England are?

[sezamek]

"England are doing well" I've heard this many times when discussing football..
shouldn't it be England is doing well? isn't team a collective noun and should be used "is' with it?

[billmcd]

"England are doing well" I've heard this many times when discussing football..
shouldn't it be England is doing well? isn't team a collective noun and should be used "is' with it?

I can't speak for BrE speakers, but I would use "is" as an AmE speaker.

[Chicken Sandwich]

"England are doing well" I've heard this many times when discussing football..
shouldn't it be England is doing well? isn't team a collective noun and should be used "is' with it?

No, in BrE, it is common to use a plural verb form in conjuction with a collective noun. See:

In British English, it is generally accepted that collective nouns can take either singular or plural verb forms depending on the context and the metonymic shift that it implies. For example, "the team is in the dressing room" (formal agreement) refers to the team as an ensemble, whilst "the team are fighting among themselves" (notional agreement) refers to the team as individuals. This is also British English practice with names of countries and cities in sports contexts; for example, "Germany have won the competition.", "Madrid have lost three consecutive matches.", etc.

Collective noun - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[birdeen's call]

It is most definitely "England is doing well" as opposed to the former, unless it's some sort of pun or inside joke that I've never heard before :-/

No, it's neither a pun nor an inside joke. It's just British English.

[5jj]

It is most definitely "England is doing well" as opposed to the former, unless it's some sort of pun or inside joke that I've never heard before :-/

Read post #3.

[Natalie1991]

As an Am English speaker, I would say "England is doing well". You are right, England is collective, so 'is' should be used with it... But that is just for AmE.