England at the FIFA World Cup - wikipedia England at the FIFA World Cup The England national football team has competed at the FIFA World Cup since 1950. The FIFA World Cup is the premier competitive international football tournament, first played in 1930, whose finals stage has been held every four years since, except 1942 and 1946, due to the Second World War. The tournament consists of two parts, the qualification phase and the final phase ( officially called the World Cup Finals ). The qualification phase, which currently take place over the three years preceding the finals, is used to determine which teams qualify for the finals. The current format of the finals involves thirty - two teams competing for the title, at venues within the host nation ( or nations ) over a period of about a month. The World Cup Finals is the most widely viewed sporting event in the world, with an estimated 715.1 million people watching the 2006 Final. England did not enter the competition until 1950, but have entered all eighteen subsequent tournaments. They have failed to qualify for the finals on three occasions, 1974 ( West Germany ), 1978 ( Argentina ) and 1994 ( United States ), and have failed to advance from the group stages on three occasions ; at the 1950 FIFA World Cup, the 1958 FIFA World Cup and the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Their best ever performance is winning the Cup in the 1966 tournament held in England, whilst they also finished in fourth place in 1990, in Italy, and in 2018 in Russia. Other than that, the team have reached the quarter - finals on nine occasions, the latest of which were at the 2002 ( South Korea / Japan ) and the 2006 ( Germany ). England are the only team not representing a sovereign state to win the World Cup, which they did in 1966 when they hosted the finals. They defeated West Germany 4 -- 2 after extra time to win the World Cup title. Since then, they have generally reached the knockout stages of almost every competition they have qualified for, including a fourth - place finish in the 1990 and 2018 World Cups. At the world cup, England have had more goalless draws than any other team. Contents 1 History 1.1 Brazil 1950 1.1. 1 1950 Finals 1.2 Switzerland 1954 1.2. 1 1954 Finals 1.3 Sweden 1958 1.4 Chile 1962 1.5 England 1966 1.6 Mexico 1970 1.7 West Germany 1974 1.8 Argentina 1978 1.9 Spain 1982 1.10 Mexico 1986 1.11 Italy 1990 1.12 United States 1994 1.13 France 1998 1.14 South Korea / Japan 2002 1.15 Germany 2006 1.16 South Africa 2010 1.17 Brazil 2014 1.18 Russia 2018 1.18. 1 2018 Finals 2 Records 2.1 By match 2.2 By opponent 3 Players ' honours 3.1 List of England players with the most appearances at World Cups 3.2 List of England top goalscorers at World Cups 3.3 List of England goals by tournament 3.4 List of England players playing abroad at a World Cup 4 Team awards and records 5 Refereeing 6 Notes and references 6.1 Notes 6.2 References History Brazil 1950 Main article : 1950 FIFA World Cup See also : 1949 -- 50 British Home Championship England 's first qualifying campaign for the FIFA World Cup doubled as the 1950 British Home Championship. The series kicked off for England on 15 October 1949 at Ninian Park, Cardiff, against Wales. Stan Mortensen gave England the lead after twenty two minutes, and just seven minutes later, Jackie Milburn doubled the lead. This was the first goal of Milburn 's hat trick, which left England 4 -- 0 up with 20 minutes to play. Mal Griffiths scored a consolation goal for Wales ten minutes from time, but England held on for a comfortable victory. A month later, England welcomed Ireland to Maine Road, and it began well for the home side as Jack Rowley scored inside six minutes. England were already 6 -- 0 up, thanks to Jack Froggatt, two for Stan Pearson, Stan Mortensen and a second from Rowley, by the time Ireland struck back through Samuel Smyth after 55 minutes. Rowley added a third and a fourth to his tally in the three minutes following Smyth 's goal, however, leaving the score at 8 -- 1 at the hour mark. The frantic scoring rate calmed down after that, with only one apeice before the final whistle, with Stan Pearson completing his brace for England 's ninth, and Bobby Brennan scoring for Ireland. It was not until May 1950 that England travelled to Hampden Park to face Scotland, who were also undefeated after their games against Ireland and Wales. With the top two from the group qualifying, both teams were guaranteed progression to the finals, and the game was solely for the honour of winning the British Home Championship, and the seeding advantage to be enjoyed upon reaching Brazil. A solitary goal from Roy Bentley gave England the victory, the title and the top spot in the group. 1950 finals England were seeded in pot one for the finals, which meant they were the favourites to progress from Group 2, which also contained Spain, Chile and the United States. England 's campaign kicked off against Chile in Rio de Janeiro, and, as was expected, England cruised to a 2 -- 0 victory, courtesy of goals from Stan Mortensen and Wilf Mannion. Main article : United States v England ( 1950 FIFA World Cup ) Their troubles began four days later when they faced the Americans in Belo Horizonte in what has become one of the most famous matches of all time. Joe Gaetjens scored the only goal of the match to give the United States an unlikely victory, which has gone down as one of the World Cup 's greatest upsets. A myth arose that the English newspapers were so confident of an English victory that when the result was telegrammed back, they assumed a misprint and printed the score as 10 -- 1 in England 's favour. However, this has proven to be untrue. This left England in a sticky situation prior to their final match, against Spain in Rio. They needed to win, and for Chile to beat the United States to stand any chance of going through, and even then they would need the goal averages to fall in their favour. As it turned out, no such calculations were necessary, despite Chile 's victory, as Spain 's Zarra scored the only goal of the game, eliminating England from the competition. Switzerland 1954 This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( July 2018 ) Main articles : 1954 FIFA World Cup and 1953 -- 54 British Home Championship As with their first World Cup, England 's qualifying for the 1954 edition also constituted the 1953 -- 54 British Home Championship. They played Wales at Ninian Park as their first match once again, and the 4 -- 1 result was the same. However, unlike four years earlier, it was the home side that went into the lead, after twenty two minutes through Ivor Allchurch. Despite being 1 -- 0 down at half time, England scored