England national football team

Early years

The England men's national football team is the joint-oldest in the world; it was formed at the same time as Scotland. A representative match between England and Scotland was played on 5 March 1870, having been organised by the Football Association.^[5] A return fixture was organised by representatives of Scottish football teams on 30 November 1872. This match, played at Hamilton Crescent in Scotland, is viewed as the first official international football match, because the two teams were independently selected and operated, rather than being the work of a single football association.^[6] Over the next 40 years, England played exclusively with the other three Home Nations—Scotland, Wales and Ireland—in the British Home Championship.

At first, England had no permanent home stadium. They joined FIFA in 1906 and played their first games against countries other than the Home Nations on a tour of Central Europe in 1908.^[7] Wembley Stadium was opened in 1923 and became their home ground.^[7] The relationship between England and FIFA became strained, and this resulted in their departure from FIFA in 1928, before they rejoined in 1946.^[8] As a result, they did not compete in a World Cup until 1950, in which they were beaten in a 1–0 defeat by the United States, failing to get past the first round in one of the most embarrassing defeats in the team's history.^[9]

Their first defeat on home soil to a foreign team was a 2–0 loss to Ireland, on 21 September 1949 at Goodison Park.^[10] A 6–3 loss in 1953 to Hungary, was their second defeat by a foreign team at Wembley.^[11] In the return match in Budapest, Hungary won 7–1. This stands as England's largest ever defeat. After the game, a bewildered Syd Owen said, "it was like playing men from outer space".^[12] In the 1954 FIFA World Cup, England reached the quarter-finals for the first time, and lost 4–2 to reigning champions Uruguay.^[13]

Walter Winterbottom and Alf Ramsey

Although Walter Winterbottom was appointed as England's first full-time manager in 1946, the team was still picked by a committee until Alf Ramsey took over in 1963.^[14][15] The 1966 FIFA World Cup was hosted in England and Ramsey guided England to victory with a 4–2 win against West Germany after extra time in the final, during which Geoff Hurst scored a hat-trick.^[16] In UEFA Euro 1968, the team reached the semi-finals for the first time, being eliminated by Yugoslavia.^[17]

England qualified automatically for the 1970 World Cup in Mexico as reigning champions, and reached the quarter-finals, where they were knocked out by West Germany. England had been 2–0 up, but were eventually beaten 3–2 after extra time.^[18] They then failed to qualify for the 1974 World Cup, leading to Ramsey's dismissal by the FA.^[19]

Don Revie, Ron Greenwood and Bobby Robson

Following Ramsey's dismissal, Joe Mercer took immediate temporary charge of England for a seven-match spell until Don Revie was appointed as new permanent manager in 1974.^[20] Under Revie, the team underperformed and failed to qualify for either UEFA Euro 1976 or the 1978 World Cup.^[21] Revie resigned in 1977 and was replaced by Ron Greenwood, under whom performances improved. The team qualified for Euro 1980 without losing any of their games, but exited in the group stage of the final tournament.^[22] They also qualified for the 1982 World Cup in Spain; despite not losing a game, they were eliminated at the second group stage.^[23][24]

Bobby Robson managed England from 1982 to 1990.^[25] Although the team failed to qualify for UEFA Euro 1984, they reached the quarter-finals of the 1986 World Cup, losing 2–1 to Argentina in a game made famous by two highly contrasting goals scored by Diego Maradona – the first being blatantly knocked in by his hand, prompting his "Hand of God" remark, the second being an outstandingly skilful individual goal, involving high speed dribbling past several opponents.^[26][27] England striker Gary Lineker finished as the tournament's top scorer with six goals.^[28]

England went on to lose every match at UEFA Euro 1988.^[29] They next achieved their second best result in the 1990 FIFA World Cup by finishing fourth – losing again to West Germany after a closely contested semi-final finishing 1–1 after extra time, then 3–4 in England's first penalty shoot-out.^[30] Despite losing to Italy in the third place play-off, the members of the England team were given bronze medals identical to the Italians'. Due to the team's good performance at the tournament against general expectations, and the emotional nature of the narrow defeat to West Germany,^[31] the team were welcomed home as heroes and thousands of people lined the streets for an open-top bus parade.^[32]

Graham Taylor, Terry Venables, Glenn Hoddle and Kevin Keegan

The 1990s saw four England managers follow Robson, each in the role for a relatively brief period. Graham Taylor was Robson's immediate successor.^[33] England failed to win any matches at UEFA Euro 1992, drawing with tournament winners Denmark and later with France, before being eliminated by host nation Sweden. The team then failed to qualify for the 1994 FIFA World Cup after losing a controversial game against the Netherlands in Rotterdam, which resulted in Taylor's resignation. Taylor faced much newspaper criticism during his tenure for his tactics and team selections.^[34]

