England at the World Cup

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Football · England at the World Cup Cheat Sheet

Every England match at a World Cup final tournament, 1950–2026 — result, scorers, and how each tournament ended. Qualifiers not included. England entered 17 of the 23 tournaments held; missed 1930/34/38 (not FIFA members at the time), 1974/78/94 (failed to qualify).

1950 (Brazil)Eliminated — group stage

ChileW 2–0 — Mortensen, Mannion

USAL 0–1 — one of the great World Cup upsets

SpainL 0–1

1954 (Switzerland)Eliminated — quarter-final

BelgiumD 4–4 (a.e.t.) — Broadis 2, Lofthouse 2

SwitzerlandW 2–0 — Mullen, Wilshaw

Uruguay (QF)L 2–4 — Lofthouse, Finney

Unusual format: only 2 group games each, and draws went to extra time even in the group stage.

1958 (Sweden)Eliminated — group stage (play-off)

USSRD 2–2 — Kevan, Finney (pen)

BrazilD 0–0

AustriaD 2–2 — Haynes, Kevan

USSR (play-off)L 0–1 — tie-break for 2nd place

1962 (Chile)Eliminated — quarter-final

HungaryL 1–2 — Flowers (pen)

ArgentinaW 3–1 — Flowers (pen), Charlton, Greaves

BulgariaD 0–0

Brazil (QF)L 1–3 — Hitchens

1966 (England)🏆 CHAMPIONS

UruguayD 0–0

MexicoW 2–0 — Charlton, Hunt

FranceW 2–0 — Hunt 2

Argentina (QF)W 1–0 — Hurst

Portugal (SF)W 2–1 — Charlton 2

West Germany (F)W 4–2 (a.e.t.) — Hurst hat-trick, Peters

1970 (Mexico)Eliminated — quarter-final

RomaniaW 1–0 — Hurst

BrazilL 0–1

CzechoslovakiaW 1–0 — Clarke (pen)

West Germany (QF)L 2–3 (a.e.t.) — Mullery, Peters; led 2–0 before the collapse

1974 & 1978Did not qualify

Two of only three tournaments (with 1994) England have failed to qualify for since rejoining FIFA in 1946.

1982 (Spain)Eliminated — second group stage

FranceW 3–1 — Robson 2, Mariner

CzechoslovakiaW 2–0 — Francis, og

KuwaitW 1–0 — Francis

West GermanyD 0–0

SpainD 0–0

Unusual format: a 3-team second group stage, not a single-match knockout — only the group winner advanced. England won every match they could (5 games, undefeated) but still went out on results.

1986 (Mexico)Eliminated — quarter-final

PortugalL 0–1

MoroccoD 0–0

PolandW 3–0 — Lineker hat-trick

Paraguay (R16)W 3–0 — Lineker 2, Beardsley

Argentina (QF)L 1–2 — Lineker; Maradona's "Hand of God" and "Goal of the Century," same match

1990 (Italy)Fourth place

IrelandD 1–1 — Lineker

NetherlandsD 0–0

EgyptW 1–0 — Wright

Belgium (R16)W 1–0 (a.e.t.) — Platt, 119th minute

Cameroon (QF)W 3–2 (a.e.t.) — Platt, Lineker 2 (pens)

West Germany (SF)D 1–1 (a.e.t.), lost 3–4 pens — Lineker; Pearce & Waddle missed their spot-kicks

Italy (3rd place)L 1–2 — Platt

1994Did not qualify

The one time England missed a World Cup they'd have been reigning semi-finalists for.

1998 (France)Eliminated — Round of 16

TunisiaW 2–0 — Shearer, Scholes

RomaniaL 1–2 — Owen

ColombiaW 2–0 — Anderton, Beckham

Argentina (R16)D 2–2 (a.e.t.), lost 3–4 pens — Shearer (pen), Owen (the famous solo run)

Beckham was sent off for kicking out at Simeone — England played most of the match with 10 men. Ince and Batty missed in the shootout.