four within eight minutes of the restart ; two each for Dennis Wilshaw and Nat Lofthouse. Goodison Park was the venue for England 's home clash against Ireland, who were newly renamed Northern Ireland. Harold Hassall got England off to a good start with a goal after just ten minutes. Eddie McMorran put the Irish back on terms just before the hour mark, but Hassall completed his brace six minutes later. Lofthouse completed a comfortable 3 -- 1 win for England. With the top two in the group qualifying for the finals, the final game between England and Scotland, at Hampden Park, settled nothing except the placings within the group, despite Scotland having dropped a point with a 3 -- 3 draw at home to Wales. Allan Brown put the home side ahead after just seven minutes, but it was all square again thanks to Ivor Broadis just four minutes later. Johnny Nicholls gave England the lead for the first time just after half time, and they began to extend a lead after Ronnie Allen 's 68th - minute goal. Jimmy Mullen made the game all but certain seven minutes from time, and although Willie Ormond scored a consolation for Scotland with just 1 minute to play, England topped the competition for the second time in a row. 1954 finals England were drawn in Group 4 for the finals, with hosts Switzerland, Italy and Belgium. In an odd twist, unique to the 1954 tournament, England and Italy, as the two seeded teams in the group, did not have to play each other. Equally, Switzerland and Belgium did not have to play each other. England 's first game in Switzerland was against Belgium in Basel, and they suffered a shock as Léopold Anoul put the Belgians into the lead after just five minutes. Ivor Broadis put the favourites back on terms just over twenty minutes later, and although Nat Lofthouse gave England the lead 10 minutes later, it was proving to be tougher than they had expected against the Belgians. Broadis scored his second just after the hour, but Henri Coppens hit back four minutes later to keep Belgium in the game at only 3 -- 2 down. Anoul completed his brace another four minutes after that to level the scores again. In another oddity peculiar to this World Cup, drawn matches in the group stage would go to extra time, and as such the teams played on with the score at 3 -- 3. Just one minute into the added period, Lofthouse added a fourth for England and they seemed to have won it, but Jimmy Dickinson scored an own goal three minutes later to put the score back at 4 -- 4. It stayed this way until the extra period was up, and as penalty shoot - outs were yet to be invented and replays were not used in the group, the match was recorded as a draw. England 's second and final group game was against the hosts in Bern. This proved to be an easier game for the Three Lions, and they scored one goal in each half ( from Jimmy Mullen and Dennis Wilshaw respectively ) to give them a comfortable win of 2 -- 0. As Switzerland ( against England ), Italy ( against Switzerland ) and Belgium ( against Italy ) had all lost one game, England progressed as group winners, along with Switzerland, who won a play - off against Italy. England faced the winners of group three and defending champions Uruguay in the quarter - finals. Carlos Borges gave the South Americans the lead inside 5 minutes, but Lofthouse put England back on terms ten minutes later. England were clearly struggling, but held on until just before half time, when Obdulio Varela gave the lead back Uruguay. Juan Alberto Schiaffino doubled the lead just after the break, but Tom Finney kept England 's foot in the door with his sixty seventh - minute goal. However, it was all over after Javier Ambrois restored the two goal lead with twelve minutes to play. The score remained at 4 -- 2, and England were eliminated from the cup. Sweden 1958 Main article : 1958 FIFA World Cup For the first time, England had to play against countries other than the Home Nations to reach the Finals in Sweden. They were drawn against the Republic of Ireland and Denmark. In the qualifying round, England won three out of the four games and drew the other. Four months before the World Cup, Roger Byrne, Duncan Edwards, David Pegg and Tommy Taylor all lost their lives in the Munich air disaster while playing for Manchester United. At the finals, which is the only tournament to have seen all Home Nations take part, the Home Nations were all drawn in different groups. England were drawn against the Soviet Union ( 2 -- 2 ), Brazil ( 0 -- 0 ) and Austria ( 2 -- 2 ), who finished third in the 1954 World Cup. At the end of the group stage, Soviet Union and England each had three points, and had scored four goals and conceded four goals. This meant there was a play - off to decide the second - placed team in the group, the winner to qualify. England lost the play - off 1 -- 0 and were thus knocked out. The only consolation for England was that they were the only team to play the eventual winners Brazil and not lose. Chile 1962 Main article : 1962 FIFA World Cup The third World Cup which took place in South America, saw England qualify by successfully qualifying from the group, which contained Portugal and Luxembourg, defeating Luxembourg on both occasions, and defeating Portugal at home, and drawing in Lisbon. At the finals, England were drawn in a group with Hungary, Argentina and Bulgaria. England defeated Argentina 3 - 1, thanks to goals from Ron Flowers, Bobby Charlton and Jimmy Greaves, before playing out a goalless draw with Bulgaria, and a 2 -- 1 defeat to Hungary. England finished in second place behind Hungary and played the winners of group 3, defending champions Brazil, in the quarter - finals. Brazil scored first through Garrincha, before an equaliser for Gerry Hitchens before half time. However, second - half goals from Garrincha and Vavá meant Brazil won the game 3 -- 1, and eliminated England from the competition. This defeat was manager Walter Winterbottom 's last game in charge. Winterbottom had led England to four World Cup Finals. From May 1963, Alf Ramsey became the manager of England. England 1966 Main article : 1966 FIFA World Cup This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. ( July 2018 ) In the 1966 World Cup Finals, England used their home advantage and, under Ramsey, won their first, and only, World Cup title. England played all their games at Wembley Stadium in London, which became the last time that the hosts were granted this privilege. After drawing 0 -- 0 in the opening game against former champions Uruguay, which started a run of four games all ending goalless. England then beat both France and Mexico 2 -- 0 and qualified for the quarter - finals. The quarter - finals saw England play