England is one of the two oldest national teams in football; alongside Scotland, who played in the world’s first international football match in 1872. Contesting for the World Cup seventeen times over the past sixty-four years, England won the 1966 World Cup when they hosted the finals, and finished fourth in 1990. England never won the European Championship with their best performances being semi-finals appearances at the 1968 and 1996 Championships. England contest the FIFA World Cup and UEFA European Championship, which alternate biennially. Any one of these tournament victories after 1992 would mean England would also contest the FIFA Confederations Cup.

 

First game: England vs Tunisia (18/06)

Star: Harry Kane

Kane made his first-team debut for Tottenham on 25 August 2011 in a UEFA Europa League. Before establishing himself in Tottenham’s first team, he spent time in League One playing for Leyton Orient. Kane became a regular starter for Tottenham in the 2014–15 season, in which he scored 31 goals across the season and was named the PFA Young Player of the Year. Kane finished top scorer of both the 2015–16 and the 2016–17 Premier League seasons. He has scored over 100 goals for Tottenham, and is currently sixth in the team’s all-time top goalscorers list.

The Guardian ranked him as the fifth-best footballer on the planet in 2017.

Coach: Gareth Southgate

Gareth Southgate is the England National Team manager and former player who played as a defender or as a midfielder. He won the League Cup with both Aston Villa and Middlesbrough in 1995–96 and 2003–04 and captained Crystal Palace to win the First Division championship in 1993–94. His playing career ended in May 2006 at the age of 35, and after more than 500 league appearances, he was subsequently appointed Middlesbrough manager. He served as manager of Middlesbrough from June 2006 until October 2009, then managed the England U21 team from 2013 to 2016, before becoming the England national team manager in 2016.

Group: Belgium, Panama, Tunisia.