“海峡上漂着雾,大陆被隔离了”,这是爱德华七世时代一张报纸上的大字标题。它简明扼要指出了当时不列颠的岛国性质和它的孤独位置。这种境况部分地延续到了今天。自从国际足联成立之日起,到进入九十年代,联合王国作为一个统一的国家出现,却拥有4支国家足球劲旅,球队的队员们用同样的护照旅行,用同样 “The Strait is flooded with fog and the continent is isolated.” This is a headline on a newspaper in Edwardian times. It succinctly pointed out the nature of the island nation of Britain at the time and its lonely position. This situation continues in part today. Since the founding of FIFA in the 90s, the United Kingdom has emerged as a unified country with four national soccer teams, team members traveling on the same passport,