Between 1994 and 1996, Terry Venables took charge of the team. At UEFA Euro 1996, held in England, they equalled their best performance at a European Championship, reaching the semi-finals as they did in 1968, before exiting via another penalty shoot-out loss to Germany.^[35] England striker Alan Shearer was the tournament's top scorer with five goals.^[36] At Euro 96, the song "Three Lions" by Baddiel, Skinner and The Lightning Seeds became the definitive anthem for fans on the terraces.^[37] Venables announced before the tournament that he would resign at the end of it, following investigations into his personal financial activities and ahead of upcoming court cases. Due to the controversy around him, the FA stressed that he was the coach, not the manager, of the team.^[38][39]

Venables' successor, Glenn Hoddle, took the team to the 1998 World Cup — in which England were eliminated in the second round, again by Argentina and again on penalties (after a 2–2 draw).^[40] In February 1999, Hoddle was sacked by the FA due to controversial comments he had made about disabled people to a newspaper.^[41] Howard Wilkinson took over as caretaker manager for two matches.^[42] Kevin Keegan was then appointed as the new permanent manager and took England to UEFA Euro 2000, but the team exited in the group stage and he unexpectedly resigned shortly afterwards.^[43]

Sven-Göran Eriksson, Steve McClaren and Fabio Capello

Peter Taylor was appointed as caretaker manager for one match, before Sven-Göran Eriksson took charge between 2001 and 2006, and was the team's first non-English manager.^[44][45] Although England's players in this era were dubbed a "golden generation" and only lost five competitive matches during Eriksson's tenure,^[46] they exited at the quarter-finals of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2004 and the 2006 FIFA World Cup.^[47] In January 2006 it was announced that Eriksson would leave the role following that year's World Cup.^[48]

Steve McClaren was then appointed as manager, but after failing to qualify for Euro 2008 he was sacked on 22 November 2007 after 18 matches in charge.^[49] The following month, he was replaced by a second foreign manager, Italian Fabio Capello.^[50] England won all but one of their qualifying games for the 2010 FIFA World Cup,^[51] but at the tournament itself, England drew their opening two games; this led to questions about the team's spirit, tactics and ability to handle pressure.^[52] They progressed to the next round, where they were beaten 4–1 by Germany, their heaviest defeat in a World Cup finals tournament match.^[53] The match became even more famous as a pivotal moment in the refereeing of the sport, leading directly to the introduction of goal line technology, after Frank Lampard scored a goal to tie the game at 2-2 and it was incorrectly ruled out for "failing to cross the goal line", potentially altering the course of the match and certainly exacerbating the discrepancy of its outcome.^[54] In February 2012, Capello resigned from his role as England manager, following a disagreement with the FA over their request to remove John Terry from team captaincy after accusations of racial abuse concerning the player.^[55]

Roy Hodgson, Sam Allardyce and Gareth Southgate

Following Capello's departure, Stuart Pearce was appointed as caretaker manager for one match, after which in May 2012, Roy Hodgson was announced as the new manager, just six weeks before UEFA Euro 2012.^[56] England managed to finish top of their group, but exited the Championships in the quarter-finals via a penalty shoot-out against Italy.^[57] In the 2014 FIFA World Cup, England were eliminated at the group stage for the first time since the 1958 World Cup.^[58] At UEFA Euro 2016, England were eliminated in the round of 16, losing 2–1 to Iceland.^[59] Hodgson resigned as manager in June 2016,^[60] and just under a month later was replaced by Sam Allardyce.^[61] After only 67 days in charge, Allardyce resigned from his managerial post by mutual agreement, after an alleged breach of FA rules, making him the shortest serving permanent England manager.^[62]

Gareth Southgate, then the coach of the England under-21 team, was put in temporary charge of the national team until November 2016,^[63] before being given the position on a permanent basis.^[64] At the 2018 FIFA World Cup, England reached the semi-finals for only the third time. After finishing second in their group, England won on penalties against Colombia in the round of 16 before beating Sweden in the quarter-finals.^[65][66][67] In the semi-final, they were beaten 2–1 in extra time by Croatia and finished 4th after losing the third place play-off match against Belgium.^[68][69] England striker Harry Kane finished the tournament as top scorer with six goals.^[70]

On 14 November 2019, England played their 1000th International match, defeating Montenegro 7–0 at Wembley in a UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying match.^[71][72]

At the delayed UEFA Euro 2020, England reached the final of a major tournament for the first time since 1966 and their first ever European Championship final appearance.^[73] After finishing top of a group including Croatia, Scotland and Czech Republic, the Three Lions would subsequently defeat Germany, Ukraine and Denmark to advance to the final.^[74] In the final held at Wembley, England were defeated by Italy on penalties after a 1–1 draw.^[75]

At the 2022 World Cup, England defeated Iran and Wales in the group stage to qualify for the round of 16.^[76][77] In the round of 16, England defeated the reigning African champions Senegal by 3–0,^[78] but were eliminated by the reigning world champions France in the quarter-finals, 2–1.^[79] Harry Kane's goal against France was his 53rd for England, equalling the all-time record.^[80] He would later miss an 84th-minute penalty with the chance to level the match.^[81]

