For decades, England fans have sung “It’s Coming Home” as they hope to will the Three Lions to their first major tournament title since 1966. Those chants have come to no avail, though, as evidenced by England’s World Cup semifinal loss to Argentina on Wednesday.
England blew a 1-0 lead late in Wednesday’s semifinal match against Argentina, giving up the game-tying goal in the 85th minute before Lautaro Martínez scored the game-winner in extra time.
The loss marked just the latest heartbreak for England at a major tournament since its World Cup win in 1966. While the Three Lions haven’t made it back to the World Cup final since their last win, they’ve reached the final of the Euros twice since then.
So, as England went through another heartbreaking loss on Wednesday, here’s a look back at some of its other dramatic losses since its last World Cup victory.
Diego Maradona scored two iconic goals in a span of four minutes to eliminate England from the 1986 quarterfinals. Maradona later claimed that this goal was scored by ‘The Hand Of God’. (Photo by Archivo El Grafico/Getty Images)
England was eliminated in the quarterfinals at 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, swerving by England’s defense to score the game-winner in what would later become known as the “Goal of the Century.”
England was on the doorstep of reaching the World Cup final in 1990, before things unraveled against West Germany. After scoring the 80th-minute equalizer, England suffered some heartbreak in extra time and penalty kicks. Paul Gascoigne received a yellow card that would’ve disqualified him from playing in the final, leading to a memorable image of him crying.
Gascoigne’s yellow card didn’t play into the final result against West Germany. However, it became the moment of England’s loss, as the Three Lions missed their final two penalty kicks 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)
England’s loss to Portugal in the quarters of the 2004 Euros was pretty wicked. It blew a 2-1 lead in the 83rd minute, but forced penalty kicks with a goal in the 115th minute. However, Portugal edged out England in penalties, winning 6-5 in seven rounds as David Beckham and Darius Vassell didn’t score on their tries.
If Argentina has been the biggest thorn in England’s side at the World Cup, then Italy has been the biggest thorn in its side at the Euros. It battled Italy to a scoreless draw through 120 minutes in the semis at the 2012 Euros, forcing another dramatic session of penalty kicks. But as Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney scored for England in penalties, Ashley Young and Ashley Cole didn’t score, allowing Italy to win the penalties, 4-2.
England’s loss to Italy in the final of the 2020 Euros might be its most painful on this list. It took an early 1-0 lead in the second minute, but Italy equalized in the 67th minute. While England wasn’t able to score again, it was in control during penalties. 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 on their tries. Italy scored on two of its final three penalty kicks, and England came up short at Wembley.
Once again, England was on the precipice of winning the Euros in 2024. Cole Palmer scored the equalizer against Spain in the 73rd minute, as it appeared the match would go into extra time. Right before stoppage time, though, Spain star Mikel Oyarzabal scored an impressive goal that gave his side a 2-1 lead en route to victory.
