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77-818: Green Flag Limited is a British roadside assistance and vehicle recovery provider, which is part of the Direct Line Group . Formed in 1971, as the National Breakdown Recovery Club, as an alternative to the AA and RAC , it used a network of local garages and mechanics to deliver recovery and repair services, instead of patrolling mechanics. Originally based in Low Moor, Bradford , their operations are now controlled in Operations Centres in Leeds and Glasgow, within

154-487: A Euro 2020 qualifying match. At the delayed Euro 2020 , England reached their first European Championship final, their first final at a major tournament since 1966. After finishing top of their group above Croatia, Czechia , and Scotland, the Three Lions beat Germany, Ukraine and Denmark in the knockout rounds to advance to the final . In the final held at Wembley, England were defeated by Italy on penalties after

231-438: A defeat against Germany. This stadium was demolished during the period of 2002–03, and work began to completely rebuild it. During this time, England played at venues across the country, though by the time of the 2006 World Cup qualification , this had largely settled down to having Manchester United 's Old Trafford stadium as the primary venue, with Newcastle United 's St. James' Park used on occasions when Old Trafford

308-481: A 1–1 draw. At the 2022 World Cup , England defeated Iran and Wales in the group stage to qualify for the round of 16. In the round of 16, the Three Lions defeated Senegal 3–0, but were then eliminated by reigning world champions France in the quarter-finals, 2–1. In that match, Harry Kane scored his 53rd goal for England, equalling the all-time record at the time. At Euro 2024 , England finished top of their group above Denmark, Slovenia , and Serbia . In

385-473: A World Cup finals tournament match. This match became infamous for a ghost goal when Frank Lampard hit a shot from outside the penalty area that bounced down off the crossbar and over the goal line before being cleared by German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer , with neither the referee nor the assistant opting to award a goal. Had it been given, the goal would have tied the game 2–2 with England coming from two goals down. This incident - along with similar mistakes at

462-400: A bewildered Syd Owen said, "it was like playing men from outer space". In the 1954 FIFA World Cup , England reached the quarter-finals for the first time, and lost 4–2 to reigning champions Uruguay . Although Walter Winterbottom was appointed as England's first full-time manager in 1946, the team was still picked by a committee until Alf Ramsey took over in 1963. The 1966 World Cup

539-501: A closely contested semi-final finishing 1–1 after extra time , then 3–4 in England's first penalty shoot-out . Despite losing to Italy in the third place play-off, the members of the England team were given bronze medals identical to the Italians'. Due to the team's good performance at the tournament against general expectations, and the emotional nature of the narrow defeat to West Germany,

616-554: A factor in the Scots' desire to defeat England above all other rivals, with Scottish sports journalists traditionally referring to the English as the "Auld Enemy". The footballing rivalry has diminished somewhat since the late 1970s, particularly since the annual fixture stopped in 1989. For England, games against Germany and Argentina are now considered to be more important than the historic rivalry with Scotland. England's rivalry with Germany

693-579: A friendly in November 2005. Numerous songs have been released about the England national football team. All England matches are broadcast with full commentary on talkSPORT and BBC Radio 5 Live . From the 2008–09 season until the 2017–18 season, England's home and away qualifiers, and friendlies both home and away were broadcast live on ITV Sport (often with the exception of STV , the ITV franchisee in central and northern Scotland). England's away qualifiers for

770-544: A greater significance in popular perception. The rivalry emerged across several games during the latter half of the 20th century, even though as of 2008 the teams have played each other on only 14 occasions in full internationals. The rivalry was intensified, particularly in Argentina, by non-footballing events, especially the 1982 Falklands War between Argentina and the United Kingdom. England and Argentina have not met since

847-450: A newspaper. Howard Wilkinson took over as caretaker manager for two matches. Kevin Keegan was then appointed as the new permanent manager and took England to Euro 2000 , but the team exited in the group stage and he unexpectedly resigned shortly afterwards. Peter Taylor was appointed as caretaker manager for one match, before Sven-Göran Eriksson took charge between 2001 and 2006, and

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924-462: A roadside assistance cover yet, they can purchase it as a supplement. England national football team The England national football team have 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 affiliated with UEFA and comes under

