Soccernomics researched this and concluded that England are nowhere near as underachieving as people make out. England have definitely underachieved to a degree but when you combine population size with the number of competing sports in England that pull athletes away from football, the picture is much more nuanced. England are the only nation to win world cups in football, rugby and cricket, are 4th all-time in the Olympic medal table (as UK obvs), 3rd all-time in golf majors, 3rd all-time in Tennis Grand Slams (again as UK), 1st all-time in F1 titles. There aren't many countries that have had a presence at the top of nearly every global sport for so long. That obviously comes as a result of inventing many of them but rugby and cricket in particular as team sports are a big drain on athletic talent from football that many other football powerhouses don't have to deal with. Some nations might have one big competing team sport but few have two other team sports that are so culturally prominent in on top of football. They almost all weaken each other to a degree.
I think the single main explanation of Englands under achievement is the lack of a winter break in the PL. At least Sven claimed this reason and called out for a winter break. Having two cups certainly does'nt help either. Englands players have consistently looked more exhausted than the opposition in multiple tournaments. And fatigue may even come into play in penalty shoot outs. This is a very hard explanation to accept though. As it means that England will never win a trophy ...
That's a fine analysis but it's also completely besides the point and thus, incorrect, from my point of view. The players that have played football have underachieved, is the salient point. Whether that underachieving would be more significant in degree if more talent played football is another argument entirely. Meaning, England has not won the European Championship, while Greece and Denmark have. That is blatant underachieving because of England's historical players, that have played football. If we just take into account England's historical teams, that's underachieving, so the part of that equation that speaks to every other cricket, rugby, etc. player that could have played football is ultimately irrelevant as those that did play football, still underachieved.
Much of that is subjective though. I agree England have underachieved on the whole but I can't think of many tournaments where England's team was so much better than the other top nations, to the point they should have won a given competition. There's also an element of randomness to knockout football that guarantees you absolutely nothing in football, regardless of how good you are. I can't think of any England teams that were comparable to the Dutch side of the 70s, in the sense that they were so blatantly the best team in the world and were the clear, outright favourites to win tournaments, yet still failed to do so. Knockout football is very uncertain.
🚨🧨 EXCLUSIVE DETAILS | Rio Ngumoha was the secret candidate FC Bayern had been negotiating with for weeks. Bayern had reached a full verbal agreement with Ngumoha and his camp on Tuesday, 26 May. #LFC ⚠️ Absolute priority as a backup to Luis Díaz alongside the pursuit of… pic.twitter.com/UwEZs781qt— Florian Plettenberg (@Plettigoal) June 5, 2026
Even Ornstein is on it which probably means there’s some truth to it which must mean he has a French passport otherwise can’t leave until he’s 18. I really doubt Liverpool will sell him though. 🚨 EXCL: Bayern Munich exploring move to sign Rio Ngumoha. 17yo Liverpool winger primary #FCBayern target for left side & aware of pursuit. No contact yet between clubs. #LFC insist not for sale + plan to strengthen attack rather than weaken @TheAthleticFC https://t.co/mYbWdds6Ip— David Ornstein (@David_Ornstein) June 5, 2026
There's a lot of talk that issues with youth players feeling there is no pathway to the first team has been one of the factors influencing Slot's sacking. The timing of Joshua Abe signing his new contract and rejecting a £50k p/w deal from Man City immediately after Slot goes is interesting. Tyler Morton has obviously spoken a lot about Slot's lack of faith etc since joining Lyon. Slot forcing him into the U21s for a full campaign was one of the most egregious things I've seen.
Conspiracy theory: the plan was always for Henderson not to be part of the squad, he fakes an injury in one of the friendly games and Scott replaces him while he stays on as a coach.
What? French passport? So what are we looking at here? Bayern playing with two of the best wingers in the world. Both developed in England and choosing to be French?
I mean, yes and no. It's not easy to win tournaments but that's all still being accounted for in my argument. England in the early 2000s had Gerrard, Lampard in the middle, players like Ashley Cole, Rio, Terry, at the back. and then Rooney up front. That is an astounding level of talent in one team, up there with the best, and maybe even the best given the distribution of talent across the field. And they didn't make a single final. Or semi-final actually. That's crazy.
I’m not suggesting Rio is going to play for France, the Bellinghams have Irish passports probably from the days when they had to have a passport from an EU country to get moves abroad. Rio is embedded in our system and is currently with the seniors out in the US, if he carries on where he left off from this past season he will more than likely be with the seniors next season.
Lets hope he does not have a french passport. I mean, it probably does not matter, but it is certainly better that he is in not near France in any way.
He might do, since Brexit it would be basic due diligence for any footballer to get an EU passport if they qualify. I can’t think of any reason for the Bellingham brothers to get an Irish passport in lieu of Brexit. I qualify for an Irish passport and know I should apply but I’ve been too lazy to get on with it so far. Even for someone like me, getting a passport that allows me to live in 25+ countries when legally I can otherwise not is a no brainer.
That seems bizarre. Tuchel could have just said I’m taking him as a coach after discussions with my staff and Jordan.
LALIga have a strict non EU quota and Jude is registered under his Irish passport to avoid it. So was Conor Gallagher and I think Anthony Gordon will be as well.