Argentina, which ended in a 1 -- 0 win to England. This match saw the start of the rivalry between England and Argentina, when Argentinian Antonio Rattín was dismissed by German referee Rudolf Kreitlein in a very fierce game. A 2 -- 1 win against Portugal in the semi-final then followed. Portugal were the first team to score against England in the tournament. The final saw England play West Germany, with the result finishing in a 4 -- 2 win for England, after extra time. Mexico 1970 Main article : 1970 FIFA World Cup 1970 saw the first World Cup finals take place in North America and England qualified automatically for the tournament by winning the 1966 FIFA World Cup. England were drawn in a group with Romania, former world champions Brazil and Czechoslovakia. Each of the matches only saw one goal, with England defeating Romania and Czechoslovakia, and losing to Brazil. The quarter - final saw a repeat of the 1966 final, with England playing West Germany. England were hampered by the fact that first - choice goalkeeper Gordon Banks was ill, and Peter Bonetti played instead. England led 2 -- 0 with goals by Alan Mullery and Martin Peters, but in the 70th minute, Franz Beckenbauer pulled one goal back for West Germany. After Beckenbauer 's goal, Ramsey substituted Bobby Charlton, who overtook Billy Wright as England 's most capped player ever, with caps totalling 106. Uwe Seeler equalised for the Germans in the eighty first minute, thereby taking the game into extra time. During extra time, Gerd Müller scored the winning goal for West Germany which saw the German side win 3 -- 2. This turned out to be Charlton 's last game for England. West Germany 1974 Main article : 1974 FIFA World Cup qualification For the first time, England did not qualify for a World Cup. In a group with Olympic champions Poland and Wales, England could not overtake Poland. After only drawing at home to Wales 1 -- 1 and losing the first leg 2 -- 0 to Poland, meant that England had to beat Poland at home, whilst Poland only needed to draw. Poland managed to withstand England 's attacks in the first half, who had Martin Peters playing for them. Poland took the lead in the 57th minute with a goal from Jan Domarski. England equalised six minutes later, with a penalty converted by Allan Clarke. England were unable to score any more goals with goalkeeper Jan Tomaszewski keeping England at bay. Brian Clough had previously called Tomaszewski a `` clown ''. The commentator of the game then said `` it 's all over ''. Poland took this good form to the finals and ended in third place. After failing to qualify, Alf Ramsey resigned from his post and after a time, where Ramsey and his predecessor had lasted a total of 29 years, no manager was able to last in the job for longer than eight years. This ended when Bobby Robson became England manager. Argentina 1978 See also : 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( July 2018 ) England also did not qualify for the fourth World Cup which took place in South America. This time, England were denied by Italy, who had scored three more goals than England after both teams finished on the same points. Goals scored dictated who qualified after the head - to - head record between the two sides finished the same, following a 2 -- 0 home win for each team. The lower - ranked teams in the group were Finland and Luxembourg, but the size of the wins against them proved to be decisive. Nevertheless, Ron Greenwood was given a second chance in charge of England, after taking the role in 1977. Spain 1982 Main article : 1982 FIFA World Cup 1982 saw the first time where the European Qualifying Rounds were divided into groups of five teams, where the top two teams qualify for the World Cup. Greenwood used his second chance and took England to Spain by finishing second behind Hungary and above Romania, Switzerland and Norway. At the finals, England won all three group games, defeating France 3 - 1, with a brace from Bryan Robson, before beating Czechoslovakia 2 -- 0, with a Jozef Barmos own goal, and World Cup newcomers Kuwait 1 -- 0, thanks to a Trevor Francis goal. The next round saw a second group stage consisting of three teams, a first time event at the World Cup. England drew with West Germany 0 -- 0 and after the Germans beat Spain 2 -- 1, England then had to beat Spain with a two - goal difference to progress to the next round. England, however, only managed a 0 -- 0 draw against the Spanish. England remained unbeaten at the end of the tournament. After the World Cup, Ron Greenwood 's time as England manager ended, and he was replaced by Bobby Robson. Mexico 1986 Main article : 1986 FIFA World Cup This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( July 2018 ) 1986 saw the second World Cup to take place in Mexico. England qualified for Mexico 1986 by winning four games and drawing four times against Northern Ireland, who qualified in second place, Romania, Finland and Turkey. In Mexico, England lost their opening game to Portugal 1 -- 0 and could only manage a goalless draw against Morocco. The final group game, however, saw England beat Poland 3 -- 0, which is one of the three highest scores for England at the World Cup, with Gary Lineker scoring a hat - trick. This result took England to second place and finished behind Morocco. England then also beat Paraguay 3 -- 0 in the Round of 16. In the quarter - finals, England renewed their rivalry with Argentina in a game that has become notorious for the Argentina goals, both scored by Diego Maradona. Maradona 's first goal, known as the Hand of God, was illegal and should not have counted, as he used his hand to punch the ball into the net. However, the referee missed this infringement, and ruled that the goal should stand. Maradona then made the score 2 - 0, famously dribbling from inside Argentina 's half and around several English players before scoring. Gary Lineker pulled back the score to 2 - 1, but England ran out of time to equalise, and were eliminated. Nevertheless, Lineker finished with the Golden Boot by scoring six goals and thereby becoming England 's first Golden Boot winner. Italy 1990 Main article : 1990 FIFA World Cup By winning three and drawing three, England qualified for Italia ' 90, the second World Cup to be held in Italy, scoring ten goals and conceding none. England were unbeaten through qualification, winning three games, and drawing the remaining three, but still finished second to Sweden, whom they drew with twice. England profited from Romania 's 3 -- 1 win over Denmark, who, had they won, would have qualified as the third - best second - placed team. West Germany and England were able to qualify for Italia ' 90 as the best second - placed teams