England have enjoyed plenty of memorable moments at the FIFA World Cup, but their history is just as often defined by painful exits and missed opportunities. Whether through penalty shootout heartbreak or shock defeats to underdogs, the Three Lions have developed an unwanted reputation for falling short when expectations are at their highest.
As Thomas Tuchel’s side prepare to face Mexico in the Round of 16 on Sunday night, with a place in the quarter-finals at stake, England will be determined to avoid adding another chapter to that list, and you can check out the Mexico vs England odds ahead of the game. Before attention turns to the knockout clash, here’s a look back at some of England’s biggest World Cup bottle jobs.
Italia 90 Semi-Final, West Germany (lost 4-3 on Penalties)
England’s best World Cup since 1966 ended in Turin, and for once, the exit was genuinely not their fault. Paul Parker scored an own goal in the 60th minute, though it was credited to Andreas Brehme, to put West Germany in front. B Gary Lineker’s 81st minute goal drew England level to force extra time. After 120 minutes, the score remained 1-1, and the game went to penalties. Stuart Pearce and Chris Waddle both missed from the spot, and England lost 4-3 on spot kicks.
When Paul Gascoigne picked up a booking that would have ruled him out of a potential final, the realisation hit him in real time, and the tears that followed belonged to the whole country. This was an England team good enough to go all the way, beaten by the most arbitrary process in football.
2018 World Cup Semi-Final, Croatia (Lost 2-1 after Extra Time)
Trippier scored in the fifth minute, and England were the better side for long stretches. However, Croatia, who’s previous two games had gone to penalties, kept finding something extra. Ivan Perisic equalised, Mario Mandzukic won it in extra time, and England’s first World Cup semi-final in 28 years ended without ceremony. Croatia were better when it counted, which is the most frustrating kind of exit because there is nobody obvious to blame.
2022 World Cup Quarter-Final, France (Lost 2-1)
France took the lead in the 17th minute thanks to Aurelien Tchouameni’s 25-yard strike. Harry Kane equalised in the second half after scoring a penalty that showed exactly the composure that makes him England’s best striker of his generation. Olivier Giroud found the net for France to put them ahead once again.
Kane was awarded a second spot kick, with England one goal down in the 84th minute and a chance to level right there, but his effort blazed over the crossbar. France held on, and England went home in the quarter-final.
1998 World Cup Round of 16, Argentina (Lost 4-3 on Penalties)
Argentina went ahead early through a Gabriel Batistuta penalty, England equalised through Alan Shearer from the spot, and then Michael Owen scored a goal at 18 that people are still describing nearly three decades later, cutting through Argentina’s defence with a directness that made it look entirely inevitable. Javier Zanetti pulled it back to 2-2 just before half-time, and that’s where it stayed through ninety minutes and extra time.
Then there was David Beckham. Lying on the ground after a foul from Diego Simeone, he flicked a boot at his opponent in a moment of petulance rather than aggression and got sent off for it. England played on with ten men for the rest of the game, still forced a penalty shootout, and still went out, Argentina winning 4-3, with David Batty’s miss the one that ended it.
2002 World Cup Quarter-Final, Brazil (Lost 2-1)
England took the lead in the quarter-final through Michael Owen, who finished in the 23rd minute at the Shizuoka Stadium, continuing a tournament in which he and Rivaldo had both been among the standout forwards. Brazil drew level right before half time through Rivaldo, and Ronaldinho then put them ahead just after the break, floating a free kick from wide on the right over David Seaman, who had drifted marginally off his line.
Ronaldinho was sent off ten minutes later, leaving England to spend the final half hour chasing an equaliser against ten men without ever managing it. That is a particular kind of frustration in football: the numerical advantage arrives, but the finishing touch does not.
2010 World Cup Round of 16, Germany (Lost 4-1)
Few moments capture England’s capacity for heartbreak quite like Frank Lampard’s ghost goal against Germany in 2010. With England trailing 2-1, Lampard’s shot from outside the area struck the underside of the bar and bounced a foot over the line, visibly, obviously, conclusively over the line. Goal-line technology had not yet been introduced at the top level of the game, the officials missed it, and what should have been 2-2 was waved away.
England had hauled themselves level and had it taken from them in a single moment of administrative failure. Germany then scored twice more to finish the job thoroughly, and England went home having lost 4-1 in a game they were, at one point, genuinely in. Moments like that still shape how fans weigh up today match odds football when England are involved, wary that a scoreline can turn on something outside the players’ control. The technology that would have caught it in seconds was introduced to the Premier League two years later.
2006 World Cup Quarter-Final, Portugal (Lost 3-1 on Penalties)
Rooney was sent off for stamping on Ricardo Carvalho, and Cristiano Ronaldo, then his Manchester United teammate, ran to the referee before turning to the camera and winking, producing one of the most recognisable images in England tournament history.
The game finished 0-0 after 120 minutes of ten-against-eleven football, and in the shootout, Carragher had his penalty saved, was allowed to retake it for encroachment, and had it saved again. England had Beckham, Gerrard, Lampard, and Ferdinand in that squad and achieved essentially nothing with any of them combined, which is the enduring story of the golden generation.