1001-717: A similar service in 1927. In the Netherlands, a Wegenwacht (road watch) of the Royal Dutch Touring Club (ANWB) started operating only in 1946, because World War II intervened. In the U.S., the American Automobile Association started the first roadside assistance service in April 1915, when five motorcyclists working for the Automobile Club of St. Louis founded the “First Aid Corps.” The group drove through

1078-652: A subsidiary was created called Green Flag USA, from acquisition of National Breakdown in Lafayette, LA NCP was bought out by investment firm Cendant , which put Green Flag up for sale in 1999 after regulators blocked their attempt to also buy RAC. Later that year, Green Flag became part of the RBS Group when it was acquired by Direct Line for £220m. June 2008 saw Green Flag announce that it would be branding four hundred vans across its network, to match its marketing. In 2011, Green Flag reviewed its network of contractors, reducing

1155-581: A third kit. At the 1970 World Cup England wore a third kit with pale blue shirts, shorts and socks against Czechoslovakia . They had a kit similar to Brazil 's, with yellow shirts, yellow socks and blue shorts which they wore in the summer of 1973. For the World Cup in 1986 England had a third kit of pale blue, imitating that worn in Mexico 16 years before and England retained pale blue third kits until 1992, but they were rarely used. Umbro first agreed to manufacture

1232-485: A total of 16 World Cup tournaments, tied for sixth best by number of appearances . They are also placed sixth by number of wins, with 32. The national team is one of only eight nations to have won at least one FIFA World Cup title. The England team won their first and only World Cup title in 1966 . The tournament was played on home soil, and England defeated West Germany 4–2 in the final . In 1990 , England finished in fourth place, losing 2–1 to host nation Italy in

1309-631: A vehicle that is stuck in snow or helping people who are locked out of their cars. In the United States, many states and their departments of transportation have organized government-run highway assistance patrols, or highway safety patrols, to keep the traffic moving and assist with highway emergencies as needed. While not law enforcement personnel, these persons provide free service to motorists in distress, and secure lanes of traffic, provide emergency medical assistance, request tow trucks for vehicles in inconvenient or dangerous locations, remove debris from

1386-429: Is Wembley Stadium , London, and their training headquarters is at St George's Park , Burton upon Trent. Thomas Tuchel will take over as Head Coach from January 2025. England won the 1966 FIFA World Cup final on home soil, making them one of eight nations to have won the World Cup. They have qualified for the World Cup sixteen times, with fourth-place finishes in the 1990 and 2018 editions. England have never won

1463-549: Is considered to be mainly an English phenomenon—in the run-up to any competition match between the two teams, many UK newspapers will print articles detailing results of previous encounters, such as England's win in 1966 and the semi-final penalty shoot-out defeats of 1990 and Euro 96 . This rivalry has diminished significantly in recent years. Germans consider Italy , the Netherlands and France to be their greater rivals, and Barney Ronay of The Guardian wrote in 2021 that

1540-514: Is one of the fiercest international rivalries that exists. It is the oldest international fixture in the world, first played in 1872 at Hamilton Crescent , Glasgow. The history of the British Isles has led to much rivalry between the nations in many forms, and the social and cultural effects of centuries of antagonism and conflict between the two has contributed to the intense nature of the sporting contests. Scottish nationalism has also been

1617-545: Is viewed as the first official international football match, because the two teams were independently selected and operated, rather than being the work of a single football association. Over the next 40 years, England played exclusively with the other three Home Nations —Scotland, Wales and Ireland —in the British Home Championship . At first, England had no permanent home stadium. They joined FIFA in 1906 and played their first games against countries other than

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1694-574: The 1974 World Cup , leading to Ramsey's dismissal by the FA . Following Ramsey's dismissal, Joe Mercer took immediate temporary charge of England for a seven-match spell until Don Revie was appointed as new permanent manager in 1974. Under Revie, the team underperformed and failed to qualify for either Euro 1976 or the 1978 World Cup . Revie resigned in 1977 and was replaced by Ron Greenwood , under whom performances improved. The team qualified for Euro 1980 without losing any of their games, but exited in