in the groups with four teams. Because a few years previously saw English hooligans at European competition matches, England were forced to play their group games on Sardinia and Sicily. In group F, was the European champions Netherlands, the Republic of Ireland and Egypt and England. After opening the tournament with a 1 -- 1 draw against Ireland and a 0 -- 0 draw against the Dutch, England then beat Egypt 1 -- 0. This was Egypt 's first appearance since the 1934 World Cup. England won the group with four points. In the next round, England had to play Belgium. The game went to extra time, and in the hundredth and nineteenth minute, David Platt scored the winning goal. England also had to play extra time against Cameroon in the quarter - finals. Cameroon were the first African team to have reached the quarter - finals. England opened the scoring through David Platt, but Cameroon quickly turned around the game to lead 2 - 1. Lineker subsequently won and scored a penalty in the 83rd minute to ensure the game went to extra time. He then scored a second penalty, to see England reach the semi-finals. In the semi-finals, England met West Germany. There was no separating the two teams after 90 minutes, which made England the first team to have played extra time in three successive World Cup games. There was also no separating the two teams after extra time, thereby taking the game to penalties. Although English goalkeeper Peter Shilton dived the right way for every penalty, he was unable to save any. German goalkeeper Bodo Illgner, having failed to save any of England 's first three penalties, saved England 's fourth penalty, taken by Stuart Pearce. Olaf Thon then scored for Germany, meaning that England 's Chris Waddle would have to score his fifth penalty and hope that Shilton saved the Germans ' fifth penalty. However, Waddle 's penalty missed completely, going high over the crossbar, thereby resulting in England 's being knocked out of the competition. The third - place playoff between England and Italy saw England lose their only game of the tournament in normal time. Even though this was England 's best finish since the 1966 World Cup, Bobby Robson 's time as England manager had come to an end. United States 1994 Main article : 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification For the 1994 World Cup in the United States, under the leadership of new manager Graham Taylor, England surprisingly did not qualify for the tournament. In a group with six teams, England lost to Norway and the Netherlands, finishing third above Poland, Turkey and San Marino. England went into their final game with San Marino knowing they would need a seven - goal victory and for Poland to beat the Netherlands in the other match in order to qualify. In the game against San Marino, Davide Gualtieri scored against England after nine seconds, taking the lead for the outsiders. England went on to win 7 -- 1, which was too small a goal margin. Additionally, despite the half - time score between the Poles and the Dutch being 1 - 1, the Dutch went on to win 3 - 1, meaning that however many goals England scored, they could still not qualify. Taylor 's tenure in charge ended and he was replaced by Terry Venables, who was dismissed after England lost the semi-final of Euro 1996, hosted in England. France 1998 Main article : 1998 FIFA World Cup After missing out on the World Cup in 1994, England, managed by Glenn Hoddle, qualified for the World Cup in France. England were drawn in Group 2 of UEFA qualifying with Italy, Poland, Georgia and Moldova. England beat Poland, Georgia and Moldova both home and away, but a home defeat to Italy in their fourth match meant they went into the final qualifier at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome just a point ahead of the Azzurri and only needing a draw to qualify automatically ; defeat would see them have to navigate a play - off to secure qualification. The match finished as a goalless draw and England finished top of the group. At the finals in France, England played in Group G. England defeated Tunisia 2 -- 0 in the first game, with goals from Alan Shearer and Paul Scholes. Their second match saw England lose 2 -- 1 to Romania ; despite an 81st - minute equaliser from Michael Owen, Dan Petrescu scored a winner shortly before injury time. In their final group game, England defeated Colombia 2 -- 0 in the decisive match, thanks to goals from midfielders Darren Anderton and David Beckham. England finished second in Group G, which saw them qualify for the last 16 phase, and play the winner of 1998 FIFA World Cup Group H, Argentina. In a fiery game containing six yellow cards and two penalties, David Beckham was controversially sent off in the 47th minute for what many felt was at most a yellow card offence, knocking over Diego Simeone. Gabriel Batistuta opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the fifth minute of the game, before an equaliser also from the spot by Alan Shearer four minutes later. England took the lead through Owen, in the 16th minute. Argentina drew level through Javier Zanetti in injury time of the first half. The game finished 2 - 2, and, as neither team were able to find a winner in extra time, penalties were needed to decide the team that qualified to the next round. While David Seaman did save one penalty, Argentine goalkeeper Carlos Roa managed to save two, including the vital one from David Batty, thereby knocking England out of the World Cup. Beckham subsequently received death threats and was sent bullets in the post. South Korea / Japan 2002 Main article : 2002 FIFA World Cup In 2002 the World Cup took place in Asia for the first time. England, under its first ever foreign manager in Swedish Sven - Göran Eriksson, were able to qualify for the tournament. England were drawn in Group 9, alongside Germany, Finland, Greece and Albania. In the last ever game in the original Wembley Stadium, ( which closed after the match ) England played Germany, losing 1 -- 0, the only goal scored by Dietmar Hamann. The match was the last under the management of Kevin Keegan, who resigned at the end of the match, and was replaced by Eriksson. By beating Germany 5 -- 1 in Munich, England 's qualifying campaign was revitalised, and they qualified automatically, by drawing 2 -- 2 with Greece. Germany, who could only draw 0 -- 0 with Finland, had to play a play - off game against Ukraine, with England qualifying ahead winning the group. In Japan, England had to play against Eriksson 's homeland, Sweden, and both settled out for a 1 -- 1 draw. England and Beckham gained a measure of revenge for their previous 1998 defeat in defeating Argentina 1 - 0, thanks to a Beckham