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Widely acknowledged as the birthplace of the modern game of football, England
has a long and rich football heritage. The country's first ever recorded
international football match took place against Scotland in 1870.
Ever since then, the English national football team has been highly
respected, despite only winning a single World Cup, in 1966 against West
Germany, by 4-2.
The English national football team is controlled by The Football Association
(FA), England's official football governing body. Despite falling under the
banner of the United Kingdom, when it comes to international football England,
Scotland Wales and Ireland are all represented in the FIFA World Cup separately.
Over the years England has produced some top-notch international football
players including Sir Bobby Charlton, Bobby Moore, Peter Shilton, Ray Wilkins,
Gary Lineker, Bryan Robson, David Beckham, Michael Owen and Gary Neville.
One of the biggest icons in both English and international football is David Beckham, who has scored 17 goals for his country and boasts
107 caps.
In terms of leading English international goal scorers, Sir Bobby Charlton still
holds the record with 49 goals out of 106 games. He played for the English
national football team between 1958 and 1970. Since beating Germany in the 1966
World Cup and losing to them in a subsequent World Cup semi-final, there has
been a
strong rivalry between the two countries.
When England won the 1966 World Cup, the team's manager Sir Alf Ramsey was
honoured when he received
a coveted knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II.
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