1771-623: The 1994 World Cup after losing a controversial game against the Netherlands in Rotterdam, which resulted in Taylor's resignation. Taylor faced much newspaper criticism during his tenure for his tactics and team selections. Between 1994 and 1996, Terry Venables took charge of the team. Hosting Euro 1996 , they equalled their best performance at a European Championship , reaching the semi-finals as they did in 1968, before exiting via another penalty shoot-out loss to Germany. England striker Alan Shearer

1848-606: The 2014 World Cup , England were eliminated at the group stage for the first time since 1958. At Euro 2016 , England were eliminated in the round of 16, losing 2–1 to Iceland in a result that has been described as among their worst ever defeats. Hodgson tendered his resignation shortly after the full-time whistle, with Sam Allardyce announced as his successor in July 2016. After one match and only 67 days in charge, Allardyce resigned from his managerial post by mutual agreement following an alleged breach of FA rules . This makes Allardyce

1925-565: The British Touring Car Championship . This was not the company's first motorsport sponsorship, as National Breakdown had sponsored rallies between 1984 and 1987. In 2004, the company again supported football through sponsorship of AOL 's coverage of Euro 2004 . The Green Flag logo appeared on the Williams F1 team cars of Nico Rosberg and Kazuki Nakajima (2009) and Rubens Barichello and Nico Hülkenberg (2010) as part of

2002-715: The RBS sponsorship. Green Flag is the current sponsor of British gymnast Nile Wilson . Also in 2014, Green Flag announced that it had become a sponsor of Premiership Rugby . From June 2015 to July 2016, Green Flag was the sponsor of the ITV National Weather , on ITV and UTV . Green Flag is a multiple Your Money award winner. The company was named Best Breakdown Cover Provider in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013 and 2014. They were also Best Online Breakdown Cover provider in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2014. The Institute of Transport Management recognised Green Flag as

2079-936: The Roadside Assistance Company Of the Year in June 2012. Green Flag was ranked 9th, after scoring 81.02% in the 2013 Auto Express Driver Power Survey of best breakdown cover providers. This increased to a score of 87.33%, and an improved ranking of 3rd in the newest Auto Express Driver Power Survey in 2014, seeing Green Flag outrank both the AA and RAC. Roadside assistance Early motorists were often capable of carrying out minor repairs themselves, but as automobiles became more complicated, it became more difficult to carry out successfully. Some early local motoring clubs tried to support their members by encouraging them to help each other. A rotation of members who would help other members

2156-446: The final , England were defeated 2–1 by Spain , becoming the first team to lose consecutive European Championship finals. With three goals, Harry Kane was the joint top scorer at the tournament and shared the golden boot with five other players. Whilst the FA were willing to extend his contract further, Southgate announced his resignation as England manager on 16 July 2024, saying that it

2233-429: The hand of God in 1986 . The rivalry is unusual in that it is an intercontinental one; typically such footballing rivalries exist between bordering nations. England is regarded in Argentina as one of the major rivals of the national football team, matched only by Brazil and Uruguay . The rivalry is, to a lesser extent reciprocal in England, locally described as a grudge match although matches against Germany carry

2310-461: The 2010 World Cup were shown on Setanta Sports until that company's collapse. As a result of Setanta Sports's demise, England's World Cup qualifier in Ukraine on 10 October 2009 was shown in the United Kingdom on a pay-per-view basis via the internet only. This one-off event was the first time an England game had been screened in such a way. The number of subscribers, paying between £4.99 and £11.99 each,

2387-473: The AA in the UK. Some automobile manufacturers also offer roadside assistance for their customers, sometimes for free for some period after the purchase of a new vehicle. Breakdown coverage may include jump-starting an automobile, diagnosing and repairing the problem that caused the breakdown, towing a vehicle, helping to change a flat tire , providing a small amount of fuel when a vehicle runs out of it, pulling out

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2464-595: The BBC and ITV. The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.    Win    Draw    Loss    Fixture From 1 January 2025 The following 22 players were named in the squad for the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League matches against Greece and the Republic of Ireland on 14 and 17 November 2024 respectively. Caps and goals are correct as of 17 November 2024, after

