England's football team has a stunning 76% win rate since Sir Keir Starmer became Prime Minister, according to data experts OptaJoe. The statistic emerged after a viral exchange on X, where Starmer taunted Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre following England's 2-1 quarter-final win over Norway on Saturday night.
After the match, Starmer posted: "Norway 1 2 Jude Bellingham. @JonasGahrStore, your boys took one hell of a beating." This was a deliberate callback to Norwegian commentator Bjørge Lillelien's legendary 1981 rant after Norway beat England 2-1, where he shouted: "Maggie Thatcher, can you hear me? Your boys took one hell of a beating!"
OptaJoe's Data Revelation
OptaJoe, known for ultra-specific football statistics, revealed that England have won 76% of matches since Starmer became PM (22 out of 29). They wrote: "76% England have won 76% of matches since Sir Keir Starmer became Prime Minister (22/29). That's the best win ratio England have had under any serving Prime Minister in history. Statesman."
The figure includes friendlies, qualifiers, and tournament matches. Fans were divided, with one commenting: "The fixture list doing heavy lifting there." Another wrote: "Starmer inheriting England's best prime-ministerial win rate might be Opta's finest abuse of statistics yet." A third said: "Starmer's 76% win ratio is the most pointless but brilliant stat in football rn."
Historical Context
Starmer's banter flipped the historic insult from 1981 into revenge banter. The original rant by Lillelien is one of football's most famous moments, and Starmer's callback was a deliberate reference. OptaJoe's stat underscores the team's success under his tenure, though critics note the sample size and fixture difficulty.
