England B is a secondary
football team run occasionally as support for the
England national football team
The England national football team has represented England in international football since the first international match in 1872. It is controlled by The Football Association (FA), the governing body for football in England, which is affilia ...
. At times they have played other nations' full teams; they have also played matches against 'B' teams from other football associations. Since the team's first use in 1947, there have been 54 official
and 3 unofficial
[England's B Team Matches](_blank)
englandfootballonline.com; 26 May 2006; Accessed 26 May 2006 B team matches. It has been inactive since May 2007.
History
Walter Winterbottom
Sir Walter Winterbottom (31 March 1913 – 16 February 2002) was an English football player and coach. He was the first manager of the England national team (1946–1962) and Director of Coaching for The Football Association (the FA). He ...
first proposed B team matches as a way of bringing players through into the national side (the
Under 21 team, the current stepping stone to the national team, did not exist until 1976.).
He organised the first recorded game held under the name of 'England B', which was played in
Geneva
, neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier
, website = https://www.geneve.ch/
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...
on 21 February 1947 against
Switzerland B team.
The match finished 0–0. The games proved useful as an introduction to the national team and the first official England B team game came in 1949 in a 4–0 victory over
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
.
The frequency of the games depends almost entirely upon the
head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...
of the England squad.
For example, there were no B team internationals under
Sir Alf Ramsey or
Don Revie
Donald George Revie OBE (10 July 1927 – 26 May 1989) was an England international footballer and manager, best known for his successful spell with Leeds United from 1961 until 1974, which immediately preceded his appointment as England manage ...
; indeed there were none between 1957 and 1978.
Ron Greenwood
Ronald Greenwood CBE (11 November 1921 – 9 February 2006) was an English football player and manager, best known for being manager of the English national football team from 1977 until 1982, as well as being manager of West Ham United for 13 ...
reintroduced them
and
Bobby Robson
Sir Robert William Robson (18 February 1933 – 31 July 2009) was an English footballer and football manager. His career included periods playing for and later managing the England national team and being a UEFA Cup-winning manager at Ipswich ...
used them regularly – there were nine B team internationals in 1989 and 1990. This period saw the likes of
Paul Gascoigne enter the England team via the B squad.
Graham Taylor
Graham Taylor (15 September 1944 – 12 January 2017) was an English football player, manager, pundit and chairman of Watford Football Club. He was the manager of the England national football team from 1990 to 1993, and also managed Lincoln C ...
continued Robson's practice of holding regular B team matches.
Terry Venables
Terence Frederick Venables (born 6 January 1943), often referred to as El Tel, is an English former football player and manager, and an author. During the 1960s and '70s, he played for various clubs including Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Queen ...
held two in 1994, but a four-year hiatus followed.
Glenn Hoddle
Glenn Hoddle (born 27 October 1957) is an English former football player and manager. He currently works as a television pundit and commentator for ITV Sport and BT Sport.
He played as a midfielder for Tottenham Hotspur, Monaco, Chelsea and ...
also arranged two B team matches, as part of his build up to the
1998 FIFA World Cup, with a further gap until 2006.
Both
Sven-Göran Eriksson and
Steve McClaren
Stephen McClaren (born 3 May 1961) is an English former professional footballer and coach who currently serves as an assistant coach for Premier League club Manchester United, in his second spell at the club.
McClaren began his coaching caree ...
arranged just one B team match each during their periods as England manager, Eriksson's match was held on 25 May 2006 against
Belarus
Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...
as a
World Cup
A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...
warm-up game. England lost 2–1, with a goal from
Jermaine Jenas
Jermaine Anthony Jenas ( ; born 18 February 1983) is an English television presenter, football pundit and former professional footballer. He played as a central midfielder for English club sides Nottingham Forest, Newcastle United, Tottenham Ho ...
.
Steve McClaren
Stephen McClaren (born 3 May 1961) is an English former professional footballer and coach who currently serves as an assistant coach for Premier League club Manchester United, in his second spell at the club.
McClaren began his coaching caree ...
's only match with the B team was against the
Albania full side on 25 May 2007 at
Burnley's Turf Moor
Turf Moor is an association football stadium in Burnley, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Burnley F.C. since 1883. This unbroken service makes Turf Moor the second-longest continuously used ground in English professional footba ...
ground, which they won 3–1, as preparation for
England's Euro 2008
The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of Europea ...
qualifier
In linguistics, a modifier is an optional element in phrase structure or clause structure which ''modifies'' the meaning of another element in the structure. For instance, the adjective "red" acts as a modifier in the noun phrase "red ball", provi ...
against
Estonia
Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
on 6 June 2007. The squad included a recovering
Michael Owen
Michael James Owen (born 14 December 1979) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker for Liverpool, Real Madrid, Newcastle United, Manchester United and Stoke City, as well as for the England national team. Since r ...
, who captained the side,
as well as seven uncapped players, five of whom have since gone on to receive full international caps.
There have been no B team matches since May 2007.
Prestige and purpose
The aim of games has typically been to introduce younger or more inexperienced players into the national team set up, without giving them a full cap.
[Taylor wants return of B team](_blank)
BBC Sport; 10 November 2006; Accessed 14 February 2007 They may often be held before
World Cups
A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...
or other tournaments to give second choice players, injured players or possible choices an opportunity to have a full game to either keep their fitness or play their way into the first team.
Attendances at matches and opponents have varied widely, with matches against first teams (the last of which was in 2007 against
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
),
Olympics teams, youth teams and other B team squads. The most recent game against Albania had an attendance of 22,500 at
Turf Moor
Turf Moor is an association football stadium in Burnley, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Burnley F.C. since 1883. This unbroken service makes Turf Moor the second-longest continuously used ground in English professional footba ...
