England History
Seaching for
the spirit of '66
England are one of the great football nations. The country which gave the world
the game is rich in football heritage. But, save for a FIFA World Cup win in
1966, the scale of the national side's achievements rarely matches the
expectations of an English public who consider success a birthright.
Notable first
England took part in the first-ever international match, a 0-0 draw with
neighbours Scotland in Glasgow in 1872. They joined FIFA in 1905 and competed in
three Olympic tournaments in the early years of the 20th century, winning gold
in 1908 and 1912. However, they deigned not to participate in the first three
World Cups in the 1930s.
Humbling defeat
England's first defeat against European opponents was in 1929, Spain triumphing
4-3 in Madrid. Their first World Cup experience came in 1950 and proved less
than happy, as they suffered a humiliating 1-0 defeat against the United States
in Brazil. Three years later, English complacency took a greater blow still, in
the form of a 6-3 hammering by Hungary at Wembley, their first-ever home defeat
against a non-British Isles team.
Lone triumph
England produced some wonderful players in the 1950s and 60s - including Tom
Finney and Stanley Matthews - and in 1966 they won the World Cup on home soil
under Alf Ramsey. Geoff Hurst became the first player to score a hat-trick in a
World Cup final as England - inspired by the two Bobbys, Charlton and Moore -
enjoyed their finest hour, beating West Germany 4-2 at Wembley.
Near misses
Tournament success has since eluded England sides, although they have come close
on several occasions. They achieved third place in the 1968 UEFA European
Championship in Italy, beating the Soviet Union 2-0 after a semi-final defeat
against Yugoslavia. Then, in 1970, arguably the finest ever England team lost
their grip on the World Cup in Mexico, as West Germany came from two goals down
to win a dramatic quarter-final 3-2.
Recent best
After a quarter-final placing at the 1986 World Cup, where Gary Lineker finished
top scorer with six goals, England produced their best World Cup performance
since 1966 in the 1990 competition in Italy. Bobby Robson's side reached the
semi-finals where they lost to West Germany on penalties after a 1-1 draw.
Shoot-out defeat
Under Terry Venables, they were denied in almost identical circumstances at EURO
'96™. With the goals of Alan Shearer and support of a passionate Wembley crowd,
England made it to the semi-finals only to suffer yet another penalty shoot-out
defeat to the Germans after another 1-1 draw.
More heartache
There was more penalty shoot-out heartache - this time against Argentina - in
the 1998 FIFA World Cup after England under Glenn Hoddle had successfully
reached the knockout stage. That feat was beyond them in UEFA EURO 2000™ when
even an avenging 1-0 win over Germany failed to see Kevin Keegan's troops
advance beyond their group after defeats by Portugal and Romania.
Brazilian defeat
Sven-Göran Eriksson managed better in the 2002 World Cup, as England progressed
to the knockout stage courtesy of a 1-0 win over old nemesis Argentina. Denmark
were dispatched 3-0 in the second round but eventual winners Brazil ended their
run in the quarter-finals.
Country Info
Football's
motherland
AREA: 132 589 sq km
POPULATION: 49,536,600
NEIGHBOURS: Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland
LANGUAGES: English
CAPITAL CITY: London
England may just be part of a small chain of islands on the edge of Europe, but it has played a massive part in world history. It is the nation that gave birth to football, the industrial revolution and perhaps most importantly of all, the English language.
Ancient history
While the vast array of mysterious Neolithic monuments - most famously
Stonehenge - are testimony to a history which stretches back as far as 4000BC,
the indigenous people of England had been overrun by invaders many times before
the 19th century, therefore making any concept of an English nation dubious.
Invaded island
The ancient Celts gave way to the Romans and then the Germanic Jutes, Saxons and
Angles - from whom the country, 'Angle-land', takes its name - and in 1066, the
Scandinavian-via-Normandy Normans. All made their contribution to the
development of the English language, which generations of subsequent settlers
have conspired to forge into the most flexible tongue on earth.
World power
However, while English history has been shaped by invaders all of whom were
eventually stirred into the great casserole of Englishness, it is as a colonial
power that the nation left its stamp on the world, opening up huge areas of
Africa, Australasia, India, the Far East and North America to European culture.
Football culture
Football, however, would have a more lasting influence. The game existed in some
form as far back as the middle ages - indeed it was banned a number of times in
the centuries before the formation of the English Football Association, the
first of its kind, in 1863.
Modest achievements
The English were the giants of the early years of football - although,
admittedly few other nations played the game - but the national team have rarely
matched their historical contribution with results. A solitary FIFA World Cup
win in 1966 and the international exploits of Liverpool FC, Nottingham Forest FC
and Manchester United FC remain England's proudest moments.
Today year 2004 England team
Player name list
 |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Group B | |||||||
| PLD | W | D | L | GS | GA | PTS | |
|
France |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 4 | 7 |
|
England |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 4 | 6 |
|
Croatia |
3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 2 |
|
Switzerland |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 1 |