotspur	16 (1)	v Italy, 27 March 2002	v Uruguay, 1 March 2006
Wes Brown	26	Manchester United	9 (0)	v Hungary, 28 April 1999	v Uruguay, 1 March 2006
Matthew Upson	27	Birmingham City	7 (0)	v South Africa, 22 May 2003	v N. Ireland, 7 September 2005
Luke Young	26	Charlton Athletic	7 (0)	v USA, 28 May 2005	As standby for 2006 FIFA World Cup
Jonathan Woodgate	26	Real Madrid	6 (0)	v Bulgaria, 9 June 1999	v Argentina, 12 November 2005
Glen Johnson	21	Portsmouth (on loan from Chelsea)	4 (0)	v Denmark, 16 November 2003	v Denmark, 17 August 2005
Zat Knight	26	Fulham	2 (0)	v USA, 28 May 2005	v N. Ireland, 7 September 2005
Paul Konchesky	25	West Ham	2 (0)	v Australia, 12 February 2003	v Argentina, 12 November 2005
Michael Dawson	22	Tottenham Hotspur	0 (0)	n/a	As standby for 2006 FIFA World Cup
Stephen Warnock	24	Liverpool	0 (0)	n/a	v Poland, 12 October 2005

Midfielders

Name	Age	Club	Caps (goals)	Debut	Most Recent Call up
David Beckham (outgoing captain)	31	Real Madrid	94 (17)	v Moldova, 1 September 1996	2006 FIFA World Cup
Steven Gerrard	26	Liverpool	47 (9)	v Ukraine, 31 May 2000	2006 FIFA World Cup
Frank Lampard	28	Chelsea	45 (11)	v Belgium, 10 October 1999	2006 FIFA World Cup
Joe Cole	24	Chelsea	37 (6)	v Mexico, 25 May 2001	2006 FIFA World Cup
Owen Hargreaves	25	Bayern Munich	34 (0)	v Netherlands, 15 August 2001	2006 FIFA World Cup
Kieron Dyer	27	Newcastle United	28 (0)	v Luxembourg, 4 September 1999	v Azerbaijan, 30 March 2005
Alan Smith	25	Manchester United	16 (1)	v Mexico, 25 May 2001	v Argentina, 12 November 2005
Jermaine Jenas	23	Tottenham Hotspur	15 (0)	v Australia, 12 February 2003	2006 FIFA World Cup
Shaun Wright-Phillips	24	Chelsea	8 (1)	v Ukraine, 18 August 2004	v Uruguay, 1 March 2006
Michael Carrick	24	Tottenham Hotspur	7 (0)	v Mexico, 25 May 2001	2006 FIFA World Cup
Stewart Downing	21	Middlesbrough	5 (0)	v Netherlands, 9 February 2005	2006 FIFA World Cup
Kieran Richardson	21	Manchester United	4 (2)	v USA, 28 May 2005	v Uruguay, 1 March 2006
Aaron Lennon	19	Tottenham Hotspur	4 (0)	v Jamaica, 3 June 2006	2006 FIFA World Cup
Nigel Reo-Coker	22	West Ham	0 (0)	n/a	As standby for 2006 FIFA World Cup

Strikers

Name	Age	Club	Caps (goals)	Debut	Most Recent Call up
Michael Owen	26	Newcastle United	80 (36)	v Chile, 11 February 1998	2006 FIFA World Cup
Emile Heskey	28	Wigan Athletic	43 (5)	v Hungary, 28 April 1999	v Azerbaijan, 30 March 2005
Wayne Rooney	20	Manchester United	33 (11)	v Australia, 12 February 2003	2006 FIFA World Cup
Jermain Defoe	23	Tottenham Hotspur	16 (1)	v Sweden, 31 March 2004	As standby for 2006 FIFA World Cup
Peter Crouch	25	Liverpool	11 (6)	v Colombia, 31 May 2005	2006 FIFA World Cup
Andy Johnson	25	Everton	2 (0)	v Netherlands, 9 February 2005	As standby for 2006 FIFA World Cup
Theo Walcott	17	Arsenal	1 (0)	v Hungary, 30 May 2006	2006 FIFA World Cup
Darren Bent	22	Charlton Athletic	1 (0)	v Uruguay, 1 March 2006	v Uruguay, 1 March 2006

Coaching Staff

• Manager: Steve McClaren Begins 1 August 2006
• Assistant Manager: vacant (Newspapers speculate Terry Venables)
• Coach: Sammy Lee
• Coach: vacant (Newspapers speculate Alan Shearer)
• Goalkeeping Coach: Ray Clemence
• Fitness Coach: Ivan Carminati
• Team Doctor: vacant
• Physiotherapist: Gary Lewin
• Masseur: Chris Neville
• Masseur: Steve Slattery
• Masseur: Rod Thornley
• Kit Manager: Martin Grogan
• Kit Manager: Tom McKechnie

