Whenever the England national team plays poorly, the old chestnut of an inability to maintain possession is aired once again.
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He is also a regular in the England national team and scored as England beat Switzerland 3-1 in a Euro 2012 qualifying match on Tuesday - his first international goal in more than a year.
It is often said that the Premier League is the best and most exciting league in the world - but if the England national team is not qualifying for a major tournament can that really be said to be true?
Thanks to mentoring from former Miami Heat center Manute Bol, Deng honed the skills that helped him shine for the England national team -- his family received political asylum in London -- which prompted a move to the United States and the first steps to a glorious future.
"English players aren't scoring goals because there aren't enough of them playing regularly in the Premier League, " said John Barnes, a former Liverpool and England national-team player.
In that sense, he may be the perfect candidate for his latest post: Manager of England's national team.
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David Beckham's move to the Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer last summer was a big score for U.S. soccer and an even bigger one for the former captain of England's national team.
But the 34-year-old midfielder could not hide his desire to be part of Fabio Capello's England revolution with his national team on the brink of qualification for next year's finals.
Everyone in England is asking why the national team is not winning.
The national team toured England for the first time last month, winning five of its six matches - including all three against the second XIs of Glamorgan, Leicestershire and Essex.
The following year he got the England job and announced that the national team would win the World Cup in 1966.
On Monday, King won his 20th England cap when he played for the national team for the first time in nearly three years in the 3-1 win against Mexico at Wembley, marking his return by putting Capello's side in front.
Robinson played as a flanker for England and replaced Clive Woodward as coach of the national team in October 2004 but had a difficult 25 months in the post.
Rooney played for England against Switzerland following the allegations and scored in the national team's 3-1 victory in the Euro 2012 qualifier.
National coach Powell, a midfielder in the England team when Smith made her debut, paid tribute to arguably the country's greatest female player.
But Bracewell, who is scheduled to bring the Kiwis on tour here next year, believes England should take a leaf out of the national rugby union team's book.
That will bring an end to hopes for those who either wanted a national stadium in the Midlands or for the England team to stay on the road for their internationals.
Eriksson, the former England coach, is currently coach of Mexico's national team but is facing an uncertain future if they fail to beat USA in a vital World Cup qualifier on Wednesday.
Terry's punishment came just days after he announced his retirement from international football, claiming that England's governing body had made his position within the national team "untenable".
New England boss McClaren is set to name the new captain of the national team on Friday.
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However, England fans have been frustrated by Lampard's performances for the national team, where he struggles to make an impact alongside Liverpool's Steven Gerrard.
Lewsey is the ninth member of England's 2003 World Cup-winning team to retire from national duty, although only Phil Vickery remains actively involved with Jonny Wilkinson injured and Mike Tindall, Ben Cohen, Steve Thompson and Ben Kay out of favour.
He missed England's final Euro 2008 qualifier against Croatia in November as the national team failed to earn the draw they needed to reach next summer's finals.
Since leaving England after the 2006 World Cup, he managed Manchester City and the Mexican national team and most recently was director of football at Notts County.
Goodwin, who scored a century against England in the second Test last month, is touring the country with the national team but will return with his wife to Perth in August citing personal reasons for the move.
On Saturday he said the national curriculum for primary schools in England would be rewritten with an explicit reference to competitive team sports.
It is some turnaround for a man who, less than three years ago, was ridiculed as the 'wally with the brolly' in the wake of a shambolic 3-2 defeat by Croatia , which meant England failed to qualify for Euro 2008 and McClaren was sacked after only 19 months in charge of the national team.
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