penalty. However, England could only manage a disappointing 0 - 0 draw against Nigeria, meaning that although they were able to qualify for the second round, where they played Denmark, they qualified as runners up, which meant that they would meet favourites Brazil in the quarter - finals if they qualified. England played Denmark in the round of 16 defeating Denmark 3 -- 0, thanks to goals from Micheal Owen, Rio Ferdinand, and Emile Heskey. England played four - time World Cup winners and 1998 runners - up Brazil in the quarter - finals. Despite leading through a Michael Owen goal, a mistake by David Seaman saw England lose 2 -- 1, and Brazil won their fourth World Cup match against England, and went on to win the tournament. Germany 2006 Main article : 2006 FIFA World Cup England were drawn into Group 6 of European qualifying for the 2006 World Cup. The group featured other home nations in Wales, and Northern Ireland, as well as Poland ( who had eliminated England the last time the World Cup took place in Germany ), Azerbaijan and Austria. England won eight of the 10 games, and qualified as group winners, in front of Portugal, despite drawing to Austria in Vienna, and losing to Northern Ireland in Belfast. In Germany, however, England were less convincing. England played in Group B, alongside Paraguay, Trinidad and Tobago, and Sweden. England started with a 1 -- 0 win against Paraguay ; which was won due to a 3rd minute own goal. The second game against first time qualifiers Trinidad and Tobago saw England have to wait until the 83rd minute for England to take the lead, with Peter Crouch opened the scoring with a goal many felt was illegal, and the second goal of the game coming in added time from Steven Gerrard. The last group game saw England play against Sweden, where an eventual 2 - 2 draw saw them qualify for the next round as group winners, thereby avoiding playing hosts Germany. In the last 16 stage, a free kick from David Beckham saw England win 1 -- 0 against Ecuador and reach the quarter - finals, where they faced Portugal. The game finished goalless, and England once again were knocked out on penalties and Portuguese goalkeeper Ricardo became the first goalkeeper to save three penalties in a penalty shoot - out. Ricardo saved from Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, and Jamie Carragher ; the only England player who successfully converted his penalty was Owen Hargreaves. Portugal won the shoot - out 3 - 1, despite misses from Petit and Hugo Viana. This game was also Erickson 's final match as England manager. South africa 2010 Main article : 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualification for the first African World Cup went successfully for new England manager Fabio Capello, after previous manager Steve McClaren was unable to secure qualification to the Euro 2008. By winning nine times and only losing to Ukraine, England qualified ahead of Croatia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Andorra. England 's group was seen as a favourable one, containing comparatively much weaker teams. However, England opened up their campaign with a 1 -- 1 draw against the United States, thanks to a major error by goalkeeper Robert Green. They then drew 0 -- 0 against Algeria and were booed off the field by their own fans, drawing the ire of striker Wayne Rooney. England eventually qualified for the next round by beating Slovenia 1 -- 0, but only qualified as runners up to the United States, thereby meaning they would draw favourites Germany. In the second round match, Germany took the lead after 20 minutes after goalkeeper Manuel Neuer played the ball down the pitch to Miroslav Klose, who opened the scoring. The score became 2 -- 0 to Germany after 32 minutes. Shortly after, England defender Matthew Upson scored a header. Later, Frank Lampard had a shot at goal which was disallowed despite crossing the line ; which was confirmed on replays. German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer admitted subsequently he knew the ball had crossed the line, but decided to deceive the referee. The German media reported it was `` revenge for Wembley '', while the English media criticised FIFA 's refusal to implement goal - line technology. Ironically, despite his earlier opposition to goal - line technology, Sepp Blatter said that it should be introduced after a Ukrainian goal against England at Euro 2012 was ruled out. As England tried to equalise, Germany used this to their advantage and scored two more goals. This became Germany 's biggest win against England in a World Cup, winning 4 - 1. Brazil 2014 Main article : 2014 FIFA World Cup Under Roy Hodgson, who replaced Fabio Capello after Euro 2012 after a disagreement between Capello and The FA, England qualified for the second World Cup to be held in Brazil. Ukraine were again one of the opponents in the qualifying rounds. The other opponents included Montenegro, Poland, Moldova and San Marino. After winning six games and drawing four, England qualified unbeaten. The draw for the finals saw England have to play against Italy and Uruguay, both former world champions, which meant that it was the first ever time three World Champions were drawn in the same group, along with Costa Rica. England lost to Italy and Uruguay, and were thus knocked out after two games. The final match against Costa Rica finished as a goalless draw. This performance was statistically their worst ever performance at a World Cup, ending up with just one point after two losses to Uruguay and Italy and a goalless draw with Costa Rica in the dead rubber match, their lowest points total in the group stage of a world cup. Russia 2018 Main article : 2018 FIFA World Cup England played in UEFA Group F in qualification for the 2018 World Cup, in a group of six with Slovakia, Slovenia, Scotland, Lithuania and Malta, with only the winner of the group guaranteed qualification. England went into the qualification process under manager Sam Allardyce, only for Allardyce to leave the post after just one game due to controversy regarding discussing breaking FIFA rules. Under Allardyce 's replacement, Gareth Southgate, England went undefeated throughout qualification, winning eight matches out of 10, drawing with Slovenia 0 -- 0 in Ljubljana, and drawing 2 -- 2 with Scotland in Glasgow thanks to a 90th - minute equaliser from Harry Kane. This was the third successive major tournament that England were undefeated, having been undefeated in 2014 World Cup, and Euro 2016 qualifying. 