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England

Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)	The Three Lions
Association	The Football Association
Confederation	UEFA (Europe)
Head coach	Steve McClaren
Captain	John Terry
Most caps	Peter Shilton (125)
Top scorer	Bobby Charlton (49)
Home stadium	Wembley Stadium (when reopened)
FIFA code	ENG
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	5
Highest	4 (September 2006/December 1997)
Lowest	27 (February 1996)
First international
Scotland 0 - 0 England (Partick, Scotland; 30 November 1872)
Biggest win
Template:Country data Ireland-1753 Ireland 0 - 13 England (Belfast, Ireland; 18 February 1882)
Biggest defeat
Template:Country data Hungary 49-56 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	1968: Third, 1996 Semi-finals

The English national men's football team represents England in international men's football. Controlled by The Football Association, the governing body for football in England, they are one of the highest-ranking national teams in Europe and are currently ranked 4th in the world as of September 2006.

England are the most successful of the four Home Nations, having won the British Home Championship 34 times and the FIFA World Cup once.

Traditionally, England's greatest rivals have been Scotland. England's most recent meeting with Scotland was a Euro 2000 play-off in November 1999, which Scotland won 1-0 at Wembley Stadium. Since regular fixtures against the Scots came to an end in the late 1980s, other rivalries have become more prominent. England–Argentina and England–Germany are rivalries that have produced particularly eventful encounters.

History

Early years

England, captained by Cuthbert Ottaway, played in the first international football match, against Scotland at Hamilton Crescent in Partick, Scotland on 30 November 1872. 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 only played 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 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 by 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 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 fortunate to be awarded a goal. In 1995, researchers from Oxford University announced the results of computer video analysis of the television footage, which gave new angles of view: they concluded that the shot had not crossed the line 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. Hurst has stated that, being the last minute of extra time with England 3-2 up, he was merely trying to put the ball into the stand to kill the last few seconds, however his shot ended up in the back of the German net.

1970 World Cup

At EURO 1968, 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,many observers considered that England had a stronger squad and team than in 1966.The world-class nucleus of Bobby Charlton,Bobby Moore and Gordon Banks was still intact; Geoff Hurst,Martin Peters and Alan Ball in the interim had further enhanced their reputations and they had been supplemented with the likes of Terry Cooper, Alan Mullery and emerging talents such as Colin Bell and Allan Clarke. Despite the altitude conditions, England progressed with some ease to the quarter finals, despite a 1-0 defeat to the favourites Brazil in their group, which was most notable for a stunning save from Pele by goalkeeper Gordon Banks and arguably captain Bobby Moore's finest performance in an England shirt.

In the quarter-final match, at Nou Camp stadium in Leon, Guanjuato, they would come up against their foes from the 1966 final, West Germany. However, before the match disaster struck the team when goalkeeper Gordon Banks, was stricken with food-poisoning. His late replacement was the talented but internationally-inexperienced Peter Bonetti, who had not played a competitive match for over a month. England coasted into a 2-0 lead just after half-time but the Germans fought back to 2-2 - both goals having a touch of fortune about them - and with eleven minutes remaining in extra time, Gerd Müller scored the winner. Some blame was attached to Bonetti, as well as some ill-advised tacital moves by Ramsey (such as the substitution of Bobby Charlton instead of the tiring Cooper) and the oppressive heat and altitude in Mexico but ultimately the culpability for defeat was shared by the whole team.

End of the Ramsey era

England failed to reach the final stages of the EURO 1972 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.This was a new experience for Ramsey,England having not had to qualify since the 1962 tournament. On paper they were given a comfortable draw,in a three team group with Wales and Poland.

