Updated after each final whistle, this page serves as a running record of how the numbers align with the results across all 104 matches. Read more »
England Analysis
2026 FIFA World Cup xG Tracker: Results, Expected Goals Of Every Match
Gareth Southgate And England Reap The Rewards Of Player Development
Immediacy aside, England's draw against Croatia and win over Spain were grounded in the reality of youth player development, and not just from their teenagers. Read more »
How Will Foreign Managers Continue To Influence England?
The spine of the national team side came largely from the clubs of Pep Guardiola, Antonio Conte, Jose Mourinho, Mauricio Pochettino and Jurgen Klopp. Instead of England's players getting off the island, managers have come to the island to help England. Read more »
End-To-End Stuff: Harry Kane
Harry Kane's relative isolation- his bone-deep nine-ness, if you will- allows him to affect matches in a peculiar way his more dynamic peers don't. He can arrive out of nowhere. Read more »
A World Cup Abstract: England 2, Sweden 0
England scored a pair of goals with one of them even coming from open play as they continue what feels like their destiny, at least on their side of the bracket. Read more »
A World Cup Abstract: England 1 (4), Colombia 1 (3)
We are seeing the imprints of Pep Guardiola, Mauricio Pochettino, Jurgen Klopp and Antoino Conte on his 'likable' English side. Read more »
The Defining Matches Of The 2018 World Cup Group Stage
The struggles of the traditional soccer powers gave an opportunity for bubbling sides like Belgium and Croatia to stamp their mark in Russia. Read more »
The Lasting Lessons Of England's 2006 World Cup Team For 2018
If the most pressing tactical question a decade ago was how to fit England's most dynamic two midfielders in the same lineup, then Pochettino's versatility with his group of national team players is the anti-Gerrard-Lampard conundrum. Read more »
Kanesanity
How Harry Kane keeps scoring goals, keeps getting new contracts and has become the new (viable) hope for Tottenham and even for England. Read more »
The Season Steven Gerrard Became Steven Gerrard
After his legendary volley in the Champions League against Olympiacos in 2004, Steven Gerrard’s burden for the next 10 years was nothing less than to save Liverpool. Read more »
Tchau To All That
The individual brilliance of the early matches was eventually neutralized by countries with better all-around squads and this was a World Cup that became reasonably predictable once we escaped the group stage. But every single minute was thrilling and worth it. Read more »
Messi, Suarez & Costa Rica: An Ode To The 2014 World Cup Group Stages
The deluge of goals from Messi, Neymar, Müller, Robben and Van Persie, impressive play from Costa Rica and Colombia, and the bite seen round the world all overshadowed the changing of the era. Read more »
Group D: Rock, Paper, Scissors
Italy, Uruguay and England is as true of a three-team race as we can ever expect from a group. None of the three squads have enough depth of quality to sustain a run all the way to the Maracană even though they could surely beat any team in the world. Read more »
The 2014 World Cup: A Tournament Of Transition
The best attacker in this 2014 World Cup will be a country’s press. Of course, games are won by brilliant moments from individual players. Genius does still exist. But the modern game is less Steve Jobs than it is Wikipedia. Read more »