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England A Combined 22-5-3 Against Euro Opponents

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England were handed a favourable draw this morning for their qualification, so how have England done historically against their opponents.

Mike Hewitt

With 24 teams now taking part in Euro 2016, the chances of England qualifying is very good. When the draw was made, the chances of England qualifying were even better, as only Switzerland have ever taken any points off England in competitive fixtures.

Switzerland

England's All Time Record: Played 22, Won 14, Drawn 5, Lost 3

Switzerland present the greatest test for Roy Hodgson's men. In fact Switzerland are unbeaten in their last 8 fixtures, which includes 6 World Cup qualifying games. However you will need to go back to 1981 to find the last time Switzerland beat England. However with the likes of Blerim Dzemaili and Bayern Munich's Xherdan Shaqiri they are bound to cause a few problems for England. England and Switzerland last met in the qualification round for the 2012 European Championships. England beat Switzerland 3-1 away and drew 2-2 at home. England qualified for from the group where as Switzerland were left trailing in 3rd behind Montenegro.

Slovenia

England's All Time Record: Played 2, Won 2, Drawn 0, Lost 0

Slovenia are not a team England have played regularly, last meeting at the 2010 World Cup where England laboured to a 1-0 victory thanks to an early Defoe goal. Although England were never really troubled, Slovenia made it very difficult and England's lack of pace or creativity caused issues. The only other meeting came in a friendly international in 2009 that England won 2-1. Slovenia don't have many household names, however if you watch Italian football you may be familiar with Milan midfielder Valta Birsa or Inter keeper Samir Handanovic. You would expect to pick up points against Slovenia home and away, but it won't be a walk in the park.

Estonia

England's All Time Record: Played 2, Won 2, Drawn 0, Lost 0

Similar to Slovenia, England have not faced Estonia all that much. In fact they have only met each other during qualification for the 2008 European Championships, a tournament England missed out on after failing to qualify behind Russia and Croatia. Despite this, England beat Estonia both home and away. On both occasions winning 3-0. If you recognise a single name in the Estonia team, then you are a true football fan. For us here in England, the only player we may recognise if we paid attention to lower league football is York City midfielder Sander Puri who has made 54 appearances for the National team.

Lithuania

England's All Time Record: Played 0, Won 0, Drawn 0, Lost 0

Here is a really interesting one. England have never faced Lithuania, not in any qualification groups and not even in a World Cup, so this is something new for everyone. Off the Baltic sea, this Northern European territory failed to qualify for the World Cup only winning 3 of their 10 fixtures in what was a favourable group. Lithuania has never qualified for a major tournament, up until the 90's it was part of the Soviet Union, but since independence it has not qualified. Leeds defender Marius Zaliukas may be the only familiar name. Again England will be expected to pick up points both home and away.

San Marino

England's All Time Record: Played 4, Won 4, Drawn 0, Lost 0

San Marino, the minnows of the group is a micro-state surrounded by Italy, San Marino like Lithuania have never qualified for a major tournament, but like Lithuania, it is relatively new to the footballing World stage. England have beaten San Marino 8-0, 5-0, 7-1 and 6-0 in the games they have played and they will heavily fancy their chances of beating them again. Most of the San Marino players are part time playing in either San Marino or the lower reaches of Italian football. In the 2010 qualification period, San Marino played 10 and lost 10, conceding 53 goals and not registering a single goal themselves.