Kits and crest

Kit suppliers

Kit deals

Crest

The motif of the England national football team has three lions passant guardant, the emblem of King Richard I, who reigned from 1189 to 1199.^[92] In 1872, English players wore white jerseys emblazoned with the three lions crest of the Football Association.^[93] The lions, often blue, have had minor changes to colour and appearance.^[94] Initially topped by a crown, this was removed in 1949 when the FA was given an official coat of arms by the College of Arms; this introduced ten Tudor roses, one for each of the regional branches of the FA.^[93][95] Since 2003, England top their logo with a star to recognise their World Cup win in 1966; this was first embroidered onto the left sleeve of the home kit, and a year later was moved to its current position, first on the away shirt.^[96]

Colours

Wikimedia Commons has media related to England national football team kits.

England's traditional home colours are white shirts, navy blue shorts and white or black socks. The team has periodically worn an all-white kit.

Although England's first away kits were blue, England's traditional away colours are red shirts, white shorts and red socks. In 1996, England's away kit was changed to grey shirts, shorts and socks. This kit was only worn three times, including against Germany in the semi-final of Euro 1996 but the deviation from the traditional red was unpopular with supporters and the England away kit remained red until 2011, when a navy blue away kit was introduced. The away kit is also sometimes worn during home matches, when a new edition has been released to promote it.

England have occasionally had a third kit. At the 1970 World Cup England wore a third kit with pale blue shirts, shorts and socks against Czechoslovakia. They had a kit similar to Brazil's, with yellow shirts, yellow socks and blue shorts which they wore in the summer of 1973. For the World Cup in 1986 England had a third kit of pale blue, imitating that worn in Mexico 16 years before and England retained pale blue third kits until 1992, but they were rarely used.

Umbro first agreed to manufacture the kit in 1954 and since then has supplied most of the kits, the exceptions being from 1959 to 1965 with Bukta and 1974–1984 with Admiral. Nike purchased Umbro in 2008 and took over as kit supplier in 2013 following their sale of the Umbro brand.^[97]

Home stadium

For the first 50 years of their existence, England played their home matches all around the country. They initially used cricket grounds before later moving on to football club stadiums. The original Empire Stadium was built in Wembley, London, for the British Empire Exhibition.^[98][99]

England played their first match at the stadium in 1924 against Scotland^[100] and for the next 27 years Wembley was used as a venue for matches against Scotland only. The stadium later became known simply as Wembley Stadium and it became England's permanent home stadium during the 1950s. In October 2000, the stadium closed its doors, ending with a defeat against Germany.^[101]

This stadium was demolished during the period of 2002–03, and work began to completely rebuild it.^[102] During this time, England played at venues across the country, though by the time of the 2006 World Cup qualification, this had largely settled down to having Manchester United's Old Trafford stadium as the primary venue, with Newcastle United's St. James' Park used on occasions when Old Trafford was unavailable.^[103]

Their first match in the new Wembley Stadium was in March 2007 when they drew with Brazil.^[104] The stadium is now owned by the Football Association, via its subsidiary Wembley National Stadium Limited.^[105]

Rivalries

England's three main rivalries are Scotland, Germany and Argentina.^[106] Smaller rivalries with France, Wales and the Republic of Ireland have also been observed.^{[107][108][109]}

England's rivalry with Scotland is one of the fiercest international rivalries that exists.^[110][111] It is the oldest international fixture in the world, first played in 1872 at Hamilton Crescent, Glasgow.^[112] The history of the British Isles has led to much rivalry between the nations in many forms, and the social and cultural effects of centuries of antagonism and conflict between the two has contributed to the intense nature of the sporting contests. Scottish nationalism has also been a factor in the Scots' desire to defeat England above all other rivals, with Scottish sports journalists traditionally referring to the English as the "Auld Enemy".^[113] The footballing rivalry has diminished somewhat since the late 1970s, particularly since the annual fixture stopped in 1989. For England, games against Germany and Argentina are now considered to be more important than the historic rivalry with Scotland.^[114]

England's rivalry with Germany is considered to be mainly an English phenomenon—in the run-up to any competition match between the two teams, many UK newspapers will print articles detailing results of previous encounters, such as those in 1966 and 1990.^[115] However, this rivalry has diminished significantly in recent years.^[116]

England's rivalry with Argentina is highly competitive. Games between the two teams, even those that are only friendly matches, are often marked by notable and sometimes controversial incidents such as the hand of God in 1986.^[117][118] The rivalry is unusual in that it is an intercontinental one; typically such footballing rivalries exist between bordering nations. England is regarded in Argentina as one of the major rivals of the national football team, matched only by Brazil and Uruguay.^[118] The rivalry is, to a lesser extent reciprocal in England, locally described as a grudge match although matches against Germany carry a greater significance in popular perception. The rivalry emerged across several games during the latter half of the 20th century, even though as of 2008 the teams have played each other on only 14 occasions in full internationals.^[119] The rivalry was intensified, particularly in Argentina, by non-footballing events, especially the 1982 Falklands War between Argentina and the United Kingdom.^[120] However, England and Argentina have not met since a friendly in November 2005.^[119]

Songs

Numerous songs have been released about the England national football team.