2002 (S. Korea/Japan)Eliminated — quarter-final

SwedenD 1–1 — Campbell

ArgentinaW 1–0 — Beckham (pen)

NigeriaD 0–0

Denmark (R16)W 3–0 — Ferdinand, Owen, Heskey

Brazil (QF)L 1–2 — Owen

2006 (Germany)Eliminated — quarter-final

ParaguayW 1–0 — og

Trinidad & TobagoW 2–0 — Crouch, Gerrard

SwedenD 2–2 — J. Cole, Gerrard

Ecuador (R16)W 1–0 — Beckham (free kick)

Portugal (QF)D 0–0 (a.e.t.), lost 1–3 pens — only Hargreaves scored; Lampard, Gerrard & Carragher missed

Rooney was sent off for a stamp on Carvalho — England played extra time with 10 men.

2010 (South Africa)Eliminated — Round of 16

USAD 1–1 — Gerrard

AlgeriaD 0–0

SloveniaW 1–0 — Defoe

Germany (R16)L 1–4 — Upson; England's heaviest-ever World Cup defeat, plus the disallowed Lampard "over the line" goal

2014 (Brazil)Eliminated — group stage

ItalyL 1–2 — Sturridge

UruguayL 1–2 — Rooney

Costa RicaD 0–0

First group-stage exit for England since 1958.

2018 (Russia)Fourth place

TunisiaW 2–1 — Kane 2

PanamaW 6–1 — Stones 2, Kane 3 (2 pens), Lingard

BelgiumL 0–1

Colombia (R16)D 1–1 (a.e.t.), won 4–3 pens — Kane (pen); England's first-ever World Cup shootout win

Sweden (QF)W 2–0 — Maguire, Alli

Croatia (SF)L 1–2 (a.e.t.) — Trippier, early free kick

Belgium (3rd place)L 0–2

2022 (Qatar)Eliminated — quarter-final

IranW 6–2 — Bellingham, Saka 2, Sterling, Rashford, Grealish

USAD 0–0

WalesW 3–0 — Rashford 2, Foden

Senegal (R16)W 3–0 — Henderson, Kane, Saka

France (QF)L 1–2 — Kane (pen); missed a second penalty that would have leveled it

2026 (USA/Canada/Mexico)Third place

CroatiaW 4–2 — Kane 2 (1 pen), Bellingham, Rashford

GhanaD 0–0

PanamaW 2–0 — Bellingham, Kane

DR Congo (R32)W 2–1 — Kane 2, came from behind

Mexico (R16)W 3–2 — Bellingham 2, Kane (pen); 10 men from the 54th minute

Norway (QF)W 2–1 (a.e.t.) — Bellingham 2, incl. a 93rd-minute winner

Argentina (SF)L 1–2 — Gordon

France (3rd place)W 6–4 — Rice, Konsa, Saka hat-trick (1 pen), Bellingham

First tournament with a Round of 32 — the expansion to 48 teams added an extra knockout round.

Records & Patterns

Only title1966, as hosts

Best other finishes4th (1990, 2018), 3rd (2026)

Quarter-final exits7 times — 1954, '62, '70, '86, 2002, '06, '22

Shootout recordLost 1990, '98, '06 — won 2018 (first-ever)

Missed entirely1974, 1978, 1994 (plus pre-FIFA-membership 1930/34/38)

Format changed more than once — "quarter-final" isn't always literal

Not every England exit above was a clean single-match knockout round the word "quarter-final" implies today. 1954 gave every team only 2 group games, with draws settled by extra time. 1982 replaced the usual knockout bracket with 3-team mini-leagues — England went undefeated in all 5 matches that tournament and still didn't advance, because only the group winner went through. 1958's exit came via a straight play-off match for 2nd place, not a defeat in a "real" knockout tie. Where the format genuinely differs from the modern bracket, the note under that tournament says so rather than forcing it into a label that would overstate how it actually worked.