England at the World Cup.
The story
England's only World Cup title came at home in 1966. Geoff Hurst scored a hat-trick in the 4-2 extra-time win over West Germany at Wembley — still the only hat-trick in a WC final. Bobby Moore captained the team, Bobby Charlton was the playmaker, Gordon Banks the goalkeeper. England did not play in the 1950 final round either; the country's relationship with the tournament has been mostly painful, including the 1990 semi-final shootout loss, the 1998 R16 exit against Argentina (Beckham red card), and the 2018 semi-final loss to Croatia. Harry Kane's Golden Boot in 2018 (6 goals) and Jude Bellingham's emergence at Qatar 2022 mark the modern Three Lions era.
Famous England players
Bobby Charlton · Geoff Hurst · Bobby Moore · Gary Lineker · David Beckham · Wayne Rooney · Harry Kane · Jude Bellingham.
See our full top-20 World Cup legends list for tournament-by-tournament impact.
England in 2026
For England's 2026 World Cup campaign — group, fixtures, results — see our World Cup 2026 hub, the group standings and the match schedule.
More from the World Cup category
- → World Cup category index
- → World Cup 2026 — live hub
- → All-time top scorers
- → Country rankings — all-time medals
- → Finals history (1930-2022)
- → Golden Ball winners
- → Golden Glove winners
- → World Cup records
- → Famous supporter groups
- → Player legends — top 20
- → Country histories (Brazil, Argentina, Germany, Italy, France, Uruguay, Spain, England)