Media coverage

All England matches are broadcast with full commentary on talkSPORT and BBC Radio 5 Live. From the 2008–09 season until the 2017–18 season, England's home and away qualifiers, and friendlies both home and away were broadcast live on ITV Sport (often with the exception of STV, the ITV franchisee in central and northern Scotland). England's away qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup were shown on Setanta Sports until that company's collapse. As a result of Setanta Sports's demise, England's World Cup qualifier in Ukraine on 10 October 2009 was shown in the United Kingdom on a pay-per-view basis via the internet only. This one-off event was the first time an England game had been screened in such a way. The number of subscribers, paying between £4.99 and £11.99 each, was estimated at between 250,000 and 300,000 and the total number of viewers at around 500,000.^[121] In 2018, Sky Sports broadcast the England Nations League and in-season friendlies, until 2021 and ITV Sport broadcast the European Qualifiers for Euro-World Cups and pre-tournament friendlies (after the Nations League group matches end), until 2022.^[122] In April 2022, Channel 4 won the rights for England matches until June 2024, including 2022–23 UEFA Nations League matches, UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying games, and friendlies. 2022 World Cup rights remained with the BBC and ITV.^[123]

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

  Win  Draw  Loss  Fixture

2023

Malta  v  England

16 June 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying	Malta	0–4	England	Ta' Qali, Malta
20:45 CEST (UTC+2)		Report	Apap 8' (o.g.) Alexander-Arnold 28' Kane 31' (pen.) Wilson 83' (pen.)	Stadium: National Stadium, Ta' Qali Attendance: 16,277 Referee: Igor Pajac (Croatia)

England  v  North Macedonia

19 June 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying	England	7–0	North Macedonia	Manchester, England
19:45 BST	Kane 29', 73' (pen.) Saka 38', 47', 51' Rashford 45' Phillips 64'	Report		Stadium: Old Trafford Attendance: 70,708 Referee: István Kovács (Romania)

Ukraine  v  England

9 September 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying	Ukraine	1–1	England	Wrocław, Poland
17:00 BST	Zinchenko 26'	Report	Walker 41'	Stadium: Stadion Wrocław Attendance: 39,000 Referee: Georgi Kabakov (Bulgaria)

Scotland  v  England

12 September 2023 150th Anniversary Heritage Match	Scotland	1–3	England	Glasgow, Scotland
19:45 BST	Maguire 67' (o.g.)	Report	Foden 32' Bellingham 35' Kane 81'	Stadium: Hampden Park Attendance: 51,000 Referee: Davide Massa (Italy)

England  v  Australia

13 October 2023 Friendly	England	1–0	Australia	London, England
19:45 BST	Watkins 57'	Report		Stadium: Wembley Stadium Attendance: 81,116 Referee: Stéphanie Frappart (France)

England  v  Italy

17 October 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying	England	3–1	Italy	London, England
19:45 BST	Kane 32' (pen.), 77' Rashford 57'	Report	Scamacca 15'	Stadium: Wembley Stadium Attendance: 83,194 Referee: Clément Turpin (France)

England  v  Malta

17 November 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying	England	2–0	Malta	London, England
19:45 GMT (UTC±0)	Pepe 8' (o.g.) Kane 75'	Report		Stadium: Wembley Stadium Attendance: 81,388 Referee: Luis Godinho (Portugal)

North Macedonia  v  England

20 November 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying	North Macedonia	1–1	England	Skopje, North Macedonia
20:45 CEST (UTC+2)	Bardhi 41'	Report	Atanasov 59' (o.g.)	Stadium: Toše Proeski National Arena Attendance: 27,982 Referee: Filip Glova (Slovakia)

2024

England  v  Brazil

23 March 2024 Friendly	England	0–1	Brazil	London, England
19:00 GMT (UTC±0)		Report	Endrick 80'	Stadium: Wembley Stadium Attendance: 83.467 Referee: Artur Soares Dias (Portugal)

England  v  Belgium

26 March 2024 Friendly	England	2–2	Belgium	London, England
19:45 GMT (UTC±0)	Toney 17' (pen.) Bellingham 90+5'	Report	Tielemans 11', 36'	Stadium: Wembley Stadium Attendance: 80,733 Referee: Sebastian Gishamer (Austria)

England  v  Bosnia and Herzegovina

3 June 2024 Friendly	England	v	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Newcastle upon Tyne, England
19:45				Stadium: St James' Park