. Prior to the two higher attendances for the games in 2006 and 2007, the previous time that the B team had played in front of more than 20,000 people was in 1978 in a match in
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
, against
their national team, when 40,000 people attended.
The matches have often struggled to interest fans, however, with games during the 1980s and 1990s attracting as few as 4,000 fans. The highest attendances for England B games were in a series of matches against the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
and
Netherlands B in the 1950s, when the
Olympisch Stadion in
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...
saw three matches with an attendance of 60,000.
The highest attendance at home for the B team was 43,068 at
St James' Park
St James' Park is a football stadium in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is the home of Premier League club Newcastle United F.C. With a seating capacity of 52,305 seats, it is the eighth largest football stadium in England.
St James' Pa ...
,
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to:
*Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England
*Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England
*Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...
, again against the Netherlands on 22 February 1950.
Players have also sometimes expressed a dislike for the B team. When
Chris Sutton
Christopher Roy Sutton (born 10 March 1973) is an English former professional football player and manager. He later became a pundit and commentator for BT Sport, regularly working on their coverage of Scottish football. He is now also a pundi ...
was picked for England B before the
1998 FIFA World Cup, he refused to play for the team, claiming that it was a waste of time and that he should have been picked for the first team. This boycott, however, ended Sutton's chances of ever playing for the full national team again. Furthermore,
Matt Le Tissier
Matthew Paul Le Tissier (; born 14 October 1968) is a former professional footballer. Born in Guernsey, he won eight caps for the England national team.
Le Tissier spent his entire professional club career with Southampton before turning to non ...
, who scored a
hat-trick
A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three.
Origin
The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...
for the England B team against
Russia B in that match, controversially failed to make the
1998 FIFA World Cup squad.
On the other hand,
Darren Anderton
Darren Robert Anderton (born 3 March 1972) is an English former professional footballer and pundit.
As a player, he was a midfielder who notably played in the Premier League for Tottenham Hotspur and Birmingham City. His twelve-year spell with ...
successfully returned to the first team squad via the B team after recovering from
injury in 1998, whilst other players such as Paul Gascoigne have been brought to the full team via the Bs.
In 2006, the England B team game was seen as being useful for giving a glimpse of potential future England players.
[World Cup scouting for England](_blank)
BBC Sport; McKenzie, Andrew; 26 May 2006; Accessed 14 February 2007 In particular, it proved useful for
Aaron Lennon
Aaron Justin Lennon (; born 16 April 1987) is an English former professional footballer who played as a winger.
Lennon began his career at hometown club Leeds United, making his first-team debut in 2003 and becoming the youngest player to play ...
and
Peter Crouch
Peter James Crouch (born 30 January 1981) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. He was capped 42 times by the England national team between 2005 and 2010, scoring 22 goals for his country during that time, and ...
to stake their claims for places in the
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host th ...
squad.
Furthermore, it provided match practice for
Michael Owen
Michael James Owen (born 14 December 1979) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker for Liverpool, Real Madrid, Newcastle United, Manchester United and Stoke City, as well as for the England national team. Since r ...
and
Sol Campbell
Sulzeer Jeremiah Campbell (born 18 September 1974) is an English professional football manager and former player who was most recently the manager of club Southend United. He previously managed Macclesfield Town from November 2018 to August ...
, who were both returning from injury. Overall, 12 players from the 2006 B team squad eventually made it to the final World Cup squad. However, an injury picked up in the game prevented
goalkeeper
In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...
Robert Green
Robert Paul Green (born 18 January 1980) is an English former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He played in the Premier League and Football League and for the England national team.
Green made his first-team debut for Norw ...
from playing at the World Cup and of the twelve players in both squads, five were established players with over 25 caps.
In the period since the most recent match in 2007, there has been little comment about the B team. Former England international goalkeeper
David James in 2010 called for a return of regular matches, but this call has not been repeated.
Statistics
Results and fixtures
The England B team has not played since 2007. Its most recent match was a 3–1 victory against
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
at
Turf Moor
Turf Moor is an association football stadium in Burnley, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Burnley F.C. since 1883. This unbroken service makes Turf Moor the second-longest continuously used ground in English professional footba ...
,
Burnley
Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston, at the confluence of the River C ...
, 25 May 2007. There are no scheduled fixtures.
Historical statistics
* Highest attendance – 60,000 v
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
and
Netherlands B (3 times) at
Olympisch Stadion,
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...
* Highest home attendance – 43 608 v Netherlands at
St James' Park
St James' Park is a football stadium in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is the home of Premier League club Newcastle United F.C. With a seating capacity of 52,305 seats, it is the eighth largest football stadium in England.
St James' Pa ...
,
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to:
*Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England
*Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England
*Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...
, 22 February 1950
* Biggest victory – 8–0 v
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
, 18 June 1978 at
National Stadium
Many countries have a national sport stadium, which typically serves as the primary or exclusive home for one or more of a country's national representative sports teams. The term is most often used in reference to an association football stadiu ...
,
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
* Heaviest defeat – 1–7 v
France espoirs, 22 May 1952,
Le Havre
Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very ...
Overall match record:
* Played 57, Won 37, Drawn 10, Lost 9, Abandoned 1
** Versus national teams: P19 W15 D2 L2
** Versus national B teams: P26 W22 D8 L7 A1
** Versus others: P2 W1 D0 L1
Player records
Player records for the England B team come largely from groups of players who were involved with the side during short periods in which frequent games were played, notably between 1978 and 1981, and again between 1989 and 1994. These two periods count for 29, or just over half, of all England B games.
England – International Results B-Team – Details
rsssf.com. Accessed 23 August 2010
Most appearances
Top scorers
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:England B National Football Team
B-team
European national B association football teams
1947 establishments in England