Having featured at the World Cup on no less than seventeen separate occasions, England have contributed significantly to its long and proud history.
As they weren’t affiliated with FIFA between 1928 and 1946 due to a dispute regarding the payment of amateur players, England were absent for the first three editions of the tournament. However, following their debut in Brazil almost eight decades ago, the Three Lions have qualified for all but three World Cups. Although they’ve only once been crowned world champions, England continue to reach the competition’s latter stages on a regular basis.
After being eliminated by France last time out, Thomas Tuchel’s men are amongst the favourites to secure silverware in North America. With the likes of Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham, Declan Rice, and Bukayo Saka in their ranks, few nations will relish the prospect of facing England when the tournament commences in June.
As attention begins to turn to England’s latest attempt to win football’s greatest prize, let’s delve into the country’s World Cup history…..
Record-breakers
An extensive list of gifted footballers have donned the famous white jersey on the greatest stage of them all, but who are England’s leading goalscorers and appearance makers at the World Cup?
Most appearances – Peter Shilton
No Englishman has made more World Cup appearances than Peter Shilton, who earned 17 of his staggering 125 caps at FIFA’s most prestigious international competition. Shilton also holds the joint-record for the most World Cup clean sheets, having registered 10 shut-outs alongside French stopper Fabien Barthez.
The former Nottingham Forest ace made his World Cup bow in 1982, where he conceded just one goal in his five starts. After being beaten by France’s Gérard Soler at the San Mamés on matchday one, ‘Shilts’ prevented Czechoslovakia, Kuwait, Germany, and Spain from scoring before his country’s elimination at the conclusion of the second group stage.
It was a similar story four years later in Mexico, letting in a solitary goal – during England’s narrow defeat to Portugal at the Estadio Tecnológico – en route to the last eight of the competition. Diego Maradona then breached Shilton’s net twice, infamously punching the ball home to ‘hand’ Argentina an early second-half lead before ironically scoring one of the greatest goals in history four minutes later.
Despite having celebrated his 40th birthday a little less than nine months before the 1990 World Cup, Shilton was still able to perform at his imperious best in his capacity as England’s captain and number one. The two-time European Cup winner kept three clean sheets in Italy, keeping the Netherlands, Egypt, and Belgium at bay in a consecutive run of matches. However, he failed to save a single penalty as the Three Lions were agonisingly beaten by Germany in the semi-final shootout.
Frequent contributors
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are set to rip up the record books when they attend their sixth World Cup this summer, but there are surprisingly no players who have represented England in more than three editions of the tournament.
Bobby Moore, Bobby Charlton, Terry Butcher, and Ashley Cole registered just three fewer appearances than Peter Shilton, while there are several active players with plenty of World Cup experience. Harry Maguire, Jordan Pickford, and John Stones have all made 12 outings across two separate tournaments, so would need England to deliver a positive 2026 campaign in order to challenge the legendary goalkeeper’s long-standing record.
Most goals – Gary Lineker
Having registered 10 goals in just 12 World Cup appearances, Gary Lineker remains England’s all-time top scorer in the competition. The ex-Spurs star was prolific throughout the entirety of his international career, netting on no less than 48 occasions for his country.
After being unable to find his way onto the scoresheet in either of his first two outings at the 1986 World Cup, Gary Lineker more than made amends in the Three Lions’ final group stage game. Within 36 astonishing first-half minutes, Lineker fired three times past Polish ‘keeper Józef Młynarczyk to become the first English player to record a World Cup hat-trick since Geoff Hurst’s famous treble three decades earlier. He then bagged a brace against Paraguay in the last sixteen, before heading home a late consolation in the immediate aftermath of Maradona’s memorable antics at the Azteca.
It didn’t take Lineker anywhere near as long to open his account in Italy, scoring for a fourth consecutive World Cup match by breaking the deadlock against Ireland. Following his eighth-minute opener in Cagliari, he would later claim three crucial goals in the knockout stages. The lethal frontman clinically converted a couple of penalties to ensure England squeezed past a dogged Cameroonian outfit, before snatching a late equalizer in that gutting semi-final defeat to Germany at the Stadio Delle Alpi.
A rising contender
Nestled just behind Lineker in England’s World Cup scoring charts is current captain Harry Kane, who overtook Wayne Rooney to become the Three Lions’ overall leading marksman back in 2023. The Bayern Munich ace has struck eight goals on World Cup duty, so could well eclipse Lineker’s tally by the conclusion of this year’s tournament.
