The history of the England national football team, also known as the Three Lions, begins with the first representative international match in 1870 and the first officially-recognised match two years later. England primarily competed in the British Home Championship over the following decades. Although the FA had joined the international governing body of association football FIFA in 1906, the relationship with the British associations was fraught. In 1928, the British nations withdrew from FIFA, in a dispute over payments to amateur players. This meant that England did not enter the first three World Cups.
The Three Lions first entered the World Cup in 1950 and have since qualified for 16 of the 19 finals tournaments to 2022. They won the 1966 World Cup on home soil making them one of only eight nations to have won a FIFA World Cup. They have reached the semi-finals on two other occasions, in 1990 and 2018. The Three Lions have been eliminated from the World Cup quarter-final stage on seven occasions – more often than any other nation. England failed to qualify for the finals in 1974, 1978, and 1994.
England also compete in the UEFA European Championship. During UEFA Euro 2020, they reached the final of the competition for the first time, finishing as runners-up. England have also reached the semi-final of the competition in 1968 and 1996 with the latter held on home soil. England's most capped player is Peter Shilton with 125 caps and its top goalscorer is Harry Kane with 61 goals. England compete in the FIFA World Cup, UEFA European Championship, and UEFA Nations League. However, as a constituent country of the United Kingdom, England are not a member of the International Olympic Committee so are not eligible to compete in the Olympic games.
This list encompasses honours won by the England national team, and records set by both players and managers including appearance and goal records. It also records England's record victories.
Honours and achievements
Source:
Major
FIFA World Cup
Champions: 1966
UEFA European Championship
Runners-up: 2020
Third place: 1968, 1996
UEFA Nations League Finals
Third place: 2019
Regional
British Home Championship
Champions outright (40): 1887–88, 1889–90, 1890–91, 1891–92, 1892–93, 1894–95, 1897–98, 1898–99, 1900–01, 1902–03, 1903–04, 1904–05, 1908–09, 1910–11, 1912–13, 1929–30, 1930–31, 1931–32, 1934–35, 1937–38, 1946–47, 1947–48, 1949–50, 1953–54, 1954–55, 1956–57, 1960–61, 1964–65, 1965–66, 1967–68, 1968–69, 1970–71, 1972–73, 1974–75, 1977–78, 1978–79, 1981–82, 1982–83 Shared (14): 1885–86, 1905–06, 1907–08, 1911–12, 1938–39, 1951–52, 1952–53, 1955–56, 1957–58, 1958–59, 1959–60, 1963–64, 1969–70, 1973–74
Rous Cup
Champions: 1986, 1988, 1989
Minor
England Challenge Cup
Champions: 1991
Tournoi de France
Champions: 1997
FA Summer Tournament
Champions: 2004
Awards
FIFA World Cup: FIFA Fair Play Trophy: 1990, 1998 (shared), 2022 BBC Sports Personality of the Year: BBC Sports Team of the Year Award: 2021.
Individual records
Player records
Appearances
Most appearances
.