The Poles were a bit of an unknown quantity but had just won the 1972 Olympic football tournament.England got off to a positive start in the group winning 1-0 in Cardiff in a lacklustre game.Less than three months later Wembley staged the return,however the Welsh stunned the hosts by taking the lead before eventually drawing the game 1-1.Frustratingly,a few months later,England thumped Wales 3-0 at Wembley in the British Home Championship.England were due to play in Poland next,who had lost their first match in Cardiff.The match though was a disaster for England.Going a goal down early in the game to a sloppy,defensive error it was compounded two minutes into the second half when Bobby Moore allowed arguably Poland's best and certainly quickest player,Włodzimierz Lubański to easily disposess him,and speed away to make it 2-0.For someone whom the adjective majestic was tailor made,such a crass mistake was out of character and hard to comprehend and one now sensed that his international days were numbered (he would in fact only play another three times for his country).To make matters worse,with less than a quarter of an hour to go, Alan Ball became the second player to be sent off while playing for England.

Three months later Poland easily disposed of the Welsh,3-0 in Chorzow,so this meant that only a victory at Wembley against the Poles would be good enough for England to qualify.The match has passed into folklore as England right from the off created chance after chance but failed to score.England's inability to score was largely down to the eccentricities and heroics of Polish goalkeeper Jan Tomaszewski.Twelve minutes into the second half,Norman Hunter - in the team for Bobby Moore - made a similarly costly mistake as Moore had done in Chorzow.Running towards a ball by the touch-line near halfway,he made to control the ball when on another day he might have cleared.The speedy forward Grzegorz Lato intercepted,raced away and squared the ball for Jan Domarski whose less than powerful shot squirmed under Peter Shilton's body.Although Allan Clarke equalised from the penalty spot six minutes later and chances continued to rain down on the Polish goal,the score remained 1-1.Although at the time the result was seen as a poor one,the Poles went on to prove themselves to be a very good team,finishing third in the following summer's World Cup. In the aftermath of this failure however, the FA sacked Ramsey in the spring of 1974 after eleven years at the helm.

Revie years

After a brief period where Joe Mercer was caretaker manager of the side, 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 Football Championship, despite an opening 3-0 win at home over eventual champions Czechoslovakia and also a 5-0 win over Cyprus in which Malcolm Macdonald scored all five of England's goals - a post-war record.Ultimately it was a defeat in the return in Czechoslovakia and a 0-0 draw at home against Portugal that cost England as they fell a point short of qualification. 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 never worked in English football again.

Greenwood era

After the departure of Revie, Brian Clough applied for the post but the FA unsurprisingly rejected Clough and instead 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 2-0 defeat to Italy in Rome in November 1976 during Revie's era and England missed out on qualification on goal difference (had they scored 3 goals more, they would have made the finals). Failure to beat relatively weak teams more comprehensively had again cost England dearly. Italy though were a very good team and would finish third at the World Cup.He did however take England to its first major tournament in a decade when qualification for EURO 1980 in Italy was secured reasonably comfortably. 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 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 EURO 1984 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 (a reoccurance of an injury sustained after colliding with a sprinkler on the side of the pitch during a Manchester United game). 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 progress was lost when, at EURO 1988 in Germany, Englang lost all of their group games, including a shock 1-0 against the Republic of Ireland, managed by 1966 England hero Jack Charlton. The tournament also marked the final England appearances of Glenn Hoddle and Kenny Sansom. 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 as well as the reinstatement of English clubs into European club competition in the 1990/91 season after a 5 year ban following the Heysel disaster. Another star who emerged was David Platt, a midfielder who went as back-up to Bryan Robson and came back with three goals and an international reputation which eventually earned him a number of big-money moves around Italian clubs. After this World Cup, Shilton retired from international football with 125 caps, a record that 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 ultimately failed to win a single game at EURO 1992 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 failed to qualify for the 1994 FIFA World Cup; 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, the fastest world cup goal of all time, before recovering to win 7-1. Taylor was sacked soon after.

Terry Venables was the next manager, he oversaw a much improved performance at EURO 1996 - although he was helped 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 EURO 1988. 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 , 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 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 performance 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" 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.