2018 finals England national team at the 2018 World Cup in Russia Under Gareth Southgate, the England team began their tournament in group G against Tunisia. The game started well for England with a goal from Harry Kane in the 11th minute. Tunisia equalised through Sassi from the penalty spot in the 35th minute following a foul by Kyle Walker. Some controversy followed as various potential offences against Harry Kane, inside the penalty area were ignored by the referee and no VAR checks were carried out. England persevered and scored a second goal in the 91st minute, again by Harry Kane, resulting in a 2 -- 1 victory. In the second group stage match, England surpassed their record for goals scored in a World Cup match by beating Panama 6 - 1. Jesse Lingard scored the third goal, John Stones scored the first and fourth goals and Harry Kane scored a hat - trick with the second, fifth and sixth goals. In the final group stage match, England narrowly lost 1 - 0 to Belgium. Adnan Januzaj scored the sole goal of the game ; but with both teams having fielded reserve teams, with England specificially making 9 changes. Before the game media outlets stating that a loss could potentially become beneficial, as the winner would be in the half of the draw with four of the top seven sides in the world. The result that meant Belgium topped the group and England finished second, setting up a last 16 clash with Group H winners Colombia. England played their last 16 match in the Otkritie Arena, Moscow, with the same team as against Tunisia. Harry Kane scored his sixth goal of the tournament, and the third penalty, after once again being fouled in the box from a corner, similarly as against Panama. The score remained at 1 - 0, until stoppage time, where a header from Yerry Mina beat Jordan Pickford in goal to bring the game to extra time. Neither team managed to score in extra time, and the match went to penalties, which England won 4 - 3. As well as being the first knockout match England had won at a major tournament since 2006 ( last defeating Ecuador in the last 16 ) ; it was the first time England won a World Cup penalty shoot - out. The match was notable for the heated atmosphere the game was played in, with a total of eight yellow cards being shown in the match. England played against Sweden in their quarter - final at Cosmos Arena, Samara on 7 July 2018. They won the match 2 -- 0, with defender Harry Maguire scoring his first England goal, a header scored from a corner, and Dele Alli a second header from close range. This would send them through to their third World Cup semi-final and their first since 1990, and third overall. The team played Croatia in the semi-final, resulting in a 2 -- 1 loss after extra time. England would later finish fourth in the competition, the best result since 1990. England would lose again to Belgium in the 3rd place playoff, thanks to goals from Thomas Meunier and Eden Hazard, despite a Eric Dier shot being cleared off the line by Toby Alderweireld. The tournament would see England score nine goals from set - pieces -- the most by a team in a single World Cup tournament since 1966. Records Year Round Position GP D * GF GA GD 1930 Not a FIFA member 1934 1938 1950 Group stage 8th 0 0 1954 Quarter - finals 7th 8 8 0 1958 Group stage 11th 0 5 - 1 1962 Quarter - finals 8th 5 6 - 1 1966 Champions 1st 6 5 0 11 8 1970 Quarter - finals 8th 0 0 Did not qualify 1978 1982 Second group stage 6th 5 0 6 5 1986 Quarter - finals 8th 5 7 1990 Semi finals 4th 7 8 6 1994 Did not qualify 1998 Round of 16 9th 7 2002 Quarter - finals 6th 5 6 2006 Quarter - finals 7th 5 0 6 Round of 16 13th 5 - 2 2014 Group stage 26th 0 - 2 2018 Semi-finals 4th 7 12 8 2022 TBD 2026 Total 15 / 21 1 title 69 29 21 19 91 64 27 * Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks By match Year Round Against Score Scorers 1950 Group 2 Chile 2 -- 0 Mortensen, Mannion United States 0 -- 1 Spain 0 -- 1 1954 Group 4 Belgium 4 -- 4 ( aet ) Broadis ( 2 ), Lofthouse ( 2 ) Switzerland 2 -- 0 Mullen, Wilshaw Quarter - final Uruguay 2 -- 4 Lofthouse, Finney 1958 Group 4 Soviet Union 2 -- 2 Kevan, Finney Brazil 0 -- 0 Austria 2 -- 2 Haynes, Kevan Play - off Soviet Union 0 -- 1 1962 Group 4 Hungary 1 -- 2 Flowers Argentina 3 -- 1 Flowers, Charlton, Greaves Bulgaria 0 -- 0 Quarter - final Brazil 1 -- 3 Hitchens 1966 Group 1 Uruguay 0 -- 0 Mexico 2 -- 0 Charlton, Hunt France 2 -- 0 Hunt ( 2 ) Quarter - final Argentina 1 -- 0 Hurst Semi-final Portugal 2 -- 1 Charlton ( 2 ) Final West Germany 4 -- 2 ( aet ) Hurst ( 3 ), Peters 1970 Group 3 Romania 1 -- 0 Hurst Brazil 0 -- 1 Czechoslovakia 1 -- 0 Clarke Quarter - final West Germany 2 -- 3 ( aet ) Mullery, Peters 1982 Group 4 France 3 -- 1 Robson ( 2 ), Mariner Czechoslovakia 2 -- 0 Francis, Barmoš ( o.g. ) Kuwait 1 -- 0 Francis Group B Round 2 West Germany 0 -- 0 Spain 0 -- 0 1986 Group F Portugal 0 -- 1 Morocco 0 -- 0 Poland 3 -- 0 Lineker ( 3 ) Round of 16 Paraguay 3 -- 0 Lineker ( 2 ), Beardsley Quarter - final Argentina 1 -- 2 Lineker 1990 Group F Republic of Ireland 1 -- 1 Lineker Netherlands 0 -- 0 Egypt 1 -- 0 Wright Round of 16 Belgium 1 -- 0 ( aet ) Platt Quarter - final Cameroon 3 -- 2 ( aet ) Platt, Lineker ( 2 ) Semi-final West Germany 1 -- 1 ( aet ) Lineker Third - place play - off Italy 1 -- 2 Platt 1998 Group G Tunisia 2 -- 0 Shearer, Scholes Romania 1 -- 2 Owen Colombia 2 -- 0 Anderton, Beckham Round of 16 Argentina 2 -- 2 ( aet ) Shearer, Owen 2002 Group F Sweden 1 -- 1 Campbell Argentina 1 -- 0 Beckham Nigeria 0 -- 0 Round of 16 Denmark 3 -- 0 Ferdinand, Owen, Heskey Quarter - final Brazil 1 -- 2 Owen 2006 Group B Paraguay 1 -- 0 Gamarra ( o.g. ) Trinidad and Tobago 2 -- 0 Crouch, Gerrard Sweden 2 -- 2 Cole, Gerrard Round of 16 Ecuador 1 -- 0 Beckham Quarter - final Portugal 0 -- 0 ( aet ) Group C United States 1 -- 1 Gerrard Algeria 0 -- 0 Slovenia 1 -- 0 Defoe Round of 16 Germany 1 -- 4 Upson 2014 Group D Italy 1 -- 2 Sturridge Uruguay 1 -- 2 Rooney Costa Rica 0 -- 0 2018 Group G Tunisia 2 -- 1 Kane ( 2 ) Panama 6 -- 1 Stones ( 2 ), Kane ( 3 ), Lingard Belgium 0 -- 1 Round of 16 Colombia 1 -- 1 ( aet ) Kane Quarter - final Sweden 2 -- 0 Maguire, Alli Semi-final Croatia 1 -- 2 ( aet ) Trippier Third - place play - off Belgium 0 -- 2 By opponent Country Played Won Drawn Lost GF GA GD Argentina 5 8 5 + 3 Germany 5 8 10 - 2 Brazil 0 6 - 4 Sweden 0 5 + 2 Belgium 5 7 - 2 Portugal 0 Uruguay 0 6 - 3 France 0 0 5 + 4 Paraguay 0 0 0 + 4 Tunisia 0 0 + 3 Czechoslovakia 0 0 0 + 3 Colombia 0 + 2 Romania 0 0 Soviet Union 0 - 1 United States 0 - 1 Spain 0 0 - 1 Italy 0 0 - 2 Panama 0 0 6 + 5 Poland 0 0 0 + 3 Denmark 0 0 0 + 3 Chile 0 0 0 + 2 Switzerland 0 0 0 + 2 Mexico 0 0 0 + 2 Trinidad and Tobago 0 0 0 + 2 Cameroon 0 0 + 1 Kuwait 0 0 0 + 1 Egypt 0 0 0 + 1 Ecuador 0 0 0 + 1 Slovenia 0 0 0 0 + 1 Austria 0 0 0 Republic of Ireland 0 0 0 Bulgaria 0 0 0 0 0 Morocco 0 0 0 0 0 Netherlands 0 0 0 0 0 Nigeria 0 0 0 0 0 Algeria 