Competition history

World Cup record

Year	Round	Position	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	Scorers
1930	did not enter	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1934	did not enter	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1938	did not enter	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1950	Round 1	11th	3	1	0	2	2	2	Mortensen, Mannion
1954	Quarter-finals	6th	3	1	1	1	8	8	Lofthouse (3), Broadis (2), Mullen, Wishaw, Finney
1958	Round 1	11th	4	0	3	1	4	5	Kevan (2), Haynes, Finney
1962	Quarter-finals	8th	4	1	1	2	5	6	Flowers (2), Charlton, Greaves, Hitchens
1966	Champions	1st	6	5	1	0	11	3	Hurst (4), Hunt (3), Charlton (3), Peters
1970	Quarter-finals	8th	4	2	0	2	4	4	Hurst, Clarke, Mullery, Peters
1974	did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1978	did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1982	Round 2	6th	5	3	2	0	6	1	Robson (2), Francis (2), Mariner, Barmos (og)
1986	Quarter-finals	8th	5	2	1	2	7	3	Lineker (6), Beardsley
1990	Fourth place	4th	7	3	3	1	7	6	Lineker (4), Platt (2), Wright
1994	did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1998	Round 2	9th	4	2	1	1	7	4	Shearer (2), Owen (2), Scholes, Anderton, Beckham
2002	Quarter-finals	6th	5	2	2	1	6	3	Owen (2), Campbell, Beckham, Ferdinand, Heskey
2006	Quarter-finals	7th	5	3	2	0	6	2	Gerrard (2), J. Cole, Crouch, Beckham, Gamarra (og)
Total	12/18		55	25	17	13	74	47	Top scorer; Lineker (10)

European Championship record

• 1960 - Did not enter
• 1964 - Did not qualify
• 1968 - Third place
• 1972 - Did not qualify - Quarter-Finals
• 1976 - Did not qualify
• 1980 - Round 1
• 1984 - Did not qualify
• 1988 - Round 1
• 1992 - Round 1
• 1996 - Semi-Finals
• 2000 - Round 1
• 2004 - Quarter-Finals

World Ranking

Date	FIFA Ranking
January 1994	11th
January 1995	18th
January 1996	24th
January 1997	12th
January 1998	4th
January 1999	11th
January 2000	12th
January 2001	17th
January 2002	10th
January 2003	8th
January 2004	8th
January 2005	8th
January 2006	9th
July 2006	5th

Player history

Famous past players

Tony Adams 1987-2000 Viv Anderson 1978-1988 Jimmy Armfield 1959-1966 Alan Ball 1965-1975 Gordon Banks 1963-1972 John Barnes 1983-1995 Peter Beardsley 1986-1996 Colin Bell 1968-1975 Steve Bloomer 1895-1907 Trevor Brooking 1974-1982 Terry Butcher 1980-1990 Mick Channon 1972-1977 Bobby Charlton 1958-1970 Jack Charlton 1965-1970 Ray Clemence 1972-1983 George Cohen 1964-1967 Steve Coppell 1976-1983 Bob Crompton 1902-1914 Dixie Dean 1927-1932 Jimmy Dickinson 1949-1956 Duncan Edwards 1955-1957 Tom Finney 1946-1958 Ron Flowers 1955-1966 Trevor Francis 1977-1986

Paul Gascoigne 1988-1998 Jimmy Greaves 1959-1967 Sam Hardy 1907-1920 Johnny Haynes 1954-1962 Glenn Hoddle 1979-1988 Don Howe 1957-1959 Emlyn Hughes 1969-1980 Roger Hunt 1962-1969 Geoff Hurst 1966-1972 Paul Ince 1992-2000 Kevin Keegan 1972-1982 Sammy Lee 1982-1984 Gary Lineker 1984-1992 Nat Lofthouse 1950-1958 Paul Mariner 1977-1984 Stanley Matthews 1934-1957 Bobby Moore 1962-1973 Stan Mortensen 1947-1953 Stuart Pearce 1987-1999 Martin Peters 1966-1974 David Platt 1989-1996 Alf Ramsey 1948-1953 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 Ron Springett 1959-1966 Gareth Southgate 1995-2004 Trevor Steven 1985-1992 Gary Stevens 1985-1992 Nobby Stiles 1965-1970 Phil Thompson 1976-1982 Chris Waddle 1985-1991 Des Walker 1988-1993 Dave Watson 1974-1982 Ray Wilkins 1976-1986 Ray Wilson 1960-1968 Tony Woodcock 1978-1986 Chris Woods 1985-1993 Vivian Woodward 1903-1911 Mark Wright 1984-1996 William Wright (footaller) Billy Wright 1946-1959

Members of the 1966 World Cup-winning team are in bold.

