England Revert Back to Where They Were

Sweden still smiles at England's relatively new self-proclaimed nickname.

Those Scandinavian sides have been known asTre Kronor -- Three Crowns -- for decades, to the point that it's a virtual Swedish calling card.

To see the Pommies adapt that term -- based on its national emblem -- is still an amusement for many. It sorta makes them the sporting version of hermit crabs.

But Three Lions or not, the lads from England turned kitten so fast in their latest friendly that the Swedes might do a Texas A&M and send a cease-&-desist letter.

It would have to be considered on the basis of their play in this one. The Netherlands side has been shaky enough lately, but they showed less incompetence than their hosts, and that was enough to return from Wembley with a 1-2 result.

England isn't even an afterthought in the upcoming Euro 2016 tournament and the Dutch didn't even quality, but still, both continue to be regarded as top-flight international brands.

Maybe that's why more and more consumers look for the generic stuff. Or at least something close.

At first, it looked like they were going to follow on from the spark of motivation they showed against the Germans.

England did get the perfect start they needed, though, as white-hot Jamie Vardy scored again for his country:

Who knew that England could play Barcelona-like football?

The only problem is, Barça can do it for an entire match.

So, just when things were getting good for England, things turned quickly. Vincent Janssen converted a penalty with a bit of pinache:

That's actually world-class stuff.

Sloppiness then struck the entire English defense, as the Netherlands scored an easy one through Luciano Narsingh.

A deflating setback for the Three Stooges Lions before the Euros.

Meanwhile, the Dutch may be watch the competion on TV this summer, but at least they got a lovely parting gift here.

It's sometimes hard in this day and age to remember that England invented the game.