2541-605: The Direct Line Group, Green Flag's products are underwritten by United Kingdom Insurance Limited. Green Flag's services are also available through partners, including Direct Line, Churchill , Privilege , Clydesdale Bank / Yorkshire Bank , RBS / NatWest . They also operate a specialist breakdown service for caravan and motorhome owners, on behalf of the Caravan Club . Green Flag no longer provides coverage for Esure and Sainsbury's Bank customers, these contracts were lost to

2618-473: The Direct Line Group. Green Flag started as an idea between two friends, Bob Slicer and Jeffery Pittock, in a pub in Bradford. At the time, the AA and RAC were well established, and offered assistance at the roadside. Slicer and Pittock's National Breakdown Recovery Club operated under a different model, using a network of garages and mechanics that would recover and fix members' cars. The mechanics' local knowledge

2695-627: The European Championship, with their best performances to date being runners-up finishes in 2020 and 2024 . As a constituent country of the United Kingdom , England are not a member of the International Olympic Committee (as English athletes compete for Great Britain ), and so do not compete at the Olympic Games . England are the only team to have won the World Cup at senior level but not their major continental title, and

2772-552: The Group's new site in Leeds at The Wharf buildings, with Green Flag operations in Glasgow continuing as normal. Green Flag offers a range of breakdown products, from basic roadside assistance to full European cover with recovery, covering cars, motorbikes, trailers and small vans. The company claims an average response time of 42 minutes and that it has over four million customers. Like the rest of

2849-531: The Home Nations on a tour of Central Europe in 1908. Wembley Stadium was opened in 1923 and became their home ground. The relationship between England and FIFA became strained, and this resulted in their departure from FIFA in 1928, before they rejoined in 1946. As a result, they did not compete in a World Cup until 1950 , in which they were beaten in a 1–0 defeat by the United States , failing to get past

2926-606: The RAC following re-tendering. In 2010, mascot Maximili'ant was introduced to Green Flag's marketing. An ant was chosen as the company claims "they're hard working, strong and work well in a team, qualities reflected in the Green Flag network." The character was brought to life by the voice of Harry Hill , in television and radio advertising until 2012. Green Flag relaunched their advertising in August 2017, changing their motto to "Common Sense to

3003-619: The Rescue" and targeting AA and RAC customers more directly with their campaigns. In 1994, Green Flag became the first brand to sponsor the England men's football team . The deal ran to the 1998 FIFA World Cup , including UEFA Euro 1996 , and is believed to have cost the firm £4m. The deal ended in July 1998. Between 2000 and 2002, the company was the main title sponsor of the British Formula 3 Championship and then, between March 2002 to March 2005,

3080-536: The United States. In some areas, especially in Europe, there is a government-sponsored or sanctioned automobile membership association, and the service may be in the form of an insurance policy with premiums, instead of a member subscription fee. Services may also be available as part of the service of a vehicle insurance company, or other companies whose primary business is to offer such assistance, such as AAA in America or

3157-508: The World Cup in 1974 , 1978 and 1994 . The team's earliest exit in the finals tournament was elimination in the first round in 1950 , 1958 and, most recently, 2014 . This was after being defeated in both their opening two matches for the first time, against Italy and Uruguay in Group D. In 1950, four teams remained after the first round, in 1958 eight teams remained and in 2014 sixteen teams remained. In 2010 , England suffered its most resounding World Cup defeat, 4–1 to Germany , in

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3234-498: The city’s streets on Sundays looking for stranded motorists, making minor engine and tire repairs for free, for members and nonmembers alike. They helped 24 motorists on that first Sunday and 171 by the end of the first month. Many of these associations are membership-based clubs and provide services to assist members through the use of fleet assistance vehicles. In the case of the UK AA, these were traditionally motorcycle -mounted prior to

3311-412: The controversy around him, the FA stressed that he was the coach, not the manager, of the team. Venables' successor, Glenn Hoddle , took the team to the 1998 World Cup  — in which England were eliminated in the second round, again by Argentina and again on penalties (after a 2–2 draw). In February 1999, Hoddle was sacked by the FA due to controversial comments he had made about disabled people to

3388-475: The emblem of King Richard I , who reigned from 1189 to 1199. In 1872, English players wore white jerseys emblazoned with the three lions crest of the Football Association. The lions, often blue, have had minor changes to colour and appearance. Initially topped by a crown, this was removed in 1949 when the FA was given an official coat of arms by the College of Arms ; this introduced ten Tudor roses , one for each of

