Reuters Soccer Blog

Would a unified Britain have won more than one World Cup?

Resistance to plans for a unified British soccer team for the 2012 London Olympics means the idea may well be a one-off, if it gets off the ground at all.

The four home nations are wary of setting precedents that could harm their independent status, despite their lack of success as separate entities.

Indeed, all they would have to show in a collective trophy cabinet would be England’s 1966 triumph, which makes me wonder if they might have been better putting national pride aside all along and pooling their resources, as they do in most other sports.

Would a unified team have won more than one paltry World Cup?

As far as recent times are concerned, I think the simple answer has got to be no.

All-time Euro XI: anyone here who could make it?

Now we’ve seen all 16 teams in action at Euro 2008, here’s a question for you. Could anyone here play their way into the All-time Greats XI?

I first saw a match in the European Nations Cup, as it then was, in 1968 when England beat Spain 1-0 in a qualifier at Wembley to reach the four-team finals in Italy.