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 EURO 2004, England came top of their qualification group. 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 football at the beginning of 2004 after missing a drugs test, meaning he was unable to play in Portugal. 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 another penalty shootout to Portugal, after a 2-2 draw. Beckham and Darius Vassell missed their penalties. Michael Owen's goal during the game enabled him to become the first England player to score in four consecutive tournaments.

Qualification for Germany

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.

New manager after World Cup

Despite this, following revelations made in the News of the World 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 2006 World Cup Finals. A number of possible successors were linked with the job; after a series of interviews that was widely criticized for its 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 for Portugal. On 4 May 2006, it was announced that Steve McClaren would succeed Eriksson after the World Cup. His first game in charge was against Greece at Old Trafford on 16 August.

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 Allbäck 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 pushing Cristiano Ronaldo and stamping on Ricardo Carvalho's groin 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 , 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".

After World Cup 2006, Owen Hargreaves was voted England's "Player of The Tournament" by fans on theFA.com. Hargreaves was an unpopular choice for the squad prior to the competition but the World Cup proved a turning point, going from unpopular to fan favourite.

New era: 'Club England'

With Steve McClaren in place as the new head coach and a new captain in John Terry (replacing former captain David Beckham), England are now looking at a dubious future under new leadership and a revised management team with Terry Venables, himself a former England manager, agreeing a deal to become McClaren's assistant. Sammy Lee has left his post as a coach with the England set up to concentrate on a similar role he does for Bolton Wanderers. He was offered the role to become the England Under 21 head coach but turned it down. David Beckham was left out of Steve McClaren's first international squad for the friendly match against Greece on 16 August 2006. John Terry was selected as captain, with Steven Gerrard vice-captain. After a great start with three straight victories against Greece, Andorra, and Macedonia, England had an embarrassing 0-0 draw against Macedonia on home ground, followed by a 2-0 defeat to Croatia in Zagreb, which ended Paul Robinson's run of six consecutive clean sheets for his country. This defeat was the worst competitive defeat suffered by England in almost exactly thirteen years, since the loss to Holland by the same score in the qualifying matches for the 1994 World Cup.

McClaren has been quoted as wanting a 'team atmosphere' in the England camp, a 'Team England' close to the ethos that José Mourinho has enforced in the Chelsea team, in hope of sparking similar success.

Home stadium

For the first 50 years of its existence, England played its home matches 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 against Scotland, but for the next 27 years would only use Wembley as a venue for Scotland matches.

In May 1951, Argentina became the first team other than Scotland to be played 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 the old Wembley was against Germany on 7 October 2000, a game which England lost 1-0. Since then the team has played at 14 venues around the country, with Old Trafford having been the most used. The FA have ruled that when the new Wembley is completed in 2007, England 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.

Results and fixtures

Forthcoming fixtures

• 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.

• Euro 2008 Qualifying Group E:
  • Croatia 2-0 England, 11 October at Maksimir Stadium (Croatia: Da Silva 60, Neville o.g. 68)
  • England 0-0 Republic of Macedonia, 7 October at Old Trafford
  • Republic of Macedonia 0-1 England, 6 September at Skopje City Stadium (Crouch 46)
  • England 5-0 Andorra, 2 September at Old Trafford, Manchester (Crouch 5, 66, Defoe 38, 47 Gerrard 13)
• Friendly: England 4-0 Greece, 16 August at Old Trafford, Manchester (England: Terry 14, Lampard 30, Crouch 35, 42)
• 2006 World Cup Quarter-finals
  • England 0 - 0 (1-3 on penalties) Portugal, 1 July, at Veltins Arena, Gelsenkirchen
• 2006 World Cup Round of 16
  • England 1 - 0 Ecuador, 25 June, at Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion, Stuttgart (England: 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 October2005 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)