3465-476: The first being blatantly knocked in by his hand, prompting his " Hand of God " remark, the second being an outstandingly skilful individual goal, involving high speed dribbling past several opponents. England striker Gary Lineker finished as the tournament's top scorer with six goals. England went on to lose every match at Euro 1988 . They next achieved their second best result in the 1990 World Cup by finishing fourth – losing again to West Germany after

3542-457: The first round in one of the most embarrassing defeats in the team's history. Their first defeat on home soil to a foreign team was a 2–0 loss to Ireland , on 21 September 1949 at Goodison Park . A 6–3 loss in 1953 to Hungary was their second defeat by a foreign team at Wembley. In the return match in Budapest , Hungary won 7–1. This stands as England's largest ever defeat. After the game,

3619-606: The global jurisdiction of world football's governing body FIFA . England competes in the three major international tournaments contested by European nations: the FIFA World Cup , the UEFA European Championship and the UEFA Nations League . England are the joint oldest national team in football having played in the world's first international football match in 1872, against Scotland . England's home ground

3696-495: The group stage of the final tournament. They also qualified for the 1982 World Cup in Spain; despite not losing a game, they were eliminated at the second group stage. Bobby Robson managed England from 1982 to 1990. Although the team failed to qualify for Euro 1984 , they reached the quarter-finals of the 1986 World Cup , losing 2–1 to Argentina in a game made famous by two highly contrasting goals scored by Diego Maradona –

3773-564: The introduction of vans . When communication technology and availability made it practical, a network of emergency phone boxes , placed at intervals by the roadside, was introduced in some countries. In recent years, the widespread ownership of mobile phones has supplanted the need for an emergency phone network. Mobile technology has also led to the development of free applications (apps). Mobile technology enabled drivers to call for roadside assistance using mobile apps such as Urgent.ly Roadside Assistance app (Urgent.ly) introduced in 2014 in

3850-522: The kit in 1954 and since then has supplied most of the kits, the exceptions being from 1959 to 1965 with Bukta and 1974–1984 with Admiral . Nike purchased Umbro in 2008 and took over as kit supplier in 2013 following their sale of the Umbro brand. For the first 50 years of their existence, England played their home matches all around the country. They initially used cricket grounds before later moving on to football club stadiums. The original Empire Stadium

3927-410: The match against the Republic of Ireland . The following players have also been called up to the England squad within the last twelve months. Withdrew due to injury Preliminary squad / standby Retired from the national team Serving suspension Player withdrew from the squad due to non-injury issue. England first appeared at the 1950 FIFA World Cup , and have subsequently qualified for

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4004-622: The number of partner firms from 283 to 173. By 2013, five firms represented the majority of Green Flag's network. RBS' insurance division was floated in October 2012 as Direct Line Group. The new company had declared itself a separate entity the previous month. In 2015, Direct Line Group announced it would consolidate its sites in the Leeds area, with the closure of the Green Flag Operations Centre in Pudsey. All staff were retained and moved to

4081-540: The only team representing a non-sovereign country to have won the World Cup. The England men's national football team is the joint-oldest in the world; it was formed at the same time as Scotland . A representative match between England and Scotland was played on 5 March 1870, having been organised by the Football Association . A return fixture was organised by representatives of Scottish football teams on 30 November 1872. This match, played at Hamilton Crescent in Scotland,

4158-572: The regional branches of the FA. Since 2003, England top their logo with a star to recognise their World Cup win in 1966; this was first embroidered onto the left sleeve of the home kit, and a year later was moved to its current position, first on the away shirt. England's traditional home colours are white shirts, navy blue shorts and white or black socks. The team has periodically worn an all-white kit. Although England's first away kits were blue, England's traditional away colours are red shirts, white shorts and red socks. In 1996, England's away kit

4235-466: The rivalry with England "isn't a close rivalry at all, not if we accept the standard definition that both sides need to be aware that it exists. Germany have won seven major tournaments. Germany have reached 15 semi-finals since the 'one World Cup' of 1966." England's rivalry with Argentina is highly competitive. Games between the two teams, even those that are only friendly matches , are often marked by notable and sometimes controversial incidents such as

