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England’s 1,000 games: The numbers behind the Three Lions’ milestone

4 years ago
| BY News Team

Gareth Southgate’s England side face Montenegro on Thursday night in a Euro 2020 qualifier – and in what will be the Three Lions’ 1,000th international game.

It hasn’t always been an easy watch. Thrills, spills, tears and heartbreak have never been too far away when watching England, while there have been some great and some not so great players to pull on the famous Three Lions jersey down the years.

Ahead of the game, we run through some of the standout statistics and look through some of the magic moments from the 999 internationals so far.

The 999 in numbers

568 – England have won 568 of their 999 games, a win percentage of 56.86%.

433 – England have played 433 matches at home, winning 64.4% of these games in total.

114 – England have faced Scotland 114 times, more than against any other opponent.

1,244 – There have so far been 1,244 players to have made appearances for England.

6 – England have only faced six teams against whom they are yet to win: Saudi Arabia (who they have played twice), Algeria, CIS (the Commonwealth of Independent States, formed in 1991 to take part in Euro ’92 after the Soviet Union formally ceased to exist), Ghana, Honduras and South Korea.

102 – England’s most common result is 1-1, which has been the score in 102 of their matches.

139 – No manager has taken charge of more games for England since WWII than Walter Winterbottom.

2,188 – England have scored 2,188 goals in their 999 matches, conceding 984.

67 – England have more wins against Wales (67) than any other team.

41 – England have more losses against Scotland (41) than any other team.

9 – Only nine players have collected more than 100 caps for England, with Peter Shilton holding the record for most caps on 125.

122 – There have been 122 England captains. Bobby Moore is the only one to have lifted the World Cup.

999: The matches to remember

1: Scotland 0-0 England – November 30, 1872

England’s journey to 1,000 international fixtures began with a goalless draw against the Auld Enemy, Scotland. The game was held at a cricket ground in Glasgow, Hamilton Crescent, in front of an estimated crowd of 4,000 people.

200: England 3-0 Germany – December 4, 1935

As Europe headed towards a second world war, there had been calls from many for this fixture to be postponed. With the Germany fans scheduled to march through London after the game, this was a match in which the Nazi flag flew at White Hart Lane. England would win the match comfortably, with Middlesbrough forward George Camsell scoring twice and setting up the third.

409: England 4-2 West Germany (AET) – July 30, 1966

The one game no England fan needs any reminder about. That famous afternoon at Wembley in 1966 remains the scene of England’s only major triumph. Alf Ramsey’s boys had beaten Mexico, France, Argentina and Portugal on the way to the final and the expectations of the 96,000 fans in attendance and the rest of the country was high.

It would be Geoff Hurst, far from a guaranteed selection before the tournament, that would etch himself into English football history with two goals in extra-time to bring up a hat-trick on the day. It must have been unimaginable to those players at the time that 53 years later they would remain the only England players to lift the World Cup.

500: Scotland 2-1 England – May 15, 1976

England’s 500th international fixture was also played in Glasgow against Scotland, this time at Hampden Park in the Home International Championship. It would turn out to be a disastrous game for England’s Ray Clemence, who would later describe the fixture as the worst moment of his career. With the scores level heading into the second half, Kenny Dalglish’s barely-hit shot somehow found its way through Clemence and into the net.

723: Scotland 0-2 England – June 15, 1996

For those not blessed to be born in time to witness Euro 96, this was arguably the standout moment for an entire generation of England supporters. The victory would be the catalyst that would see England reach the semi-finals on home soil and it would be the talismanic Paul Gascoigne that would stamp his name over this encounter with Scotland. After Alan Shearer had given the hosts the lead, Gazza picked up the ball on the left before looping the ball over the head of Colin Hendry and volleying past a helpless Andy Goram to seal the game for England.

782: Germany 1-5 England – September 1, 2001

A tense and crucial World Cup qualifier escalated into ecstasy for England as they trounced Germany on their own patch. Carsten Jancker had opened the scoring for the home side in the sixth minute only for Michael Owen to level the scores six minutes later. Steven Gerrard put England ahead with a crisp strike past Oliver Khan, before the visitors ran away with the second half. Owen helped himself to a hat-trick, with Emile Heskey adding the gloss to the performance in the 74th minute. Many had hoped the ‘Golden Generation’ had arrived, but this turned out to be the highlight in the Sven-Goran Eriksson era.

England’s legacy

England will be commemorating their 1,000th match through their players wearing individual legacy numbers on their shirts, which mark the order in which Three Lions players won their first caps. Below are some of the more notable numbers among the 1,244 players to represent England and the clubs they represented at the time of their debuts.

Robert Baker (1) – Hertfordshire Rangers

Willis Edwards (500) – Leeds United

Bobby Charlton (767) – Manchester United

Bobby Moore (806) – West Ham

Stuart Pearce (999) – Nottingham Forest

Neil Webb (1,000) – Nottingham Forest

Paul Gascoigne (1,006) – Newcastle United

Gareth Southgate (1,071) – Aston Villa

David Beckham (1,078) – Manchester United

Wayne Rooney (1,125) – Everton

Harry Kane (1,207) – Tottenham

Tyrone Mings (1,244) – Aston Villa

There are several players in line to make their debut against Montenegro, with James Maddison the standout contender to become England’s 1,245th international player. Maddison is 17/10 to get on the scoresheet anytime in Thursday’s game, which England are 1/20 favourites to win.

Check out all the latest football betting odds at William Hill.

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