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Not checking, not knowing. Once checked, it's surprising. Did you know England has 24 levels of football leagues? I once thought it was only the Premier League, Championship, League One, and League Two, with at most League Two as the fourth tier. It seems I was uninformed. The well-known leagues like the Premier League, Championship, League One, League Two, and the fifth-tier National League are considered national leagues. The National League comprises 24 teams, with 18 retained from the previous season, 2 relegated from the previous League Two, 2 promoted from the previous National League North, and 2 promoted from the previous National League South. The season consists of 46 rounds.
England has won the World Cup twice, in 1966 and 2004. Despite their dominance in the qualifying rounds, they tend to falter in the final stages. Considering the foundational status of this country, with only two World Cup victories, it seems England's football talent is not as superior as some American or European teams.
Watching matches in the English Football League (EFL) is daunting. In the FA Cup, teams from the National League, the fifth tier, can defeat teams from the Championship. It's reminiscent of Bayern Munich's shocking defeat in the DFB-Pokal. However, such matches often involve either match-fixing or prearranged results. With so many teams, is football a significant component of England's economy? The Premier League alone has 20 teams, and adding the others makes it at least a couple of hundred. However, recent performance suggests that English players' talent may not match the hype, and the football economy seems to be driven more by spectacle than substance. Even Brazilian players are experiencing a downturn; for example, Manchester United's Anthony Martial. The upcoming World Cup might see England underperforming again. |
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