England  v  Iceland

7 June 2024 Friendly	England	v	Iceland	London, England
				Stadium: Wembley Stadium

Serbia  v  England

16 June 2024 UEFA Euro 2024 Group C	Serbia	v	England	Gelsenkirchen, Germany
21:00 CEST (UTC+2)		Report		Stadium: Arena AufSchalke

Denmark  v  England

20 June 2024 UEFA Euro 2024 Group C	Denmark	v	England	Frankfurt, Germany
18:00 CEST (UTC+2)		Report		Stadium: Waldstadion

England  v  Slovenia

25 June 2024 UEFA Euro 2024 Group C	England	v	Slovenia	Cologne, Germany
21:00 CEST (UTC+2)		Report		Stadium: RheinEnergieStadion

Republic of Ireland  v  England

7 September 2024 2024–25 UEFA Nations League B Group 2	Republic of Ireland	v	England	Dublin, Ireland
				Stadium: Aviva Stadium

England  v  Finland

10 September 2024 2024–25 UEFA Nations League B Group 2

England

v

Finland

TBD, England

England  v  Greece

10 October 2024 2024–25 UEFA Nations League B Group 2

England

v

Greece

TBD, England

Finland  v  England

13 October 2024 2024–25 UEFA Nations League B Group 2	Finland	v	England	Helsinki, Finland
				Stadium: Helsinki Olympic Stadium

Greece  v  England

14 November 2024 2024–25 UEFA Nations League B Group 2	Greece	v	England	Athens, Greece
				Stadium: Agia Sophia Stadium

England  v  Republic of Ireland

17 November 2024 2024–25 UEFA Nations League B Group 2

England

v

Republic of Ireland

TBD, England

As of 15 March 2023^{[124][125][126]}

Position	Name
Manager	Gareth Southgate
Assistant manager	Steve Holland
Goalkeeping coach	Martyn Margetson
Coach	Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink
Coach	Paul Nevin
First-team doctor	Mark Williams
Head of performance	Steve Kemp
Physical performance coach	Hailu Theodros
	Chris Jones
Performance coach	Owen Eastwood
Game insights analyst	Katie Sorenson
Nutritionist	Mike Naylor
Head of performance medicine	Charlotte Cowie
Lead performance doctor	Mark Williams
Lead physiotherapist	Simon Spencer
Lead performance analyst	Steve O'Brien
Senior performance analyst	Michael Baker
Head of performance analysis and insight	Rhys Long

Current squad

The following 23 players were named in the squad for the friendly matches against Brazil and Belgium on 23 and 26 March 2024, respectively.^[127][128]

Caps and goals are correct as of 26 March 2024, after the match against Belgium.^[129][130]

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Jordan Pickford	(1994-03-07) 7 March 1994 (age 30)	60	0	Everton
13	1GK	Aaron Ramsdale	(1998-05-14) 14 May 1998 (age 25)	4	0	Arsenal
22	1GK	James Trafford	(2002-10-10) 10 October 2002 (age 21)	0	0	Burnley
2	2DF	Ezri Konsa	(1997-10-23) 23 October 1997 (age 26)	2	0	Aston Villa
3	2DF	Ben Chilwell	(1996-12-21) 21 December 1996 (age 27)	21	1	Chelsea
5	2DF	John Stones	(1994-05-28) 28 May 1994 (age 29)	71	3	Manchester City
6	2DF	Lewis Dunk	(1991-11-21) 21 November 1991 (age 32)	5	0	Brighton & Hove Albion
12	2DF	Joe Gomez	(1997-05-23) 23 May 1997 (age 26)	13	0	Liverpool
15	2DF	Jarrad Branthwaite	(2002-06-27) 27 June 2002 (age 21)	0	0	Everton
16	2DF	Rico Lewis	(2004-11-28) 28 November 2004 (age 19)	1	0	Manchester City
4	3MF	Declan Rice	(1999-01-14) 14 January 1999 (age 25)	50	3	Arsenal
8	3MF	Conor Gallagher	(2000-02-06) 6 February 2000 (age 24)	12	0	Chelsea
10	3MF	Jude Bellingham	(2003-06-29) 29 June 2003 (age 20)	29	3	Real Madrid
14	3MF	Jordan Henderson (vice-captain)	(1990-06-17) 17 June 1990 (age 33)	81	3	Ajax
20	3MF	James Maddison	(1996-11-23) 23 November 1996 (age 27)	6	0	Tottenham Hotspur
21	3MF	Kobbie Mainoo	(2005-04-19) 19 April 2005 (age 19)	2	0	Manchester United
7	4FW	Phil Foden	(2000-05-28) 28 May 2000 (age 23)	33	4	Manchester City
9	4FW	Ollie Watkins	(1995-12-30) 30 December 1995 (age 28)	11	3	Aston Villa
11	4FW	Anthony Gordon	(2001-02-24) 24 February 2001 (age 23)	2	0	Newcastle United
17	4FW	Ivan Toney	(1996-03-16) 16 March 1996 (age 28)	2	1	Brentford
18	4FW	Jarrod Bowen	(1996-12-20) 20 December 1996 (age 27)	7	0	West Ham United
19	4FW	Marcus Rashford	(1997-10-31) 31 October 1997 (age 26)	60	17	Manchester United
23	4FW	Cole Palmer	(2002-05-06) 6 May 2002 (age 21)	2	0	Chelsea

