England

🌍 World Cup Story

England invented the game, but have won the World Cup only once — on home soil in 1966. Bobby Moore lifted the Jules Rimet trophy at Wembley after a 4-2 final win over West Germany, Geoff Hurst's hat-trick the stuff of legend. Since then: quarterfinal exits galore (1986 — "Hand of God"; 1990 — Gazza's tears; 2002, 2006 — penalty heartbreak; 2018 — semifinal!). England's relationship with penalties is the sport's most tragicomic soap opera — they missed in 1990, 1996, 1998, 2004, 2006, and 2021. In 2018 under Gareth Southgate they reached the semifinals (losing to Croatia). At Euro 2020 (played 2021) and Euro 2024 they were runners-up, losing both finals — the latter to Spain. This squad — Kane, Bellingham, Saka, Foden — may be the best since 1966. The pressure of 60 years without a title is immense.