4312-614: The roadway after a crash, and resolve minor disabled vehicle problems, such as flat tires, jumpstarts, or pushing a disabled vehicle out of travel lanes. Many of these patrols work directly with the state police and highway operations departments of their state, and respond to assistance when a citizen calls 911 for minor roadside assistance. In Malaysia, roadside assistance is a basic cover if car owners buy car insurance. Roadside assistance usually consists of more services. Some insurance companies offer their own or even exclusive roadside assistance services, which means if one's car does not have

4389-405: The round of 16 stage. England first entered the UEFA European Championship in 1964, and have since qualified for eleven tournaments, tied for fourth-best by number of finals appearances . England's best results at the tournament were finishing as runners-up in both the 2020 (held in 2021) and 2024 editions, followed by a third-place finish in 1968 and reaching the semi-finals of 1996 ,

4466-511: The round of 16 where they won on penalties for the first time at a World Cup, before beating Sweden in the quarter-finals. In the semi-final, they were beaten 2–1 in extra time by Croatia and finished fourth after losing the third place play-off match against Belgium . England striker Harry Kane finished the tournament as top scorer with six goals and was awarded the golden boot . On 14 November 2019, England played their 1000th international match, defeating Montenegro 7–0 at Wembley in

4543-409: The round of 16, England defeated Slovakia 2–1 after extra time, with Jude Bellingham notably scoring a spectacular bicycle kick in second-half stoppage time to equalise the match. In the quarter-final, England beat Switzerland on penalties after the game finished 1–1. England reached their second consecutive European Championship final after defeating the Netherlands 2–1 in the semi-final. In

4620-444: The shortest serving permanent England manager. After Allardyce's resignation, Gareth Southgate , then the coach of the England under-21 team , was put in temporary charge of the national team until November 2016, before being given the position on a permanent basis at the end of that period. At the 2018 World Cup , England reached the semi-finals for the third time. After finishing second in their group, England faced Colombia in

4697-531: The team captaincy following accusations of racial abuse against the player. Following Capello's departure, Stuart Pearce was appointed as caretaker manager for one match, after which in May 2012, Roy Hodgson was announced as the new manager, just six weeks before Euro 2012. England managed to finish top of their group , but exited the Championship in the quarter-finals via a penalty shoot-out against Italy . In

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4774-462: The team were welcomed home as heroes and thousands of people lined the streets for an open-top bus parade. The 1990s saw four England managers follow Robson, each in the role for a relatively brief period. Graham Taylor was Robson's immediate successor. England failed to win any matches at Euro 1992 , drawing with tournament winners Denmark and later with France , before being eliminated by host nation Sweden . The team then failed to qualify for

4851-443: The third place play-off, following defeat on penalties, after extra time, to champions West Germany in the semi-final. They also finished in fourth place in 2018 , losing 2–0 to Belgium in the third place play-off, following a 2–1 defeat to Croatia , again after extra time, in the semi-final. The team also reached the quarter-final stage in 1954 , 1962 , 1970 , 1986 , 2002 , 2006 and 2022 . England failed to qualify for

4928-459: The tournament - lead to an apology from FIFA president Sepp Blatter and was a factor in the subsequent decision to introduce goal-line technology into football. Capello continued as England manager, leading the team's successful qualifying campaign for Euro 2012 , before resigning from the role in February 2012 following a disagreement with the FA over their request to remove John Terry from

5005-410: Was "time for change, and for a new chapter". Under-21 manager Lee Carsley was subsequently appointed interim head coach of the senior team. On 16 October 2024, the FA announced that German manager Thomas Tuchel would take over as manager from 1 January 2025, becoming the third foreign coach to take up the position. The motif of the England national football team has three lions passant guardant ,

5082-416: Was acquired by National Car Parks (NCP),. Five years later, the firm moved to new, purpose-built headquarters in Pudsey, which were opened by Diana, Princess of Wales . The company was renamed Green Flag in 1994 and, under the leadership of Chief Executive Ernest Smith, looked to expand into other insurance services. "Green is the symbol of health in Europe," Smith told The Independent in 1995. In 1992,

