England Football Team - English Soccer

England Soccer Team General Information
Country - England
Capital City - London
Continent - Europe
Manager - Sven-Göran Eriksson
Captain - David Beckham
Star Man - Wayne Rooney

England Soccer Team History
Founded 1863
Affiliated 1905
WC participations 11 (1950, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1998, 2002)
WC honours World champions (1966)
Continental Titles None
First International: Scotland 0 - 0 England (Partick, Scotland; 30 November 1872)
Largest win: Ireland 0 - 13 England (Belfast, Northern Ireland; 18 February 1882)
Worst defeat: Hungary 7 - 1 England (Budapest, Hungary; 23 May 1954)
European Championship
Appearances: 7 (First in 1968) Best result Third, 1968, Semi-finals, 1996

World Cup Record:
Year Host Performance
1930 Uruguay -
1934 Italy -
1938 France -
1950 Brazil Second, Pool Two
1954 Switzerland Quarter finals
1958 Sweden Pool Four Play Off
1962 Chile Quarter finals
1966 England Winners
1970 Mexico Quarter finals
1974 West Germany -
1978 Argentina -
1982 Spain Second Group Phase
1986 Mexico Quarter finals
1990 Italy Fourth place
1994 U.S.A. -
1998 France Second Round (last 16)
2002 S.Korea/Japan Quarter finals
2006 Germany in Group B with Sweden, Paraguay, Trinidad and Tobago

ENGLAND Football Team for 2006 FIFA World Cup

Coach:
Sven Goran Eriksson

Goalkeepers:
Paul Robinson, David James, Robert Green.

Defenders:
Gary Neville, Ashley Cole, Rio Ferdinand, John Terry, Sol Campbell, Wayne Bridge, Jamie Carragher.

Midfielders:
David Beckham, Joe Cole, Aaron Lennon, Stewart Downing, Owen Hargreaves, Jermaine Jenas, Michael Carrick, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard.

Forwards:
Wayne Rooney, Michael Owen, Peter Crouch, Theo Walcott.

England Statistics in Group B with Sweden, Paraguay, Trinidad and Tobago

Jersey No. Name of the Player
1 Paul Robinson
2 Gary Neville
3 Ashley Cole
4 Steven Gerrard
5 Rio Ferdinand
6 John Terry
7 David Beckham
8 Frank Lampard
9 Wayne Rooney
10 Michael Owen
11 Joe Cole
12 Sol Campbell
13 David James
14 Wayne Bridge
15 Jamie Carragher
16 Owen Hargreaves
17 Jermaine Jenas
18 Michael Carrick
19 Aaron Lennon
20 Stewart Downing
21 Peter Crouch
22 Robert Green
23 Theo Walcott

England Football Team is playing in Group B along with Paraguay, Trinidad and Tobago and Sweden. England, the World Cup champions of 1966 is called the first nation of football and the global distributor of the sport. This 2006 tournament marks four decades since England won it's only World Cup against Germany.

This time under the able guidance of Coach Sven-Goran Erikson, everyone is banking on England as one of the contenders for the Cup this year. They opened with a 2-2 draw in Austria, won six games after suffering a 1-0 loss to Northern Ireland. England suffered a 4-1 friendly defeat in Denmark. Later England secured home victories over Austria and Poland. England secured first place in Group 6. It had eight victories and one defeat in ten matches.

Previously, England Soccer Team made eleven previous FIFA World Cup™ final appearances. They debuted in Brazil in 1950. After winning the cup in 1966, England traveled to the semi-finals in 1990. Unfortunately they lost on penalties to West Germany. In 1998, Korea/Japan World Cup they were losing the quarterfinals for the fifth time. In 2000, at the UEFA European Championship in Portugal, England was beaten on penalties by the hosts.

The players to watch from the England team include Wayne Rooney, striker Owen and the midfield trio of David Beckham, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard.

Wayne Rooney has suffered a foot injury and is struggling to make it to the finals. Being in Group B, English fans can keep their hopes high for their team's chances.

The English fans have a lot of expectations from their team this time and are hopeful that the team will live up to it.