England has also been a country of migration – but only in recent times, as people from all over the world and especially from Britain’s former colonies have moved there. Many players are now second or third generation immigrants.
This means that England needs to change its concept of national identity.
Sundar Katwala, director of diversity and inclusivity think tank British Future, said, “I think, very deeply, the English football team over the last half century has changed the cultural and social norms of who we think are English.”
Historians say that after England’s only World Cup victory in 1966, and after the Second World War, which cast a long shadow, a sense of identity initially came from nostalgic nationalism and standing alone against the enemy.
Suspicion of foreigners persisted in the 1990s. Hooliganism was a persistent problem, and references to the war still abound.
For Katwala, the Euro 1996 tournament held in England was a transformative moment, helped by the oft-sung (and sometimes mocked) “football’s homecoming” lyric from the Three Lions song.