5159-458: Was appointed as McClaren's successor, becoming only the second foreign coach to take the job. At the 2010 World Cup , England were considered favourites to top their group but drew their opening two games against the United States and Algeria ; this led to questions about the team's spirit, tactics and ability to handle pressure. Despite this, England progressed to the round of 16, where they were beaten 4–1 by Germany , their heaviest defeat in

5236-532: Was built in Wembley , London, for the British Empire Exhibition . England played their first match at the stadium in 1924 against Scotland and for the next 27 years Wembley was used as a venue for matches against Scotland only. The stadium later became known simply as Wembley Stadium and it became England's permanent home stadium during the 1950s. In October 2000, the stadium closed its doors, ending with

5313-448: Was changed to grey shirts, shorts and socks. This kit was only worn three times, including against Germany in the semi-final of Euro 1996 but the deviation from the traditional red was unpopular with supporters and the England away kit remained red until 2011, when a navy blue away kit was introduced. The away kit is also sometimes worn during home matches, when a new edition has been released to promote it. England have occasionally had

5390-745: Was estimated at between 250,000 and 300,000 and the total number of viewers at around 500,000. In 2018, Sky Sports broadcast the England Nations League and in-season friendlies, until 2021 and ITV Sport broadcast the European Qualifiers for Euro-World Cups and pre-tournament friendlies (after the Nations League group matches end), until 2022. In April 2022, Channel 4 won the rights for England matches until June 2024, including 2022–23 UEFA Nations League matches, Euro 2024 qualifying games, and friendlies. 2022 World Cup rights remained with

5467-584: Was hosted in England and Ramsey guided England to victory with a 4–2 win against West Germany after extra time in the final, during which Geoff Hurst scored a hat-trick . In UEFA Euro 1968 , the team reached the semi-finals for the first time, being eliminated by Yugoslavia . England qualified automatically for the 1970 World Cup in Mexico as reigning champions, and reached the quarter-finals, where they were knocked out by West Germany. England had been 2–0 up, but were eventually beaten 3–2 after extra time . They then failed to qualify for Euro 1972 and

5544-598: Was kept, and in some cases, cash was put aside to hire a tow truck if needed. In the UK, RAC (a former associate of the Royal Automobile Club ) and The Automobile Association (AA) (formed in 1905) offer repair services to their members on the spot, tow to a local garage or the driver's home if nearby (a limit of 20 miles commonly) and in some cases provide onward journey services such as hire vehicles. The Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil-Club in Germany began to offer

5621-466: Was meant to provide a swifter response to calls, than the established competition. When the service began as a three-man business (with Ernest Smith) in 1971, membership only covered breakdowns within a 50-mile radius of their Morley Street base in Bradford and cost £1.50 a year. Within three years, NBRC had become the largest breakdown recovery firm in the country, with over 100,000 members. In 1984, NBRC

5698-455: Was selected to succeed Eriksson, but was sacked on 22 November 2007 after just 18 matches in charge as England failed to qualify for Euro 2008 . McClaren was criticised for his team selection in his final game - a decisive qualifier against Croatia which England lost 3-2 - particularly the decision to select inexperienced goalkeeper Scott Carson , whose mistake lead to Croatia's first goal. On 14 December 2007, Italian manager Fabio Capello

5775-400: Was the team's first non-English manager. Although England's players in this era were dubbed a " golden generation " and only lost five competitive matches during Eriksson's tenure, they exited at the quarter-finals of the 2002 World Cup , Euro 2004 and the 2006 World Cup . In January 2006 it was announced that Eriksson would leave the role following that year's World Cup. Steve McClaren

5852-483: Was the tournament's top scorer with five goals. At Euro 96, the song " Three Lions " by Baddiel , Skinner and the Lightning Seeds became the definitive anthem for fans on the terraces, and popularised the chant "it's coming home". Venables announced before the tournament that he would resign at the end of it, following investigations into his personal financial activities and ahead of upcoming court cases. Due to

5929-484: Was unavailable. Their first match in the new Wembley Stadium was in March 2007 when they drew with Brazil. The stadium is now owned by the Football Association, via its subsidiary Wembley National Stadium Limited. England's three main rivalries are with Scotland , Germany and Argentina . Smaller rivalries with France , Wales and the Republic of Ireland have also been observed. England's rivalry with Scotland

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