More than 21 million English-speaking Americans watched Thomas Tuchel’s England team beat Mexico 3-2 in the World Cup’s round of 16 last Sunday. It was the largest English-language World Cup broadcast in U.S. history that did not feature the USMNT.As the 48-team field which arrived at this World Cup shrinks, England has emerged as a favorite with American audiences.TFrom post-match renditions of Oasis’ Wonderwall to the passion displayed after that win at the Estadio Azteca, England has captured the attention of many — unless you happen to support their bitter rival, Scotland.So, The Athletic has compiled a beginner’s guide to this England team carrying the hopes and anxieties of a nation which thoroughly believes ‘football’s coming home’.Why did the Mexico game mean so much?It was a win to secure England’s third consecutive men’s World Cup quarterfinal, but the victory felt monumental.English soccer has a history of being robust and direct in style, with modern principles bringing more flow. Against Mexico, they showed all of that in one, in the team’s first genuinely impressive performance of the tournament, having reached the round of 16 unconvincingly.Jarell Quansah’s red card meant England played for over 40 minutes with a man less than home team Mexico, surviving a barrage of 13 shots at goal and only having 28 percent of possession in the second half, but held out for the victory.The tension gripped England fans at home – in the middle of the night. (Alishia Abodunde/Getty Images)That game kicked off at 2am Monday in England, as supporters watched their countrymen play with grit and chemistry in various weird and wonderful ways, an experience for the ages.What are the expectations of England fans?England hosts the planet’s biggest domestic soccer league and has produced some of the sport’s best players, but that has not translated into glory for 60 long years.The Premier League is the most-represented league at the tournament with 154 players (Spain’s La Liga is next with 94), but the influx of foreign signings has changed the game domestically. There are more Englishmen than ever playing for clubs abroad, too, with five of coach Tuchel’s squad now based away from their homeland.The only major tournament win for England’s men’s team was in 1966, when it hosted and won the World Cup (the women’s side, in contrast, is a two-time European champion, winning in 2022 and 2025), a pinnacle that 14 managers have subsequently failed to replicate.England forged a consistent knack of losing penalty shootouts, exiting six tournaments via this route between 1990 and 2012, and its ‘Golden generation’ in the 2000s, containing players including Wayne Rooney, Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard, never made it past the quarter-finals, even failing to qualify for the 2008 Euros.