England squad

Current squad

Most Recent Squad
Date announced	29 September2006
Game(s)	Rep. of Macedonia, 7 October 2006 Template:CROf 11 October 2006
Venue{s}	Old Trafford, Manchester & Maksimir Stadium, Zagreb
Competition	EURO 2008 Qualifiers
Dropped	Luke Young, Michael Dawson
Injured	Owen Hargreaves, Aaron Lennon,
Called Up	Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher, Ledley King, Scott Parker, Wayne Rooney
Notes	Andrew Johnson withdrew October 2, Darren Bent replaced him Steven Gerrard suspended for match v Croatia Ledley King withdrew injured October 10, not replaced

Goalkeepers

Name	DOB	Club	Caps (goals)	Debut
Paul Robinson	October 151979	Tottenham	31 (0)	v Australia, 12 February 2003
Chris Kirkland	May 21981	Wigan Ath.	1 (0)	v Greece, 16 August 2006
Ben Foster	April 31983	Watford (on loan from Man. Utd)	0 (0)	N/A

Defenders

Name	DOB	Club	Caps (goals)	Debut
Gary Neville	February 181975	Manchester United	84 (0)	v Japan, 3 June 1995
Ashley Cole	December 201980	Chelsea	56 (0)	v Albania, 28 March 2001
Rio Ferdinand	November 71978	Manchester United	55 (1)	v Cameroon, 15 November 1997
Phil Neville	January 211977	Everton	54 (0)	v China, 23 May 1996
John Terry (c)	December 71980	Chelsea	34 (2)	v Serbia & Montenegro, 3 June 2003
Jamie Carragher	January 281978	Liverpool	31 (0)	v Hungary, 28 April 1999
Wayne Bridge	August 51980	Chelsea	24 (1)	v Netherlands, 13 February 2002
Ledley King	December 101980	Tottenham Hotspur	17 (1)	v Portugal, 18 February 2004
Wes Brown	October 131979	Manchester United	10 (0)	v Hungary, 28 April 1999

Midfielders

Name	DOB	Club	Caps (goals)	Debut
Steven Gerrard (vc)	May 301980	Liverpool	51 (10)	v Ukraine, 31 May 2000
Frank Lampard	June 201978	Chelsea	50 (12)	v Belgium, 10 October 1999
Jermaine Jenas	February 181983	Tottenham Hotspur	15 (0)	v Australia, 12 February 2003
Shaun Wright-Phillips	October 251981	Chelsea	10 (1)	v Ukraine, 18 August 2004
Michael Carrick	July 281981	Manchester United	10 (0)	v Mexico, 25 May 2001
Stewart Downing	July 221984	Middlesbrough	9 (0)	v Netherlands, 9 February 2005
Kieran Richardson	October 211984	Manchester United	7 (2)	v USA, 28 May 2005
Scott Parker	October 131980	Newcastle United	3 (0)	v Denmark, 16 November 2003

Strikers

Name	DOB	Club	Caps (goals)	Debut
Wayne Rooney	October 241985	Manchester United	35 (11)	v Australia, 12 February 2003
Jermain Defoe	October 71982	Tottenham Hotspur	21 (3)	v Sweden, 31 March 2004
Peter Crouch	January 301981	Liverpool	16 (11)	v Colombia, 31 May 2005
Darren Bent	February 61984	Charlton Athletic	2 (0)	v Uruguay, 1 March 2006

Coaching staff

• Head Coach: Steve McClaren
• Assistant Coach: Terry Venables
• Coach: Steve Round
• Goalkeeping Coach: Ray Clemence
• Psychologist: Bill Beswick
• Physiotherapist: Gary Lewin
• Team Doctor: Dr. Leif Swärd
• Masseur: Chris Neville
• Masseur: Steve Slattery
• Masseur: Rod Thornley
• Kit Manager: Martin Grogan
• Kit Manager: Tom McKechnie

Competition history

World Cup record

• Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

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

Player history

Famous past players

Player records

Most capped England players

As of October 7, 2006, the players with the most caps for England are:

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

Top England goalscorers

England captains

England managers

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 the Netherlands in Euro 96 was ranked 25th.
• John Barnes' goal for England against Brazil in 1984 was ranked 75th.