0 0 0 0 0 Costa Rica 0 0 0 0 0 Hungary 0 0 - 1 Croatia 0 0 - 1 Last update : 14 July 2018 Players ' honours List of England players with the most appearances at World Cups No. Name Matches World Cups Peter Shilton 17 1982, 1986, 1990 Terry Butcher 14 1982, 1986, 1990 Bobby Charlton 14 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970 Ashley Cole 14 2002, 2006, 2010 Bobby Moore 14 1962, 1966, 1970 6 David Beckham 13 1998, 2002, 2006 7 Steven Gerrard 12 2006, 2010, 2014 Gary Lineker 12 1986, 1990 Michael Owen 12 1998, 2002, 2006 10 Chris Waddle 11 1986, 1990 List of England top goalscorers at World Cups No. Name Goals World Cups Gary Lineker 10 1986 ( 6 ) and 1990 ( 4 ) Harry Kane 6 2018 Geoff Hurst 5 1966 ( 4 ) and 1970 ( 1 ) Bobby Charlton 1962 ( 1 ) and 1966 ( 3 ) Michael Owen 1998 ( 2 ) and 2002 ( 2 ) 6 Nat Lofthouse 1954 Roger Hunt 1966 David Platt 1990 David Beckham 1998, 2002 and 2006 Steven Gerrard 2006 ( 2 ) and 2010 11 Nine players Current as of 3 July 2018 after the match against Colombia List of England goals by tournament World Cup Goalscorer ( s ) 1950 Wilf Mannion, Stan Mortensen 1954 Nat Lofthouse ( 3 ), Ivor Broadis ( 2 ), Tom Finney, Jimmy Mullen, Dennis Wilshaw 1958 Derek Kevan ( 2 ), Tom Finney, Johnny Haynes 1962 Ron Flowers ( 2 ), Bobby Charlton, Jimmy Greaves, Gerry Hitchens 1966 Geoff Hurst ( 4 ), Roger Hunt ( 3 ), Bobby Charlton ( 3 ), Martin Peters 1970 Allan Clarke, Geoff Hurst, Alan Mullery, Martin Peters 1982 Trevor Francis ( 2 ), Bryan Robson ( 2 ), Paul Mariner, Own Goal 1986 Gary Lineker ( 6 ), Peter Beardsley 1990 Gary Lineker ( 4 ), David Platt ( 3 ), Mark Wright 1998 Michael Owen ( 2 ), Alan Shearer ( 2 ), Darren Anderton, David Beckham, Paul Scholes 2002 Michael Owen ( 2 ), David Beckham, Sol Campbell, Rio Ferdinand, Emile Heskey 2006 Steven Gerrard ( 2 ), David Beckham, Joe Cole, Peter Crouch, Own Goal Jermain Defoe, Steven Gerrard, Matthew Upson 2014 Wayne Rooney, Daniel Sturridge 2018 Harry Kane ( 6 ), John Stones ( 2 ), Jesse Lingard, Harry Maguire, Dele Alli, Kieran Trippier List of England players playing abroad at a World Cup Historically, very few English World Cup squad members were playing for a club in a foreign league at the time of their selection to the national squad. Year Number ( Country ) Players ( Apps ) 1950 -- 1958 0 1962 1 ( Italy ) Gerry Hitchens ( 2 ) 1966 -- 1970 0 1982 1 ( West Germany ) Tony Woodcock ( 2 ) 1986 2 ( Italy ) Mark Hateley ( 3 ), Ray Wilkins 1990 5 ( 4 in Scotland, 1 in France ) Terry Butcher ( 5 ), Trevor Steven ( 3 ), Gary Stevens ( 2 ), Chris Woods ( 0 ) ; Chris Waddle ( 7 ) 1998 0 2002 1 ( Germany ) Owen Hargreaves ( 2 ) 2006 2 ( 1 Spain, 1 Germany ) David Beckham ( 5 ) ; Owen Hargreaves ( 4 ) 0 2014 1 ( Scotland ) Fraser Forster ( 0 ) 2018 0 Team awards and records This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( July 2018 ) Team Awards World Champions 1966 FIFA Fair Play Trophy 1990 FIFA Fair Play Trophy 1998 ( shared ) Individual Awards Golden Ball 1966 : Bobby Charlton Silver Ball 1966 : Bobby Moore Golden Boot 1986 : Gary Lineker Golden Boot 2018 : Harry Kane Bronze Boot 1966 : Geoff Hurst Golden Glove 1966 : Gordon Banks Best Young Player Award 1998 : Michael Owen Team Records Most penalty shoot - outs lost : 3 ( shared with Italy and Spain ) Biggest World Cup victory : 6 - 1 vs Panama, 2018 Group Stage Individual Records Only hattrick in a final : Geoff Hurst ( 1966 v West Germany ) Oldest captain : Peter Shilton ( age 40 years and 292 days, 1990 v Italy ) Most clean sheets : Peter Shilton ( 10, 1982 - 1990 ) ( shared with Fabien Barthez ) Refereeing This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( July 2018 ) Four FIFA World Cup finals were officiated by English referees, more than by any other football association. The first Englishman to officiate a final, George Reader, is also the oldest World Cup referee to date, as he was 53 years and 236 days old at the 1950 decisive match between Uruguay and Brazil. The other final referees are William Ling ( 1954 ), Jack Taylor ( 1974 ) and Howard Webb ( 2010 ). Arthur Ellis, who was a linesman at the 1950 final, is part of an elite group of referees who has been called up for three consecutive World Cups ( 1950 -- 1958 ). Notes and references Notes Jump up ^ England declined the chance, created and given to them when Austria withdrew from the tournament following the Anschluss, to take part in the 1938 FIFA World Cup. Jump up ^ Excluding the 1982 FIFA World Cup, which did not have formal quarter - finals, but instead had a second group stage that determined who would qualify for the semi-finals. Jump up ^ Belgium were ranked third, and Germany had already been eliminated. Only Switzerland ( 6 ) and Spain ( 10 ) would be on the loser 's half of the draw from the top 10 of the FIFA World Rankings Jump up ^ England had previously lost World Cup penalty shoot - outs in 1990 to West Germany, 1998 to Argentina and Portugal in 2006. England 's penalty shoot - out record before the match was 1 -- 6, with their only win against Spain in EURO 96. Jump up ^ A total of six yellow cards for Colombia, and two for England. ^ Jump up to : England lost the penalty shoot - out Jump up ^ England won the penalty shoot - out References Jump up ^ Jones, Ken ( 4 December 1997 ). `` Football : It is possible to forget that England 's overall World Cup record is nothing much to shout about - Sport ''. The Independent. Archived from the original on 22 November 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2015. Jump up ^ 2006 FIFA World Cup TV Coverage Archived 14 June 2007 at the Wayback Machine. 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England national football squads England squad -- 1950 FIFA World Cup GK Ditchburn GK Williams DF Aston DF Eckersley DF Ramsey DF Scott DF Taylor DF Wright ( c ) MF Baily MF Cockburn MF Dickinson MF Hughes MF Nicholson MF Watson FW Bentley FW Finney FW Mannion FW Matthews FW Milburn FW Mortensen FW Mullen Coach : Winterbottom England squad -- 1954 FIFA World Cup 1 Merrick 2 Staniforth 3 Byrne 4 Wright ( c ) 5 Owen 6 Dickinson 7 Matthews 8 Broadis 9 Lofthouse 10 Taylor 11 Finney 12 Burgin 13 Green 14 McGarry 15 Wilshaw 16 Quixall 17 Mullen 18 Chilton 19 Armstrong 20 Jezzard 21 Haynes 22 Hooper Coach : Winterbottom England squad -- 1958 FIFA World Cup 1 McDonald 2 Howe 3 Banks 4 Clamp 5 Wright ( c ) 6 Slater 7 Douglas 8 Robson 9 Kevan 10 Haynes 11 Finney 12 Hopkinson 13 Hodgkinson 14 Sillett 15 Clayton 16 Norman 17 Brabrook 18 Broadbent 19 Smith 20 Charlton 21 A'Court 22 Setters Coach : Winterbottom England squad -- 1962 FIFA World Cup 1 Springett 2 Armfield 3 Wilson 4 Robson 5 Swan 6 Flowers 7 Connelly 8 Greaves 9 Hitchens 10 Haynes ( c ) 11 