Recent call-ups

The following players have also been called up to the England squad within the last twelve months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Sam Johnstone	(1993-03-25) 25 March 1993 (age 31)	4	0	Crystal Palace	v.  Belgium, 26 March 2024 INJ
DF	Kyle Walker	(1990-05-28) 28 May 1990 (age 33)	82	1	Manchester City	v.  Belgium, 26 March 2024 INJ
DF	Harry Maguire	(1993-03-05) 5 March 1993 (age 31)	63	7	Manchester United	v.  Belgium, 26 March 2024 INJ
DF	Marc Guéhi	(2000-07-13) 13 July 2000 (age 23)	9	0	Crystal Palace	v.  North Macedonia, 20 November 2023
DF	Fikayo Tomori	(1997-12-19) 19 December 1997 (age 26)	5	0	AC Milan	v.  North Macedonia, 20 November 2023
DF	Kieran Trippier	(1990-09-19) 19 September 1990 (age 33)	46	1	Newcastle United	v.  North Macedonia, 20 November 2023 WD
DF	Levi Colwill	(2003-02-26) 26 February 2003 (age 21)	1	0	Chelsea	v.  Malta, 17 November 2023 INJ
DF	Luke Shaw	(1995-07-12) 12 July 1995 (age 28)	31	3	Manchester United	v.  North Macedonia, 19 June 2023
DF	Tyrone Mings	(1993-03-13) 13 March 1993 (age 31)	18	2	Aston Villa	v.  North Macedonia, 19 June 2023
MF	Kalvin Phillips	(1995-12-02) 2 December 1995 (age 28)	31	1	West Ham United	v.  North Macedonia, 20 November 2023
MF	Trent Alexander-Arnold	(1998-10-07) 7 October 1998 (age 25)	23	2	Liverpool	v.  North Macedonia, 20 November 2023
FW	Harry Kane (captain)	(1993-07-28) 28 July 1993 (age 30)	89	62	Bayern Munich	v.  Belgium, 26 March 2024 INJ
FW	Bukayo Saka	(2001-09-05) 5 September 2001 (age 22)	32	11	Arsenal	v.  Brazil, 23 March 2024 INJ
FW	Jack Grealish	(1995-09-10) 10 September 1995 (age 28)	35	2	Manchester City	v.  North Macedonia, 20 November 2023
FW	Callum Wilson	(1992-02-27) 27 February 1992 (age 32)	9	2	Newcastle United	v.  Malta, 17 November 2023 INJ
FW	Eddie Nketiah	(1999-05-30) 30 May 1999 (age 24)	1	0	Arsenal	v.  Italy, 17 October 2023
FW	Eberechi Eze	(1998-06-29) 29 June 1998 (age 25)	2	0	Crystal Palace	v.  Scotland, 12 September 2023
INJ Withdrew due to injury PRE Preliminary squad / standby RET Retired from the national team SUS Serving suspension WD Player withdrew from the squad due to non-injury issue.

Most appearances

As of 26 March 2024.^[131]

Top goalscorers

As of 26 March 2024.^[132]

Most clean sheets

As of 26 March 2024.^[133]

Manager records

Most manager appearances

Walter Winterbottom: 139^[134]

Highest win ratio (minimum 25 games in charge)

Fabio Capello: 66.7%^[135]

Youngest to take job

Walter Winterbottom: 33 years old^[136][137]

Oldest to take job

Roy Hodgson: 64 years old^[138]

Biggest win^[a]

13–0 vs. Ireland, 18 February 1882^[139]

Biggest defeat

1–7 vs. Hungary, 23 May 1954^[140]

Longest unbeaten run

22 games from 18 November 2020 to 29 March 2022^[141]

Longest winless run

7 games from 11 May 1958 to 4 October 1958^[142]

Most consecutive wins

10 games from 6 June 1908 to 1 June 1909^[143]

Most consecutive matches without conceding a goal

7 games from 2 June 2021 to 3 July 2021^[144]

For the all-time record of the national team against opposing nations, see the team's all-time record page

