From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
The English national football team's moment of greatest triumph was in 1966 when they won the World Cup. They were led to this triumph by captain Bobby Moore, and managed by Alf Ramsey who was later knighted for the achievement. In the final England beat West Germany by 4 goals to 2, with 3 goals from Geoff Hurst and one from Martin Peters.
Goalkeeper Peter Shilton has played for England more times than anyone else. He gained his 125th and last cap in the 1990 World Cup.
In 2001, Sven-Göran Eriksson became the first foreign national (he is Swedish) to become the manager of England. The team qualified for the 2002 World Cup (held in Japan and South Korea) in a tense finale on the 6th October 2001, with the final goal which gave them the much-needed draw against Greece coming from David Beckham in the dying seconds of the game. This result ensured automatic qualification above Germany on goal difference. In the World Cup itself England reached the quarter-finals before being beaten by eventual tournament winners Brazil 2-1.
So far, the highlights of Eriksson's time in charge of England have been a 5-1 victory over rivals Germany, during the World Cup 2002 qualification campaign — England came from behind, with goals from Emile Heskey, Steven Gerrard and a Michael Owen hat-trick; and a hard-fought 1-0 win over Argentina in the tournament itself.
The first national manager, Walter Winterbottom, died in February 2002.
England is a member of UEFA.
| Player | When | No. of Games | No. of Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sir Bobby Charlton | 1958-70 | 106 | 49 |
| Gary Lineker | 1984-92 | 80 | 48 |
| Jimmy Greaves | 1959-67 | 57 | 44 |
| Tom Finney | 1946-58 | 76 | 30 |
| Nat Lofthouse | 1950-58 | 33 | 30 |
| Alan Shearer | 1992-2000 | 63 | 30 |
| Viv Woodward | 1903-11 | 23 | 29 |
| Steve Bloomer | 1895-1907 | 23 | 28 |
| David Platt | 1989-96 | 62 | 27 |
| Bryan Robson | 1979-91 | 90 | 26 |
| Michael Owen | 1998-present | 53 | 24 |
| Sir Geoff Hurst | 1966-72 | 49 | 24 |
| Stan Mortensen | 1947-53 | 25 | 23 |
| Tommy Lawton | 1938-48 | 23 | 22 |
| Mick Channon | 1972-77 | 46 | 21 |
| Kevin Keegan | 1972-82 | 63 | 21 |
| Martin Peters | 1966-74 | 77 | 20 |
| George Camsell | 1929-36 | 9 | 18 |
| Dixie Dean | 1927-32 | 16 | 18 |
| Johnny Haynes | 1954-62 | 56 | 18 |
| Roger Hunt | 1962-69 | 34 | 18 |
| Manager | Years in charge |
|---|---|
| Sir Walter Winterbottom | 1946-1962 |
| Sir Alf Ramsey | 1963-1974 |
| Joe Mercer | 1974 |
| Don Revie | 1974-1977 |
| Ron Greenwood | 1977-1982 |
| Sir Bobby Robson | 1982-1990 |
| Graham Taylor | 1990-1993 |
| Terry Venables | 1993-1996 |
| Glenn Hoddle | 1996-1999 |
| Howard Wilkinson (caretaker) | 1999 |
| Kevin Keegan | 1999-2000 |
| Peter Taylor (caretaker) | 2000 |
| Sven-Göran Eriksson | 2001 - present |
