The Anatomy of England

'[A] thought-provoking reappraisal of ten key games in England's football history ... this book should be required reading for all future England squads' INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

A definitive history of England's national team told through 10 key football matches, from the award-winning author of Inverting the Pyramid

'MASTERFUL' TimeOut
'GREAT' Financial Times
'ABSORBING' FourFourTwo
'THOUGHT-PROVOKING' Independent on Sunday
'ENTERTAINING' When Saturday Comes

Having invented the game, everything that has followed for England and its national football team has been something of an anti-climax. There was, of course, the golden summer of 1966, and the great period of English dominance on the world stage, which fell roughly between 1886 and 1900, when England won 35 of their 40 international fixtures. But before long foreign teams, with their insistence on progressive 'tactics', began to pose a few questions. And much of what followed for England constituted a series of false dawns...

In THE ANATOMY OF ENGLAND, Jonathan Wilson seeks to place the bright spots in context. Taking ten key England fixtures, Wilson explores how what actually happened on the pitch shaped the future of the English game.

Bursting with insight and critical detail, yet imbued with a wry affection, this is a history of England like none before.