ENGLAND

ENGLAND

FIFA World Cup™ finals historyEngland have appeared at 14 FIFA World Cups, including eight of the last nine. They were below-par at Brazil 2014, exiting at the group stage for the first time since 1958. The Three Lions have been World Cup winners once, as hosts in 1966. Geoff Hurst’s hat-trick, the only in a World Cup Final, fired them to a 4-2 extra-time victory over West Germany. Sir Bobby Robson came closest to matching Sir Alf Ramsey’s achievement, guiding England to Italy 1990’s semi-finals, only to be knocked out on penalties by West Germany. In reaching Russia 2018, by defeating Slovenia at Wembley in their penultimate Group F match, they sealed their spot at their sixth consecutive World Cup - matching their previous record set between 1950 and 1970.The teamThe retirement of the experienced trio of Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and, more recently, Wayne Rooney has paved the way for an exciting crop of young players to emerge. The likes of Dele All, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Raheem Sterling, Marcus Rashford and Harry Kane highlight the Three Lions' attacking flair for the future. Further back, the team boast an enviable defensive record, while adventurous full-backs such as Kyle Walker and Danny Rose are well capable of contributing at both ends of the park.The coachGareth SouthgateThe stat3 - No team has lost more World Cup penalty shootouts than England. 1990 (to West Germany), 1998 (to Argentina) and 2006 (to Portugal).The former starsBobby Moore, Sir Bobby Charlton, Gordon Banks, Peter Shilton, Bryan Robson, Gary Lineker, David Beckham, Wayne Rooney