I could never understand why England was allowed to field a separate team from the UK for the World Cup; it would be like California having it’s own team. Never understood that...
Scotland, Wales and NI all do so as well.
Scotland esp have appeared in several World Cups (1954, 1958, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1998). Wales in 1958, NI in 1958, 1982 and 1986.
And every WC, all four nations are part of the qualifying rounds.
Dude, i’m still trying to figure out the english muffin. But I suppose it lies in the fact that the UK is a nation of precidents without the burdens of a written constitution (wry smile included). So how come the Scots get their own parliment along with representation in the British Parliment? That’s how it shakes out, i guess.