England did not enter the first three FIFA World Cup tournaments, but since 1950 have entered qualification for all subsequent tournaments. Three times they failed to qualify, in 1974, 1978, and 1994.

England has won the World Cup on only one occasion, in 1966, the year that they hosted the event.

In the 2018 World Cup, England performed admirably, making the semi-finals and finishing 4th.

At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, England made the quarter-finals and finished in 6th position. England qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, their 17th appearance at the World Cup finals, where they finished third. This has to be England's best result since their 1966 triumph.

1950

England didn't make it out of Group 2 at the 1950 FIFA World Cup.

1954

England made it out of Group 4 at the 1954 FIFA World Cup. The team lost 2-4 to Uruguay in the quarter-finals of the competition.

1958

England finished third in Group 4 at the 1958 FIFA World Cup. But the team lost 0-1 to USSR at the playoff stage of the competition.

1962

England reached the quarter-finals of the 1962 FIFA World Cup, but lost 1-3 to Brazil and couldn't progress to the next stage of the competition.

1966

England won the 1966 FIFA World Cup by winning Germany 4-2 in the final game.

1970

England reached the quarter-finals of the 1970 FIFA World Cup, but lost 2-3 to Germany.

1982

England made it out of Group 1 at the 1982 FIFA World Cup. But, the team didn't make it out of the next group of the competition.

1986

England reached the quarter-finals of the 1986 FIFA World Cup, but lost 1-2 to Argentina.

1990

England reached the semi-finals of the 1990 FIFA World Cup, but lost to Germany. They also lost the third-place match against Italy.

1998

England reached the Round of 16 at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, but lost on penalties to Argentina.

2002

England reached the quarter-finals of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, but lost 1-2 to Brazil.

2006

England reached the quarter-finals of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, but lost to Portugal on penalties.

2010

England reached the Round of 16 of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, but lost 1-4 to Germany.

2014

England didn't make it out of Group D at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

2018

England reached the semi-finals of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, but lost 1-2 to Croatia.

2022

England reached the quarter-finals of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, but lost 1-2 to France.

2026

England enjoyed their best World Cup since 1966, finishing third at the 2026 tournament. Drawn into Group L alongside Croatia, Ghana, and Panama, they topped the group by beating Croatia 4–2, drawing 0–0 with Ghana, and beating Panama 2–0.

In the knockout rounds, England beat DR Congo 2–1 in the Round of 32, edged Mexico 3–2 in the Round of 16, and came from behind to defeat Norway 2–1 after extra time in the quarter-finals. Jude Bellingham scored the extra-time winner for the English team. They lost 2–1 to eventual finalists Argentina in the semi-finals, before beating France 6–4 in a record-breaking third-place play-off, with Bukayo Saka scoring a hat-trick.

Date Round Result Opponent
17 June Group L 4–2 Croatia
23 June Group L 0–0 Ghana
27 June Group L 2–0 Panama
1 July Round of 32 2–1 DR Congo
5 July Round of 16 3–2 Mexico
11 July Quarter-final 2–1 (a.e.t.) Norway
15 July Semi-final 1–2 Argentina
18 July Third-place play-off 6–4 France

Trivia

  • The 1966 opening match between England and Uruguay was delayed as seven English players had left their identity cards at the hotel. A police motorcyclist was sent back to collect the identity cards from their hotel.
  • England declined to enter the pre-war World Cups over a dispute with FIFA over payments to amateur players. The four British associations quit FIFA in 1928 after a disagreement with FIFA over 'broken time payments' to amateur players. They rejoined FIFA in 1946 and participated in the World Cup for the first time in 1950.
  • The USA beat England 1-0 in the 1950 finals, though some British newspapers reported the result as USA 1, England 10, as the editor believed that the reporter had made a typing mistake. Before the match, both sides believed that it would be an easy win for England, and double-digit goals were expected. This match is now considered by many people as the greatest upset in World Cup history.
  • Bobby Moore was jailed in Colombia on his way to the tournament at Mexico 1970, accused of stealing a bracelet. It was believed that he was falsely accused by somebody who feared for his appearance in the 1970 finals.
  • Alan Ball, deeply disappointed after England's defeat in the 1970 Quarterfinals, threw his tournament medal out of his hotel bedroom window. Perhaps this tournament medal was worth nothing compared with his 1966 World Cup winner's medal. In 2005, at the age of 59, Alan Ball finally wanted to sell his winner's medal in order to gain financial security.
  • The first World Cup mascot was a lion-like boy called Willie, used for the England 1966 World Cup.
  • TV announcers were confused during a Second Round match on 18 June 1986 between England and Paraguay, as there were two Gary Stevens on the English side. The two players, Gary Michael Stevens and Gary Andrew Stevens, were not related.
  • The goal scored the latest during a game was by David Platt of England, in their second round match against Belgium in 1990 - he scored after 119 minutes.
  • Harry Kane won the Golden Boot award for the World Cup's top goal scorer in 2018, joining Gary Lineker as England's only winners of the award.
  • The goal scored by Jude Bellingham in England's first game in 2022 made him the second teenager to score for England at a World Cup. The youngest was Michael Owen, who was 18 years, 190 days when he scored in 1998.
  • At the 2026 World Cup, England claimed third place — their best finish since winning the trophy in 1966 — beating France 6–4 in the third-place play-off, with Bukayo Saka scoring a hat-trick and Jude Bellingham netting a stoppage-time winner.