Football facts: 6 things you must know about England

The English national team might be perennial underachievers, but that won’t stop this football-mad nation getting behind their team come tournament time. Here’s all you need to know about The Three Lions:

1. The Stars

Kyle Walker – Position: Defender, Club: Manchester City

Harry Kane – Position: Forward, Club: Tottenham Hotspur

Gary Cahill – Position: Defender, Club: Chelsea

Eric Dier – Position: Midfield, Club: Tottenham Hotspur

Dele Alli -Position: Midfield, Club: Tottenham Hotspur

2. The ‘Unknown’ Coah

Former England Player Gareth Southgate is perhaps not the most known name in the game, but he’s led the English team to the top of their group in the qualifying rounds for this World Cup. The 48-year-old has spent all of his player and coaching years in English football, playing for the likes of Aston Villa (in their glory days). He then went on to coach several English teams before he moved on to coach England’s under 21’s. Since the departure of Roy Hodgson, after yet another disappointing tournament in 2016, Gareth has been molding the England team into what we hope will be a winning team this time around.

3. The Style of The Three Lions

So, here’s the problem: The Three Lions don’t have a particular style. The manager tinkered with a number of lineups, formations, and tactics as we cruised through an unchallenging qualifying group, but, worryingly, he is yet to settle on his best team. The good news, however, is that there’s plenty of potential in our squad, which has some of the youngest players of all the 32 nations competing in Russia.

4. Football Vocabulary in English

We present the vocabulary you need to talk the talk:

Goal

Offside

Midfield

Striker

Defender

Captain

Referee

Penalty shoot-out

Extra time

Free kick

Corner kick

5. The chants: St. George and a brass band

England’s traveling army of fans will be in fine voice this summer.  After decorating the stadium with the flag of Saint George, the patron saint of England, the legions of fans will perform a spine-tingling rendition of the national anthem before belting out cries of England (In-ger-land) and Rule Britannia with the backing of a brass band.

6. Where to watch

Every bar in England will be filled with the hopes and dreams that have accompanied all of our trophyless exploits at international tournaments since 1966. If there’s even a hint of sun, you can be sure we’ll be bringing out the BBQs (and sun lotion) as we watch The Three Lions take to the pitch.