On the same day England delivered their biggest ever World Cup victory, Kane joined Gary Lineker and Geoff Hurst as the latest member of a very exclusive club. Having already netted two penalties to help power Gareth Southgate’s outfit into a 5-0 half-time over Panama – the first time any country had achieved this feat in a World Cup contest since Poland’s hammering of Haiti in 1974 – Kane completed his hat-trick with a deflected effort just after the hour mark. A late Felipe Baloy provided a small crumb of comfort for the Panamanians, but England would go on to celebrate an emphatic 6-1 triumph.
Interestingly, only one of England’s top ten World Cup goalscorers have featured at three World Cups, with sixth-ranked David Beckham finding the net in France, Japan, and Germany.
Award Winners
The following World Cup awards have been distributed to the England national team:
FIFA Fair Play Award: 1990, 1998 (shared with France), 2022
World Cup: 1966
The following World Cup awards have been distributed to England players:
Golden Ball: Bobby Charlton (1966)
Silver Ball: Bobby Moore (1966)
Golden Boot: Gary Lineker – 6 goals/5 appearances (1986), Harry Kane – 6 goals/6 appearances (2018)
Bronze Boot: Geoff Hurst – 4 goals/3 appearances (1966)
Best Young Player: Michael Owen (1998)
Oldest World Cup captain: Peter Shilton (40 years and 292 days old – England vs. Italy, Third Place Playoff, July 1990)
England’s World Cup Journey
While their successful 1966 campaign understandably dominates the narrative when reflecting on England’s World Cup exploits, there are plenty of other memorable moments to digest.
Due to the nature of the World Cup – which pits the strongest international teams on the planet against one another in a brutal knockout format – frequent and heartbreaking failure in this competition is part and parcel of many countries’ footballing history. However, England’s past World Cup experiences are arguably a little more traumatic than most. Whether it be Maradona’s Hand of God, Gazza’s tears, or seemingly endless penalty shootout misery, there have been a series of painful episodes for England fans to endure.
We take a whirlwind tour through England’s World Cup journey, charting their performances from that maiden appearance in Brazil almost 76 years ago, to a familiar quarter-final exit during the most recent edition of the tournament in Qatar.
1950 – Brazil
Having been appointed as England’s first-ever manager four years earlier after the FA decided to dilute the role of their ‘International Selection Committee,’ Walter Winterbottom travelled to Brazil with an extremely talented squad. Preston North End hero Tom Finney, uncompromising defender Billy Wright, and future Ballon d'Or winner Stanley Matthews all featured, while Alf Ramsey was sharpening his tactical nous as a player before later succeeding Winterbottom in the managerial hotseat.
Although it started positively, it would prove to be a highly disappointing campaign. After goals from Wilf Mannion and the aforementioned Mortensen handed England a comfortable victory over Chile at the Maracanã, a shock 1-0 loss to the unfancied Americans punctured their momentum. Winterbottom’s charges returned to Rio de Janeiro’s iconic stadium to face Spain, where a narrow defeat rubber-stamped their elimination.
1954: Switzerland
The English fared better four years later, reaching the last eight of the competition after finishing the tournament’s initial phase at the summit of Group 4.
With organisers keen to avoid draws in order to add more jeopardy to each group stage match, England engaged in a thrilling 120-minute battle with Belgium. With the scoreline locked at 4-4 at the end of extra time, each team was awarded a point apiece in Basel. A 2-0 victory over hosts Switzerland at the Wankdorf Stadium then followed, but reigning champions Uruguay were too hot to handle in the quarter-finals.
1958: Sweden
Having commencing their campaign with an entertaining draw against the Soviet Union, England returned to Gothenburg to face Brazil. Perhaps fortunate that teenage sensation Pelé was forced to delay his World Cup debut until the following weekend due to injury, the Three Lions kept their gifted opponents at bay in a 0-0 stalemate.
After also drawing with Austria in their third group game, England found themselves level on points with the Soviets. The Cold War adversaries contested a play-off to see who would advance into the knockout rounds, which the Soviet Union won thanks to an inspired performance from goalkeeping icon Lev Yashin.
1962: Chile
England were drawn into a proverbial Group of Death ahead of the 1962 World Cup in Chile, with Argentina, Hungary, and Bulgaria all waiting in the wings.
With Real Madrid superstar Ferenc Puskás having switched allegiances to Spain following the Soviet Union’s callous crushing of the Hungarian Uprising, England may have felt they could spring a surprise in their opening group match. It wasn’t to be as Hungary ran out 2-1 winners in Rancagua, but an impressive victory over Argentina and a goalless draw with Bulgaria secured their safe passage through.
However, England would lose out in the quarter-finals to Brazil, who would later go on to lift the Jules Rimet Trophy for the second time in the space of four years.
