England did not enter the competition until 1950, but has entered all seventeen subsequent tournaments except in 1994 in USA, It has failed to qualify for the finals on three occasions, 1974 (West Germany), 1978 (Argentina) and 1994 (United States). Their best ever performance is winning the Cup in the 1966 tournament held in England, and reaching fourth place in 1990, held in Italy. Other than that, the team has reached the quarter finals on six occasions, including 2002 (Korea / Japan), and 2006 (Germany). The 2014 (Brazil) World Cup was their worst ever performance in a major tournament.

When did england not qualify for the world cup? OK. Let's think. My stream of consciousness:
To answer the question, consider the following: England did not enter the competition until 1950, but has entered all seventeen subsequent tournaments except in 1994 in USA, It has failed to qualify for the finals on three occasions, 1974 (West Germany), 1978 (Argentina) and 1994 (United States). The answer is 1974.