FIFA World Cup

England first appeared at the 1950 FIFA World Cup, and have subsequently qualified for a total of 16 FIFA World Cup finals tournaments, tied for sixth best by number of appearances.^[145][146] They are also placed sixth by number of wins, with 32. The national team is one of only eight nations to have won at least one FIFA World Cup title.^[147] The England team won their first and only World Cup title in 1966.^[148] The tournament was played on home soil, and England defeated West Germany 4–2 in the final.^[148] In 1990, England finished in fourth place, losing 2–1 to host nation Italy in the third place play-off, following defeat on penalties, after extra time, to champions West Germany in the semi-final.^[149] They also finished in fourth place in 2018, losing 2–0 to Belgium in the third place play-off, following a 2–1 defeat to Croatia, again after extra time, in the semi-final.^[150] The team also reached the quarter-final stage in 1954, 1962, 1970, 1986, 2002, 2006 and 2022.^[151]

England failed to qualify for the World Cup in 1974, 1978 and 1994.^[152] The team's earliest exit in the finals tournament was its elimination in the first round in 1950, 1958 and, most recently, 2014.^[153][154] This was after being defeated in both their opening two matches for the first time, against Italy and Uruguay in Group D.^[154] In 1950, four teams remained after the first round, in 1958 eight teams remained and in 2014 sixteen teams remained. In 2010, England suffered its most resounding World Cup defeat, 4–1 to Germany, in the round of 16 stage.^[155]

FIFA World Cup record											Qualifying record							Manager(s)
Year	Round	Pos	Pld	W	D[b]	L	GF	GA	Squad		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930	Not a FIFA member										Not a FIFA member							None
1934
1938
1950	Group stage	8th	3	1	0	2	2	2	Squad		3	3	0	0	14	3		Winterbottom
1954	Quarter-finals	7th	3	1	1	1	8	8	Squad		3	3	0	0	11	4
1958	Group stage	11th	4	0	3	1	4	5	Squad		4	3	1	0	15	5
1962	Quarter-finals	8th	4	1	1	2	5	6	Squad		4	3	1	0	16	2
1966	Champions	1st	6	5	1	0	11	3	Squad		Qualified as hosts							Ramsey
1970	Quarter-finals	8th	4	2	0	2	4	4	Squad		Qualified as defending champions							Ramsey
1974	Did not qualify										4	1	2	1	3	4
1978											6	5	0	1	15	4		Revie
1982	Second group stage	6th	5	3	2	0	6	1	Squad		8	4	1	3	13	8		Greenwood
1986	Quarter-finals	8th	5	2	1	2	7	3	Squad		8	4	4	0	21	2		Robson
1990	Fourth place	4th	7	3	3	1	8	6	Squad		6	3	3	0	10	0
1994	Did not qualify										10	5	3	2	26	9		Taylor
1998	Round of 16	9th	4	2	1	1	7	4	Squad		8	6	1	1	15	2		Hoddle
2002[c]	Quarter-finals	6th	5	2	2	1	6	3	Squad		8	5	2	1	16	6		Keegan, Wilkinson, Eriksson[d]
2006		7th	5	3	2	0	6	2	Squad		10	8	1	1	17	5		Eriksson
2010	Round of 16	13th	4	1	2	1	3	5	Squad		10	9	0	1	34	6		Capello
2014	Group stage	26th	3	0	1	2	2	4	Squad		10	6	4	0	31	4		Hodgson
2018	Fourth place	4th	7	3	1	3	12	8	Squad		10	8	2	0	18	3		Allardyce, Southgate[e]
2022	Quarter-finals	6th	5	3	1	1	13	4	Squad		10	8	2	0	39	3		Southgate
2026	To be determined										To be determined
2030[f]
2034
Total	1 Title	16/22	74	32	22	20	104	68	—		122	84	27	11	314	70		—
Champions    Runners-up    Third place    Fourth place    Hosted tournament Correct as of 10 December 2022

UEFA European Championship

England first entered the UEFA European Championship in 1964,^[157] and have since qualified for eleven finals tournaments,^[157] tied for fourth-best by number of finals appearances. England's best results at the tournament were finishing as runners-up in the 2020 edition (held in 2021), and a third-place finish in 1968, 1996^[158] a tournament they hosted.^[159] In addition, England have reached the quarter-finals on two further occasions, in 2004 and 2012.^[158]

England's worst results in the finals tournament to date have been first round eliminations in 1980, 1988, 1992 and 2000, whilst they failed to qualify for the finals in 1964, 1972, 1976, 1984 and 2008.^[157]

