The England national football team is known as the "Three Lions" because of the three lions on the logo on the players' jerseys. In summary, England wears the three lion crest as a representation of the Football Association, whose emblem is the three lion crest. The term "lion" also describes the country itself, with its heritage of being a kingdom under the rule of kings and queens.
England has had many names over the years. Originally, the team was called "Team Christendom", then simply "Christendom". After winning the World Cup in 1966, England became known as "the great soccer nation".
In addition to being a king, Edward II was also known as the "Lionhearted" due to his bravery during battles. He was an unpopular king who was eventually overthrown and killed when he was only 20 years old. His body was found mutilated, with signs of violence, at Pontefract Castle.
During the reign of Henry VIII, England broke away from the Catholic Church in order to establish itself as a Protestant nation. As part of this breakaway, Henry decided that it was time for England to have a new name. On May 13, 1546, he issued a proclamation stating that from now on England would be known as "Henrico Duo", which means "Henry (II) the Second".
The quick explanation is because the England squad wears three lions as the Football Association's insignia. England's national team has worn three lions since their first international match against Scotland in 1872. The term "three lions" first appeared in print in an article in the Sportsman newspaper in London on 3 November 1872.
But the story behind the nickname is much more interesting. The term "lion" when used to describe a player would usually refer to William ("Billy") Rose, who played for England between 1895 and 1909. However, there are other players who have been known as "the Lion" during their career - such as Albert ("Albie") Ratcliff, George Humbert, Fred Keenor, and Harry Kitchin. None of these players were actually covered in real lions but rather they used figurines of lions or photographs of lions as plates/counters on the front of their shirts.
It was only after Billy Rose retired that another player began to be referred to as "the Third Lion". This time it was actually a reference to England's upcoming third World Cup tournament. In 1948, the year before England's first game at the new Wembley Stadium, the London Evening Standard published an article titled "The Third Lion Will Come".
The England football squad is known as "The Three Lions in the English Flag." The Football Association, abbreviated for The Three Lions, is the team's association, while UEFA is its confederation (Europa). For the countries, England qualified for the FIFA World Cup.
England has been playing international football since 1872, and its biggest achievement to date is being one of only two nations to have won the World Cup, the other being Italy. It is also the only European nation to have achieved this feat. The England squad that won the world cup in 1966 was called "The Greatest Team of All Time" by some critics and journalists. The current England manager is Gareth Southgate, who was appointed in August 2016 after Roy Hodgson resigned following a series of poor results at the end of his only season in charge.
Before 1872, various associations played match against each other with rules different from today's football. These early football games are considered to be the first official matches between national teams. In fact, although not recognized by any governing body at the time, these matches formed the basis of the modern game we know today. In 1872, Charles Wreford-Brown, the president of the Cambridge University Football Club, sent a letter to the editor of a newspaper calling for a new football team to be created to play against Oxford University. This letter started a process that led to the formation of the Football Association.
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