England reaches 1,000 games: The key Opta facts from Three Lions' first 999 matches

Thursday's visit of Montenegro sees England play its 1,000th official match. We used Opta data to look over the first 999.

Published : Nov 14, 2019 15:34 IST

England will play its 1000th match against Montenegro.
England will play its 1000th match against Montenegro.
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England will play its 1000th match against Montenegro.

England's upcoming Euro 2020 qualifier against Montenegro is attracting massive media attention due to a bust-up between Raheem Sterling and Joe Gomez, but it is also an historic occasion for the Three Lions as it will be their 1,000th international match.

Gareth Southgate's England host Montenegro at Wembley on Thursday aiming to secure a place at Euro 2020, though it will be a momentous occasion even if it fails to win.

It has taken England 147 years to rack up 1,000 fixtures and it will be the second successive century milestone reached against Montenegro.

Ahead of the landmark match, we looked at the key Opta data from England's first 999 matches.

Matches

1 – England's first international was against Scotland at Hamilton Crescent on November 30, 1872. The game finished 0-0. Montenegro was also the opponent for the Three Lions' 900th match, sharing a 2-2 draw in Podgorica.

568 – Out of 999 games, England has won 568. The first victory arrived courtesy of a 4-2 triumph over Scotland at Kennington Oval in March 1983.

114 – Scotland has been England's most frequent opponent. It has also never suffered more defeats (41) to a single country, while England has never beaten a nation more often than Wales (67).

13 – England's biggest ever win was a 13-0 victory over Ireland in February 1882. It beat the same opponent 13-2 exactly 17 years later in the Three Lions' most comfortable competitive triumph.

7 – The Three Lions' heaviest defeat was 7-1 away to Hungary in May 1954, coming just six months after getting hammered 6-3 by the Hungarians at Wembley.

Players

1,244 –  Ahead of Thursday's match, 1,244 players have represented England. Nine have reached 100 caps, while 356 have just one.

125 –  Goalkeeper Peter Shilton holds the record for most caps with 125. Wayne Rooney (120) is the most-capped outfield player in England's history.

17 –  Theo Walcott became England's youngest-ever player in May 2006 at the age of 17 years and 75 days. He still holds that record, though Rooney is the team's most junior scorer after his effort against Macedonia in September 2003 (17 years, 317 days).

53 –  Rooney is also England's record goal-scorer, having found the net 53 times, four more than Bobby Charlton.

41 –  By contrast, Stanley Matthews is the oldest scorer for England, having struck in October 1956 when he was aged 41 years and 248 days.

Managers

1 – Walter Winterbottom was appointed England's first manager in 1946, with the team selection previously made by a committee. He was in charge for a record 16 years.

19 – England has had 19 permanent managers, with Winterbottom (139 matches) overseeing the most games. Sam Allardyce presided over the fewest (one).

2 – Fabio Capello and Sven-Goran Eriksson are the only non-British managers to ever take charge of England.

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