UEFA European Championship record											Qualifying record							Manager(s)
Year	Round	Pos	Pld	W	D[b]	L	GF	GA	Squad		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1960	Did not enter										Did not enter							Winterbottom
1964	Did not qualify										2	0	1	1	3	6		Winterbottom, Ramsey[g]
1968	Third place	3rd	2	1	0	1	2	1	Squad		8	6	1	1	18	6		Ramsey
1972	Did not qualify[h]										8	5	2	1	16	6		Ramsey
1976	Did not qualify										6	3	2	1	11	3		Revie
1980	Group stage	6th	3	1	1	1	3	3	Squad		8	7	1	0	22	5		Greenwood
1984	Did not qualify										8	5	2	1	23	3		Robson
1988	Group stage	7th	3	0	0	3	2	7	Squad		6	5	1	0	19	1
1992		7th	3	0	2	1	1	2	Squad		6	3	3	0	7	3		Taylor
1996	Third place	3rd[i]	5	2	3	0	8	3	Squad		Qualified as hosts							Venables
2000	Group stage	11th	3	1	0	2	5	6	Squad		10	4	4	2	16	5		Hoddle, Keegan[j]
2004	Quarter-finals	5th	4	2	1	1	10	6	Squad		8	6	2	0	14	5		Eriksson
2008	Did not qualify										12	7	2	3	24	7		McClaren
2012	Quarter-finals	5th	4	2	2	0	5	3	Squad		8	5	3	0	17	5		Capello, Hodgson[k]
2016	Round of 16	12th	4	1	2	1	4	4	Squad		10	10	0	0	31	3		Hodgson
2020[l]	Runners-up	2nd	7	5	2	0	11	2	Squad		8	7	0	1	37	6		Southgate
2024	Qualified										8	6	2	0	22	4		Southgate
2028	To be determined										To be determined
2032	To be determined
Total	Runners-up	11/17	38	15	13	10	51	37	—		116	79	26	11	270	68		—
Champions    Runners-up    Semi-finalists/Third place    Hosted tournament Correct as of 20 November 2023

UEFA Nations League

England have competed in the UEFA Nations League since its inaugural season in 2018–19, when they qualified for the 2019 finals and finished third overall. To date this is their only appearance in the finals and their best performance in the competition.

UEFA Nations League record
League phase[m]													Finals										Manager(s)
Season	Lg	Grp	Pos	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	P/R	Rnk		Year	Pos	Pld	W	D[b]	L	GF	GA	Squad
2018–19	A	4	1st	4	2	1	1	6	5		3rd		2019	3rd	2	0	1	1	1	3	Squad		Southgate
2020–21	A	2	3rd	6	3	1	2	7	4		9th		2021	Did not qualify									Southgate
2022–23	A	3	4th	6	0	3	3	4	10		15th		2023
2024–25	B	2	To be determined										2025
Total				16	5	5	6	17	19	3rd			Total	1/4	2	0	1	1	1	3	—		—
Champions    Runners-up    Third place    Fourth place   Correct as of 8 February 2024

Minor tournaments

Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D[b]	L	GF	GA	Ref.
1964 Taça de Nações	Group stage	3rd	3	0	1	2	2	7	[161]
1976 USA Bicentennial Cup Tournament	Group stage	2nd	3	2	0	1	6	4	[162]
1985 Rous Cup	One match	2nd	1	0	0	1	0	1	[163]
1985 Ciudad de México Cup Tournament	Group stage	3rd	2	0	0	2	1	3	[164]
1985 Azteca 2000 Tournament	Group stage	2nd	2	1	0	1	3	1	[165]
1986 Rous Cup	Winners, one match	1st	1	1	0	0	2	1	[163]
1987 Rous Cup	Group stage	2nd	2	0	2	0	1	1	[163]
1988 Rous Cup	Winners, group stage	1st	2	1	1	0	2	1	[163]
1989 Rous Cup	Winners, group stage	1st	2	1	1	0	2	0	[163]
1991 England Challenge Cup	Winners, group stage	1st	2	1	1	0	5	3	[166]
1995 Umbro Cup	Group stage	2nd	3	1	1	1	6	7	[167]
1997 Tournoi de France	Winners, group stage	1st	3	2	0	1	3	1	[168]
1998 King Hassan II International Cup Tournament	Group stage	2nd	2	1	1	0	1	0	[169]
2004 FA Summer Tournament	Winners, group stage	1st	2	1	1	0	7	2	[170]
Total		6 Title	33	12	10	11	43	37	–

Major

• FIFA World Cup
  • Champions: 1966
• UEFA European Championship
  • Runners-up: 2020
  • Third place: 1968, 1996
• UEFA Nations League
  • Third place: 2019

Regional

• British Home Championship
  • Champions (54): (including 20 shared)
• Rous Cup
  • Champions: 1986, 1988, 1989

Awards

• FIFA Fair Play Trophy
  • Winners: 1990, 1998, 2022

Exhibition tournament

• England Challenge Cup: 1991^[166]
• Tournoi de France: 1997^[168]
• FA Summer Tournament: 2004^[170]

Summary

Competition				Total
FIFA World Cup	1	0	0	1
UEFA European Championship	0	1	2	3
UEFA Nations League	0	0	1	1
Total	1	1	3	5

• Great Britain men's Olympic football team
• England national football team manager
• England women's national football team
• England national amateur football team
• United Kingdom national football team
• England national football B team
• England national football C team

Wikimedia Commons has media related to England national association football team.

• Official website
• England at FIFA
• England at UEFA
• The England International Database at englandstats.com