1966: England
England’s finest hour came in 1966, as Sir Alf Ramsey led his country to World Cup glory on home soil. The magical story of Geoff Hurst’s spectacular hat-trick coming at the end of a near-flawless campaign would be passed down through the generations, but also serve to place a heavy burden of expectation on future England sides.
After drawing with two-time winners Uruguay in their opening group game, the hosts registered 2-0 victories over both Mexico and France to cruise into the next round. A late Geoff Hurst winner was enough to edge past the Argentinians, before a brace from Bobby Charlton put Eusébio’s Portugal to the sword in the last four.
One of the most entertaining finals in World Cup history came next, as England and West Germany exchanged blows at a packed Wembley. With the two teams sharing four goals in the regulation 90 minutes, extra-time would be required. After Soviet linesman Tofiq Bahramov adjudged that Geoff Hurst’s ferocious strike had crossed the line after bouncing down off Hans Tilkowski’s crossbar, England’s number ten made sure his next effort found the back of the net. Just as Hurst wound up to seal his hat-trick, commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme uttered one of the most iconic lines in sporting history – ‘’some people are on the pitch, they think it’s all over….. it is now!’’
1970: Mexico
Four years on from their heroics at Wembley, England arrived in Mexico in confident mood. Many back home expected Alf Ramsey’s star-studded squad to retain their crown, but perhaps didn’t account for the sheer quality of the Brazilians (or the Germans for that matter).
After Geoff Hurst netted what turned out to be his fifth and final World Cup goal in a tight victory over Romania, a second-half strike from Brazilian winger Jairzinho brought the Three Lions crashing back down to earth. Although another narrow victory – this time against the Czechoslovakians – ensured they progressed to the knockout stages, the defending champions had lost their air of invincibility. This was painfully evident in the quarter-final meeting with West Germany, as England threw away an early 2-0 lead before succumbing to Gerd Müller’s extra-time winner.
1982: Spain
Having failed to qualify for the previous two World Cups, England returned to international football’s top table in 1982. A period of transition had followed the departure of Sir Alf Ramsey eight years earlier, so an entirely new-look team headed to Spain with modest ambitions of success.
After easing through the first group stage thanks to a set of solid triumphs over Kuwait, Czechoslovakia, and an extremely talented French outfit, the Three Lions met two tough opponents in the next round. Despite battling to goalless draws with hosts Spain and eventual runners-up West Germany, Ron Greenwood’s men didn’t secure enough points to secure a semi-final berth.
1986: Mexico
As England jetted out to Mexico for the 1986 World Cup, a palpable sense of excitement built amongst fans back home. Bobby Robson had instilled a real sense of belief amongst his players, who seemed convinced they were capable of becoming world champions.
However, after losing to Portugal and labouring to an abject 0-0 draw with Morocco, things didn’t look at all promising. But Lineker’s aforementioned hat-trick against Poland and a resounding victory over Paraguay restored confidence in Robson’s project.
In what was perhaps the first of a series of particularly cruel exits, a combination of Diego Maradona’s wicked gamesmanship and ingenious skill broke English hearts in Mexico City.
1990: Italy
With Robson still at the helm following a torrid European Championship campaign, the 1990 World Cup felt like boom or bust for that particular crop of English players.
Contained on the island of Sardinia for the duration of the group stages as Italian police looked to reduce the threat of hooliganism amongst England’s travelling support, the Three Lions seemed to go through the motions. A 1-0 win over Egypt was sandwiched between tepid draws with Ireland and the Netherlands, but that sequence of results was enough to see them through to the last sixteen.
After David Platt’s iconic volley in Bologna proved enough to down the Belgians, England scraped through their quarter-final clash with Cameroon largely thanks to Lineker’s penalty-taking capabilities. However, spot-kicks would ultimately be the root of their downfall, as Stuart Pearce and Chris Waddle decisively missed from 12 yards in the semi-final defeat to West Germany.
1998: France
With no home nations qualifying for the 1994 World Cup in the United States, England were keen to make up for lost time in France. A solid if unspectacular set of group stage performances yielded 2-0 victories over Tunisia and Colombia and an unfortunate defeat to Romania, but the real headlines were made in the Round of 16 clash with familiar adversaries Argentina.
A chaotic opening ten minutes saw Gabriel Batistuta and Alan Shearer both tuck away penalties, before Michael Owen produced a marvellous solo effort to put his team ahead soon after. Javier Zanetti’s goal on the stroke of half-time ensured the match would be determined by a penalty shootout, which was duly won by the Argentineans.
However, this contest will always be remembered – at least in the minds of long-suffering England fans – for David Beckham’s petulant kick-out at Diego Simeone, which saw the ex-Manchester United midfielder receive a straight red card.
