The phrase 'England expects' trotted out regularly by football journalists is an allusion to the famous phrase signalled by Admiral Lord Nelson to the British fleet of warships on the eve of the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, "England expects that every man will do his duty".
For this year's Euro 2012 championships, however, there have been some amusing headlines based on the phrase. I don't know anything about football, but I need read no further than these headlines to get an idea of the England team's reputation:
England expects? Not this time (Reuters)
As Euro 2012 kicks off, England expects ... not very much (Guardian)
England expects ... too much (Financial Times)
Under Roy Hodgson England expects, well, nothing ... (Daily Telegraph)
England expects ... very little (Daily Mirror)
England may not expect but Rooney expects nothing less (The Sun)
and many more.
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