The England national football team represents England in international association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872. Although most national football teams represent a sovereign state, England is one of the United Kingdom's Home Nations. This means that it is permitted by FIFA statutes to maintain its own national side that competes in all major professional tournaments,[1] with the exception of the Olympic Games. England's home ground is Wembley Stadium in Londonand their head coach is Fabio Capello.
England are one of seven national teams to have won the FIFA World Cup, which they did in 1966 when they hosted the finals. They defeatedWest Germany 4–2 in extra time in the final. Since then their best performance at a World Cup was reaching the semifinals in 1990. They reached the semifinals of the UEFA European Championship in 1968 and 1996. They were the most successful of the Home Nations in theBritish Home Championship with 54 wins (including 20 shared wins) before the competition was suspended in 1984. They remain a prominent team on the global stage, rarely dropping outside of the top ten on both the FIFA and Elo rankings.
The traditional rivals of England are Scotland; the England and Scotland football rivalry began since they became opponents in therepresentative matches of the 1870s. Rivalries with other national teams have become more prominent since regular fixtures against Scotland came to an end in the late 1980s. Matches against Argentina and Germany have produced particularly eventful encounters.
