England At The World Cup: The Highs, The Heartbreaks, And Why 2026 Feels Different

There are few things in sport that move a country the way a World Cup summer does. The shirts come out of drawers, the pub screens get wiped down, and something shifts in the national mood.

For England fans, that excitement has always sat alongside something more uncomfortable. A nagging sense that it probably won’t go the way you want. Anyone who keeps half an eye on sports betting will know England tend to sit near the top of the market before a tournament and rarely justify it by the end.

The greatest moment

The one time they did justify it was 1966. England beat West Germany 4-2 in the final at Wembley, with Geoff Hurst scoring three. It was the first hat-trick ever scored in a World Cup final, and the only one until Kylian Mbappe achieved the same feat in 2022.

However, the game was far from straightforward. West Germany equalised in the 89th minute to force extra time, and Hurst’s second goal, the one that bounced down off the crossbar, is still being argued about today. England held on and won 4-2, and it remains the only World Cup win to this day.

So close so many times

The 1970 side in Mexico is often considered stronger than the team that won it four years earlier, and they still went out to West Germany in the quarter-finals after throwing away a two-goal lead.

The 1986 tournament is mostly remembered for Maradona scoring two of the most talked-about goals in football history against England in the quarter-finals. The first was punched in with his hand, which was later called the “Hand of God”, and the second was a 60-yard solo run through half the England team that is still considered one of the greatest goals ever scored.

But it’s Italia ’90 that tends to stay with people the longest. Bobby Robson’s team reached the semi-finals and more than matched West Germany across 120 minutes, with Paul Gascoigne running the show at just 23 years old. When he picked up a yellow card that would have kept him out of the final, he broke down in tears on the pitch, and that image ended up on every front page the next morning. The match went to a penalty shootout. Stuart Pearce’s spot kick was saved, and Chris Waddle’s effort went well over the crossbar, sending England home.

What followed over the next three decades was more of the same. Good squads, real promise, and exits at the quarter-final or semi-final stage that left fans wondering what might have been.

Why 2026 feels different

There are always reasons to be optimistic before a tournament, and England fans have learned to treat those reasons with some scepticism. But there is genuine substance behind the belief this time. Tuchel’s side won all eight of their qualifying matches without conceding a single goal, becoming the first European team to confirm their place at the 2026 tournament.

Harry Kane has 78 international goals and is still scoring consistently for Bayern Munich. Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka, and Declan Rice give England genuine quality through the middle, while the defensive options available to Tuchel, Marc Guehi, Reece James, and Ezri Konsa among them, are arguably the most reliable England have had at a major tournament in years.

Tuchel himself has won the Champions League and has a track record of getting teams organised when it matters most. For a closer look at how the odds are shaping up as the tournament approaches, the Paddy Power sports betting blog is worth a read.

Sixty years is a long time to wait. But few England squads heading into a World Cup have looked this ready on paper. The question, as it always is, is whether they can prove it when it counts.