Notes

1. Home matches 2000-2006 have been played at venues across England
2. A history of fierce football rivalry
3. , BBC Sport, 2006-06-22
4. "England's World Cup Final Tournament Goalscorers by Number of Goals". England Football Online. Retrieved July 6. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help); line feed character in |title= at position 49 (help)
5. ^ Still available for selection
6. Goals for / scored
7. Goals against / conceded

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
• England-Football

Template:Fb start

v t e Football in England
The Football Association
National teams	England B C U-21 U-20 U-19 U-18 U-17 U-16
League competitions	Level 1 Premier League Levels 2–4 English Football League EFL Championship EFL League One EFL League Two Levels 5–6 National League National League (division) National League North National League South Levels 7–8 Isthmian League Northern Premier League Southern League Levels 9–10 Combined Counties League Eastern Counties League Essex Senior League (level 9 only) Hellenic League Midland League Northern Counties East League Northern League North West Counties League Southern Combination League Southern Counties East League South West Peninsula League (level 10 only) Spartan South Midlands League United Counties League Wessex League Western League
Cup competitions	FA cups FA Cup FA Community Shield FA Trophy FA Vase FA Sunday Cup FA Inter-League Cup League cups EFL Cup EFL Trophy National League Cup Northern Premier League Cup Isthmian League Cup Southern League Cup County cups List of county cups
Others	National League System Reserve and youth football Defunct leagues Defunct cups
Lists	Appearances (500+) Clubs Honours won Current managers Clubs in international competitions Goals (200+) Record home attendances Stadiums by capacity
Venues Competitions Trophies and awards History Records

v t e International association football
FIFA Federations Teams Competitions World Rankings The Best FIFA Football Awards Timeline
World (FIFA)	FIFA World Cup U-20 U-17 FIFA Confederations Cup FIFA Gold Cup Olympic Games Youth Olympic Games
Asia (AFC)	AFC Asian Cup U-23 U-20 U-17 AFC Challenge Cup AFC Solidarity Cup Asian Games Regional ASEAN CAFA EAFF SAFF WAFF Arabian Gulf Cup East Asian Games Far Eastern Games South Asian Games Southeast Asian Games West Asian Games
Africa (CAF)	CAF Africa Cup of Nations U-23 U-20 U-17 CAF African Nations Championship African Games Regional CECAFA COSAFA UNIFFAC WAFU Central African Games Indian Ocean Island Games
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South America (CONMEBOL)	CONMEBOL Copa América U-23 U-20 U-17 U-15 South American Games Regional Bolivarian Games
Oceania (OFC)	OFC Nations Cup U-23 U-19 U-17 Regional Melanesia Cup Polynesia Cup Pacific Games Pacific Mini Games
Europe (UEFA)	UEFA European Championship U-21 U-19 U-17 UEFA Nations League Regional Central European Cup Balkan Cup Baltic Cup British Home Championship Nordic Championship
Inter-Continental	CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions CPF Panamerican Championship CAF-AFC Afro-Asian Cup of Nations AFC–OFC Challenge Cup FIFA Arab Cup Palestine Cup Kuneitra Cup Overseas Cup Afro-Asian Games Arab Games Francophone Games GANEFO Goodwill Games Islamic Games Islamic Solidarity Games Lusofonia Games Mediterranean Cup Mediterranean Games Pan American Games
Non-FIFA	CONIFA World Football Cup CONIFA European Football Cup CONIFA South America Football Cup CONIFA Africa Football Cup FIFI Wild Cup UIAFA Great European Tournament Island Games Micronesian Games Universiade World Unity Football Alliance
See also Geography Codes Player/Club of the Century Women's football

Template:Fb end

• 1872 establishments
• FIFA World Cup-winning countries
• European national football teams
• England national football team
• National sports teams of England