England national football team at the 2006 Football World Cup

By user Bobo

I have a confession to make. The only words I know to the second verse of our national anthem are the words of the first line, "Thy choicest gifts in store on her be pleased to pour". That doesn't bode well for patriotism. On the other hand, we're going to be managerless after this World Cup, as Sven Goran Eriksson leaves his job. I'd like to see Sam Allardyce getting the job, personally, but time will tell.

Our record in the previous World Cup really bodes well for us. We lost in the quarter finals, and to the second strongest team in the world, having gone up early in the match. La Seleção put up a darn good fight, otherwise we may easily have pulled off one of the greatest shocks of the tournament's history.

We're currently the second ranked team in the world, somehow. We've got a pretty good rank in the group stage, having drawn Paraguay, Trinidad and Tobago and Eriksson's home nation of Sweden. Fingers crossed that we're going to get through the group stage easy, we've received a pretty lucky draw, consisting of Paraguay (against whom we were placed with in the 1986 World Cup), to whom we have never conceded a goal in competition, Trinidad and Tobago, against whom we have never played in competition, and Sweden, against whom, at 6-8-6, we have a pretty parallel record.

And with our first match coming against Paraguay, it's only right to wish the boys the best of luck.