It comes home, until it doesn’t: England’s brutal eliminations since last World Cup win

For decades, England fans have chanted “It’s Coming Home” in the hope of helping the Three Lions win their first major tournament title since 1966. Those chants were to no avail, however, as evidenced by England’s World Cup semi-final defeat to Argentina on Wednesday.

England blew a late 1-0 lead in Wednesday’s semifinal match against Argentina, conceding the equalizer in the 85th minute before Lautaro Martínez scored the winner in overtime.

The defeat is just the latest heartbreak for England at a major tournament since winning the World Cup in 1966. Although the Three Lions have not returned to the World Cup final since their last victory, they have reached the Euro final twice since.

So, as England suffered yet another heartbreaking defeat on Wednesday, here’s a look back at some of their other dramatic defeats since their last World Cup victory.

WORLD CUP

Diego Maradona scored two iconic goals in the space of four minutes to knock England out of the 1986 quarter-finals. Maradona later claimed that this goal was scored by “The Hand of God”. (Photo by Archivo El Grafico/Getty Images)

England were knocked out in the quarter-finals of the 1986 World Cup, thanks to one of the most controversial goals in the history of the sport. In the 51st minute, Argentina star Diego Maradona leveled the match against England with the infamous “Hand of God” goal. Four minutes later, Maradona scored another infamous goal, deflecting the English defense to score the winner in what would later become known as the “Goal of the Century”.

England were on the verge of reaching the World Cup final in 1990, before things went south against West Germany. After scoring the equalizer in the 80th minute, England suffered heartbreak in extra time and penalties. Paul Gascoigne received a yellow card which would have disqualified him from the final, resulting in a memorable image of him crying.

Gascoigne’s yellow card did not play into the final result against West Germany. However, it became England’s moment of defeat, as the Three Lions missed their final two penalties and fell 4-3.

A second-half red card for David Beckham left England with ten men before a 4-3 penalty shootout defeat to Argentina in 1998. (Photo by Arnold Slater/Daily Mirror/Mirrorpix via Getty Images)

Argentina were again on the right side of a heartbreak for England in 1998. In the round of 16, David Beckham received a red card for a foul he committed early in the second half. Somehow, England not only managed to keep the game level with just 10 men, but they also scored a goal in extra time that would have given them the lead. However, Sol Campbell’s potential goal was called back due to a foul on the goalkeeper.

Argentina managed to win on penalties.

In 2018, the door opened for England to reach the final. England took a 1-0 lead in the semi-final against Croatia, but gave away the equalizer in the 68th minute, forcing extra time. Croatia’s Mario Mandžukić scored the winner in the 109th minute, and England failed to force a penalty shootout.

England had the opportunity to potentially eliminate reigning World Cup champions France in 2022, and they put up a tough fight. Harry Kane scored a second-half penalty to level the match, before France took a 2-1 lead in the 78th minute. Yet England had a golden opportunity to level the match when they were awarded a penalty in the 82nd minute. However, Kane managed to score again from a penalty, missing the net completely.

For the third time since their last World Cup victory, England suffered another heartbreaking defeat to Argentina in the World Cup on Wednesday. Anthony Gordon gave the Three Lions a 1-0 lead in the 55th minute, giving his side the lead in a tight match.

But some questionable tactical changes from England manager Thomas Tuchel allowed Argentina to make a comeback. Lionel Messi distributed two assists in the final minutes, including one which allowed Lautaro Martínez to score the winning goal on a header in extra time.

EUROS

England’s penalty nightmares at the World Cup also led to their elimination at the Euros. In the semi-final of the 1996 tournament, England and Germany exchanged early goals that allowed the match to go to penalties. Both teams took their first five shots on goal, before Germany scored on their sixth try and England’s Gareth Southgate managed to score on the sixth try.

Darius Vassell missed a penalty in England’s defeat against Portugal in 2004. (Photo by Christof Koepsel/Bongarts/Getty Images)

England’s defeat against Portugal in the quarter-finals of Euro 2004 was pretty nasty. He lost a 2-1 lead in the 83rd minute, but forced penalties with a goal in the 115th minute. However, Portugal edged England on penalties, winning 6-5 in seven rounds as David Beckham and Darius Vassell failed to score in their tries.

If Argentina was the biggest thorn in England’s side at the World Cup, Italy was the biggest thorn in England’s side at the Euro. He played Italy to a scoreless draw in 120 minutes in the Euro 2012 semi-finals, forcing another dramatic penalty shootout. But while Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney scored for England on penalties, Ashley Young and Ashley Cole did not score, allowing Italy to win the penalty shootout, 4-2.

England’s loss to Italy in the Euro 2020 final might be the most painful on this list. It took a 1-0 lead in the second minute, but Italy equalized in the 67th minute. Although England failed to score again, they remained in control during the penalty shootout. The Three Lions took a 2-1 lead through the first two rounds, but Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka all failed to score in their tries. Italy scored on two of their last three penalties, and England fell short at Wembley.

Once again, England were on course to win the Euros in 2024. Cole Palmer scored the equalizer against Spain in the 73rd minute, when it looked like the match would go into extra time. However, just before injury time, Spanish star Mikel Oyarzabal scored an impressive goal that gave his team a 2-1 lead en route to victory.