England currently sits third in the latest FIFA world rankings – an outstanding achievement, yet unlikely to mark the end of their journey under Gareth Southgate’s stewardship.
The demanding schedule of English leagues can have serious repercussions for national teams. Key players may arrive at major tournaments exhausted or with injuries that hinder their performance significantly, which could significantly impede national team performances. To know more about England National Football Team Standings just read the whole article and get all information.
England’s record against Scotland
England and Scotland share one of the fiercest rivalries in world football, meeting 115 times throughout history with England leading 48 to 41 in head-to-head matchups and 25 draws between them. Dating back to their inaugural game at Hamilton Crescent in Glasgow on November 20, 1872 – known as ‘Battle of Britain’ fixture – these battles can generate intense emotion amongst both fans and players.
Since 1985, both teams have experienced both victories and defeats during their meetings, though England have maintained a more consistent winning streak than their Scottish rivals in recent years, winning seven out of ten matches at home against them since 1985 – beating Scotland for only the third time against a Three Lions squad that included Ronaldo, Ruud van Nistelrooy, and Klaus Augenthaler as Don Hutchison scored the match-winner during an Euro 2000 qualifier matchup in 1999 – Don Hutchison scored that day – just one time where Scotland had managed to defeat England on home turf since 1985 – so far from it!
Though England has dominated modern international rugby for much of this century, Scotland remains confident about their chances against them. They have faced off nine times at major tournaments; six matches occurred during qualifying; while Scotland awaits their first triumph against England in a finals game.
Before 1996, England and Germany had never faced each other in a European Championship final. England won their first two finals before being defeated by Yugoslavia and West Germany respectively in 1966 and 1968 finals.
Don Revie, England’s then manager, guided his side to an amazing three-one win against Gordon Strachan’s Scotland in the second final. Revie’s remarkable win cemented his place as one of England’s premier managers.
Since Revie’s time as England manager, only Ron Greenwood and Alf Ramsey have managed to win more than one game against Scotland as managers of England. Gareth Southgate only took charge for a handful of matches against Scotland but already boasts one victory against Gordon Strachan and two matches without losing.
England’s record against Germany
England and Germany have long been two of the greatest rivals in world football, each team experiencing both great heights and devastating lows over their long histories. There has long been animosity between them; for an England fan it would be a source of great pride if their side managed to oust Germany from their league.
England and Germany have met 36 times, with England winning 16 times compared to Germany’s 10. Of these 36 meetings, five games ended in draws between them; seven times were major tournament meetings (WWC/ECW); only England has managed two victories while Germany have won four outright with no losses, including winning four of seven penalty shoot-outs between 1990-1996!
In 1966, England defeated West Germany for their only World Cup title and earned an eventual 4-1 win; Frank Lampard’s “goal-that-never-was” provided one of the night’s defining moments.
Since 1995, England and Germany have met at the semi-final stage twice more, in 1995 and 2006 respectively, each time winning one match each. England were particularly disgruntled at being limited to just one point at their meeting with Germany despite clearly being superior team.
However, their 2-1 defeat in the semi-final of 2015 served more as a wakeup call. Although England fought hard, they were ultimately undone by some precise German counter-attacks that resulted in a 4-2 victory for Germany with Melanie Behringer scoring an on-target penalty goal to seal their triumphant win.
England faced numerous difficulties qualifying for subsequent FIFA World Cups; failing to do so in 1974 and 1978 respectively. Ron Greenwood eventually lost his job when England failed again to qualify in 1982; they made amends however in 1990 by beating Germany 2-0 in the Euro final and going on to claim bronze at 2015 World Cup – this marked England’s first major win ever against their main adversary and gave hope that England might improve against them in major competitions.
England’s record against Argentina
The England national football team and Argentina enjoy an intense rivalry, meeting on 27 occasions since 1992 in full international matches. England have the edge in this battle between two powerhouses with 14 victories to Argentina’s three draws; political and cultural issues have had their say as well as on-pitch play-offs.
England was the inaugural country to host a World Cup tournament, and Alf Ramsey’s side won their inaugural competition four years later with a 4-2 victory against West Germany in 1966’s final. England also defeated France 4-2 after drawing at 2-2 and recorded their first ever penalty shootout victory at any World Cup tournament.
England struggled at subsequent tournaments, failing to qualify for the 1970 World Cup and reaching only four out of eight of UEFA Euro 1968 and 1972 competitions. Ramsey was replaced with Terry Venables who led them back into a World Cup semifinal spot before losing against West Germany 2-0 in 1978.
Kevin Keegan resigned following England’s failure to reach the semi-finals at UEFA Euro 2000, leaving Roy Hodgson to take over and lead them through to 2002 World Cup – but once again were knocked out in second round penalty shoot-out by Argentina.
Gareth Southgate took over management of England in November 2016 after Sam Allardyce was fired only one game into his tenure, leading the team to victory at the 2018 World Cup and finishing top of their group before defeating Colombia before falling short against Croatia.
England will face Argentina at Wembley Stadium on Tuesday, 24 March in their next match-up from the 2002 World Cup group stages, having met five times with England winning three and Argentina one match each time at tournament level – most recently when David Beckham scored a penalty to help England squeak out a one-goal victory; it helped redeem him after his red card against Argentina at that tournament was widely criticised by English football fans.
England’s record against Wales
England and Wales rivalry is one of the longest running in British football, having regularly met since 1884 in the Home Nations championship (and occasionally during World Wars I and II). Now both nations compete against one another at major international tournaments such as European Championship and World Cup tournaments.
England holds an edge against Spain with 68 wins to 21 draws over its history against them. Gareth Southgate will look to continue their winning streak when these sides meet on Tuesday; doing so would increase their chances of qualifying for the knockout rounds while leaving them in second place.
Since England last met Wales six years ago at Euro 2016, England has won five of six meetings between them and emerged victorious five times – save for Euro 2016 match in Lens where Gareth Bale’s free kick put Wales on an early lead before Jamie Vardy and Daniel Sturridge scored to turn it around with goals for England.
Wales are still in with a shot of qualifying for the knockout stage despite their rough start in Group D. A win against Belgium or Northern Ireland would likely put Wales over the edge; an unexpected loss against England may end their hopes.
This will mark the first World Cup matchup between England and Wales since Gareth Bale scored an long-range free kick against Joe Hart to put Wales ahead at Euro 2016, only for Jamie Vardy to score twice and Daniel Sturridge to deliver an end of match winner in stoppage-time to secure England victory.
On Saturday, they will face each other again at Wembley in an exhibition match to seek an improved result after disappointing displays against USA and Japan. Both teams need strong forward performances in the final third of the field in order to overpower their opponents and make history together.