2002: Japan/South Korea
With high hopes that England’s ‘golden generation’ could be the ones to end decades of hurt, there was a tangible feeling of optimism amongst Sven-Göran Eriksson’s players as they headed to the Far East.
A 1-1 draw with Sweden had a somewhat sobering effect, but confidence was restored when David Beckham avenged his infamous sending off by dispatching a first-half penalty past Argentine ‘keeper Pablo Cavallero.
England then swept aside Denmark in the last sixteen before being knocked out by Brazil in the following round, with Ronaldinho’s looping effort proving the difference between the two teams at the Shizuoka Stadium.
2006: Germany
After Sweden had pipped England to top spot in the group stage four years prior, the roles were reversed in Germany as the two nations were drawn into the same pool for consecutive World Cups.
The Three Lions picked up maximum points in their opening fixtures against Paraguay and Trinidad & Tobago before drawing 2-2 with the Swedes in Cologne, but all three performances left a lot to be desired. Another uninspiring display followed in the last sixteen, with England needing a trademark David Beckham free-kick to see off South American minnows Ecuador.
It was therefore hardly surprising when Sven-Göran Eriksson’s side whimpered out of the competition in the quarter-finals, as Cristiano Ronaldo lashed home the winning spot-kick following Wayne Rooney’s dismissal for stamping on Ricardo Carvalho.
2010: South Africa
Two disappointing draws undermined England’s momentum at the beginning of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, as the USA and Algeria both proved tricky opponents to outmanoeuvre. Rooney was once again the centre of controversy as he lambasted his own fans for booing England off following their turgid 0-0 draw with the North Americans, but later apologised for his transgressions.
An unconvincing 1-0 win over Slovenia in Port Elizabeth meant the Three Lions finished second in Group C, resulting in them facing the Germans – rather than Group D runners-up Ghana – in the next round. Many have since suggested that the 4-1 loss to their arch rivals could have been averted had Frank Lampard’s ‘ghost goal’ counted, but Fabio Capello’s men were well beaten in truth.
2014: Brazil
England’s forgetful 2014 World Cup campaign was over before it had really begun. Having lost 2-1 to both Italy and Uruguay in their opening two fixtures, the Three Lions found themselves eliminated before facing shock Group D winners Costa Rica in Belo Horizonte.
A 0-0 draw with the Central Americans was a fitting end to a nightmare ten days in Brazil, but would perhaps provide the motivation for a much improved-performance four years later.
2018: Russia
After a late Harry Kane header spared his team’s blushes against Tunisia, England delivered their highest margin of victory in a World Cup match by thrashing Panama 6-1 in Nizhny Novgorod. The first of two losses to Belgium in Russia then came next, as Adnan Januzaj grabbed the only goal at the Kaliningrad Stadium.
The Three Lions then received a huge psychological boost by registering a first-ever World Cup penalty shootout victory, as Colombia bowed out at the last sixteen stage. A routine win over Sweden brought further encouragement, but Mario Mandžukić’s extra-time strike ensured semi-final opponents Croatia advanced to the showpiece.
2022: Qatar
England’s eighth consecutive successful qualification campaign took them to the Middle East, as Qatar assumed hosting responsibilities for a winter 2022 World Cup.
Having sauntered to the summit of a relatively weak Group B by accumulating seven points from clashes with Iran, USA, and Wales, Gareth Southgate’s men impressively tackled a potentially awkward Round of 16 encounter with Senegal.
However, it was a familiar story as England crashed out at the quarter-final stage, with Harry Kane’s missed penalty providing yet another tormenting end to their progress in this competition. On the eightieth anniversary of their solitary World Cup triumph, could the Three Lions buck this frustrating trend in North America?
England at the World Cup: FAQs
1. Who has made most World Cup appearances for England?
Peter Shilton. Over the course of his long and successful career, Shilton made 17 World Cup appearances.
2. Who has scored most World Cup goals for England?
Gary Lineker. The retired striker struck 10 goals in 12 World Cup appearances.
3. Can Harry Kane beat Lineker’s goalscoring record this summer?
Having netted eight times across the last two editions of the World Cup, Harry Kane is within touching distance of Lineker’s scoring record. If the Bayern Munich talisman performs well in North America, he could well become England’s leading World Cup goalscorer.
4. How many times have England reached the final of the World Cup?
The Three Lions have only progressed to a World Cup final on one occasion, when they won the tournament on home soil in 1966.
5. When was the last time England failed to qualify for a World Cup?
Having performed exceptionally well in qualification campaigns over the past few decades, England last failed to qualify for FIFA’s flagship competition back in 1994. That particular tournament was hosted by the USA, who will help to stage this summer’s World Cup alongside Canada and Mexico.