Player records

Main article: England national football team records

Most capped England players

Main article: List of England international footballers

As of July 1, 2006, the 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	Bobby Charlton	1958 - 1970	106	49
4	Billy Wright	1946 - 1959	105	3
5	David Beckham	1996 - Present	94	17
6	Bryan Robson	1980 - 1991	90	26
7	Kenny Sansom	1979 - 1988	86	1
8	Ray Wilkins	1976 - 1986	84	3
9	Gary Neville	1995 - Present	81	0
10	Gary Lineker	1984 - 1992	80	48
10=	Michael Owen	1998 - Present	80	36

Members of the 1966 World Cup-winning team are in bold.

For a longer list of players with 25 caps or more, see List of England international footballers.

Top England goalscorers

#	Player	Career	Goals (Caps)	Goals per game
1	Bobby Charlton	1958 - 1970	49 (106)	0.4622
2	Gary Lineker	1984 - 1992	48 (80)	0.6
3	Jimmy Greaves	1959 - 1967	44 (57)	0.7719
4	Michael Owen	1998 - Present	36 (80)	0.45
5	Sir Tom Finney	1946 - 1958	30 (76)	0.3947
=	Nat Lofthouse	1950 - 1958	30 (33)	0.9091
=	Alan Shearer	1992 - 2000	30 (63)	0.4762
8	Viv Woodward	1903 - 1911	29 (23)	1.2609
9	Steve Bloomer	1895 - 1907	28 (23)	1.2174
10	David Platt	1989 - 1996	27 (62)	0.4355
11	Bryan Robson	1979 - 1991	26 (90)	0.2889
12	Geoff Hurst	1966 - 1972	24 (49)	0.4898
13	Stan Mortensen	1947 - 1953	23 (25)	0.92
14	Tommy Lawton	1938 - 1948	22 (23)	0.9565
15	Mick Channon	1972 - 1977	21 (46)	0.4565
=	Kevin Keegan	1972 - 1982	21 (63)	0.3333
17	Martin Peters	1966 - 1974	20 (67)	0.2985
18	George Camsell	1929 - 1936	18 (9)	2
=	Dixie Dean	1927 - 1932	18 (16)	1.125
=	Johnny Haynes	1954 - 1962	18 (56)	0.3124
=	Roger Hunt	1962 - 1969	18 (34)	0.5294

Members of the 1966 World Cup-winning team are in bold.

The higher goals-per-game ratio for strikers active before 1950 is a by-product of the fact that games in that period of history involved a much higher number of goals than they do nowadays.

England captains

Main article: List of England national football team captains

#	Player	England career	Captain (Total Caps)
1	Billy Wright	1946 - 1959	90 (105)
=	Bobby Moore	1962 - 1973	90 (108)
3	Bryan Robson	1980 - 1991	65 (90)
4	David Beckham	1996 - 2006	58 (94)
5	Alan Shearer	1992 - 2000	34 (63)
6	Kevin Keegan	1972 - 1982	31 (63)
7	Emlyn Hughes	1969 - 1980	23 (62)
8	Bob Crompton	1902 - 1914	22 (41)
=	Johnny Haynes	1954 - 1962	22 (56)
10	Eddie Hapgood	1933 - 1939	21 (30)

Members of the 1966 World Cup-winning team are in bold.

England managers

Manager	England career	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	GF	GA	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 Eriksson	2001 - 2006	66	40	16	10	136	62	60.61%
Steve McClaren	2006 -	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0%

100 Greatest Sporting Moments

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

• The 5-1 win over Germany in the 2001 World Cup Qualifer was ranked 2nd.
• The 4-2 World Cup Final win over West Germany in 1966 was ranked 3rd.
• Michael Owen's goal for England against Argentina in the 1998 World Cup was ranked 14th.
• The 4-1 win over Holland in Euro '96 was ranked 25th.
• John Barnes' goal for England against Brazil in 1984 was ranked 75th.

See also

• England's 50 Greatest Goals
• England women's national football team
• England national under-21 football team
• Argentina and England football rivalry
• England and Germany football rivalry
• United Kingdom national football team
• Three Lions
• Football in England

External links

• Official website at the FA's website
• The England Fanzine
• England AFC
• England Football Online
• englandstats.com - England statistics since 1872