Charlton 12 Hodgkinson 13 Kevan 14 Anderson 15 Norman 16 Moore 17 Douglas 18 Hunt 19 Peacock 20 Eastham 21 Howe 22 Adamson Coach : Winterbottom England squad -- 1966 FIFA World Cup winners ( 1st title ) 1 Banks 2 Cohen 3 Wilson 4 Stiles 5 J. Charlton 6 Moore ( c ) 7 Ball 8 Greaves 9 B. Charlton 10 Hurst 11 Connelly 12 Springett 13 Bonetti 14 Armfield 15 Byrne 16 Peters 17 Flowers 18 Hunter 19 Paine 20 Callaghan 21 Hunt 22 Eastham Coach : Ramsey England squad -- 1970 FIFA World Cup 1 Banks 2 Newton 3 Cooper 4 Mullery 5 Labone 6 Moore ( c ) 7 Lee 8 Ball 9 B. Charlton 10 Hurst 11 Peters 12 Bonetti 13 Stepney 14 Wright 15 Stiles 16 Hughes 17 J. Charlton 18 Hunter 19 Bell 20 Osgood 21 Clarke 22 Astle Coach : Ramsey England squad -- 1982 FIFA World Cup 1 Clemence 2 Anderson 3 Brooking 4 Butcher 5 Coppell 6 Foster 7 Keegan 8 Francis 9 Hoddle 10 McDermott 11 Mariner 12 Mills ( c ) 13 Corrigan 14 Neal 15 Rix 16 Robson 17 Sansom 18 Thompson 19 Wilkins 20 Withe 21 Woodcock 22 Shilton Coach : Greenwood England squad -- 1986 FIFA World Cup 1 Shilton 2 G.M. Stevens 3 Sansom 4 Hoddle 5 Martin 6 Butcher 7 B. Robson ( c ) 8 Wilkins 9 Hateley 10 Lineker 11 Waddle 12 Anderson 13 Woods 14 Fenwick 15 G.A. Stevens 16 Reid 17 Steven 18 Hodge 19 Barnes 20 Beardsley 21 Dixon 22 Bailey Coach : R. Robson England squad -- 1990 FIFA World Cup fourth place 1 Shilton 2 Stevens 3 Pearce 4 Webb 5 Walker 6 Butcher 7 B. Robson ( c ) 8 Waddle 9 Beardsley 10 Lineker 11 Barnes 12 Parker 13 Woods 14 Wright 15 Dorigo 16 McMahon 17 Platt 18 Hodge 19 Gascoigne 20 Steven 21 Bull 22 Beasant Coach : R. Robson England squad -- 1998 FIFA World Cup 1 Seaman 2 Campbell 3 Le Saux 4 Ince 5 Adams 6 Southgate 7 Beckham 8 Batty 9 Shearer ( c ) 10 Sheringham 11 McManaman 12 Neville 13 Martyn 14 Anderton 15 Merson 16 Scholes 17 Lee 18 Keown 19 L. Ferdinand 20 Owen 21 R. Ferdinand 22 Flowers Coach : Hoddle England squad -- 2002 FIFA World Cup 1 Seaman 2 Mills 3 A. Cole 4 Sinclair 5 Ferdinand 6 Campbell 7 Beckham ( c ) 8 Scholes 9 Fowler 10 Owen 11 Heskey 12 Brown 13 Martyn 14 Bridge 15 Keown 16 Southgate 17 Sheringham 18 Hargreaves 19 J. Cole 20 Vassell 21 Butt 22 James 23 Dyer Coach : Eriksson England squad -- 2006 FIFA World Cup 1 Robinson 2 Neville 3 A. Cole 4 Gerrard 5 Ferdinand 6 Terry 7 Beckham ( c ) 8 Lampard 9 Rooney 10 Owen 11 J. Cole 12 Campbell 13 James 14 Bridge 15 Carragher 16 Hargreaves 17 Jenas 18 Carrick 19 Lennon 20 Downing 21 Crouch 22 Carson 23 Walcott Coach : Eriksson England squad -- 2010 FIFA World Cup 1 James 2 Johnson 3 A. Cole 4 Gerrard ( c ) 5 Dawson 6 Terry 7 Lennon 8 Lampard 9 Crouch 10 Rooney 11 J. Cole 12 Green 13 Warnock 14 Barry 15 Upson 16 Milner 17 Wright - Phillips 18 Carragher 19 Defoe 20 King 21 Heskey 22 Carrick 23 Hart Coach : Capello England squad -- 2014 FIFA World Cup 1 Hart 2 Johnson 3 Baines 4 Gerrard ( c ) 5 Cahill 6 Jagielka 7 Wilshere 8 Lampard 9 Sturridge 10 Rooney 11 Welbeck 12 Smalling 13 Foster 14 Henderson 15 Oxlade - Chamberlain 16 Jones 17 Milner 18 Lambert 19 Sterling 20 Lallana 21 Barkley 22 Forster 23 Shaw Coach : Hodgson England squad -- 2018 FIFA World Cup fourth place 1 Pickford 2 Walker 3 Rose 4 Dier 5 Stones 6 Maguire 7 Lingard 8 Henderson 9 Kane ( c ) 10 Sterling 11 Vardy 12 Trippier 13 Butland 14 Welbeck 15 Cahill 16 Jones 17 Delph 18 Young 19 Rashford 20 Alli 21 Loftus - Cheek 22 Alexander - Arnold 23 Pope Coach : Southgate England national football team General The Football Association History Managers Captains Kits Venues Wembley Stadium 1923 stadium 2007 stadium Home venues St George 's Park ( Burton ) Statistics All - time record Records World Cup record European Championship record Hat - tricks Awards The FA England Awards The FA Women 's Football Awards Results Men 's 1872 -- 99 1900 -- 29 1930 -- 59 1960 -- 79 1980 -- 99 2000 -- 19 Unofficial matches Women 's 2010s Players World Cup & Euro Championship squads 10 + caps 4 -- 9 caps 2 -- 3 caps 1 cap Born outside England Other categories World Cups 1950 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1982 1986 1990 1998 2002 2006 2014 2018 European Championships 1968 1980 2000 2012 2016 Other tournaments British Home Championship ( 1884 -- 1984 ) Minor tournaments Noted rivalries Argentina Austria Belgium Brazil Denmark France Germany Hungary Italy Ireland Netherlands Poland Portugal Scotland Spain Sweden Switzerland Wales Culture Noted matches Band Songs Discography WAGs `` They think it 's all over '' Other FA teams Men 's England B England C Amateur ( defunct ) U-21 U-20 U-19 U-18 U-17 U-16 Futsal Learning Disabilities Beach ( not FA affiliated ) Women 's Senior U-23 U-20 U-19 U-17 U-15 Beach ( not FA affiliated ) Countries at the FIFA World Cup Team appearances Teams with no appearances All - time table AFC Australia China Indonesia Iran Iraq Japan Kuwait North Korea Saudi Arabia South Korea United Arab Emirates CAF Algeria Angola Cameroon DR Congo Egypt Ghana Ivory Coast Morocco Nigeria Senegal South Africa Togo Tunisia CONCACAF Canada Costa Rica Cuba El Salvador Haiti Honduras Jamaica Mexico Panama Trinidad and Tobago United States CONMEBOL Argentina Bolivia Brazil Chile Colombia Ecuador Paraguay Peru Uruguay OFC New Zealand UEFA Austria Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Czech Republic Denmark East Germany England France Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Israel Italy Netherlands Northern Ireland Norway Poland Portugal Republic of Ireland Romania Russia Scotland Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey Ukraine Wales Considered a successor team by FIFA, or have competed under another name ( s ). Have been member of multiple confederations. Team and national federation no longer exist. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=England_at_the_FIFA_World_Cup&oldid=853673134 '' Categories : England at the FIFA World Cup Countries at the FIFA World Cup History of the England national football team Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links All articles with dead external links Articles with dead external links from July 2018 Articles with permanently dead external links EngvarB from June 2018 Use dmy dates from June 2018 All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from July 2018 Articles needing additional references from July 2018 All articles needing additional references Articles to be expanded from July 2018 All articles to be expanded Articles using small message boxes Articles with unsourced statements from June 2018 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch Edit links This page was last edited on 6 August 2018, at 07 : 56 ( UTC ). 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Question: when did england start playing in the world cup
Answer: 1950