Shropshire Star has taken a look back on all 21 previous World Cup tournaments, including - of course - England's date with destiny in 1966.
Losing finalists at the very first World Cup, Argentina’s footballers reached the pinnacle on home soil 48 years later.
After Dirk Nanninga’s header had equalised Kempes’s first-half opener, the Dutch came within a whisker of winning when Rob Rensenbrink struck a post in the dying seconds of normal time. Destiny beckoned a reprieved Argentina, however, and Kempes and Daniel Bertoni seized the glory with extra-time strikes.
England, captained by Kevin Keegan, won all three matches in the first group stage, beating France 3-1, with a brace from Bryan Robson, Czechoslovakia 2–0, with the help of a Jozef Barmos own goal, and World Cup newcomers Kuwait 1–0, with Trevor Francis on the mark. Brazil were hotly fancied at the start of the tournament, and comfortably topped their first group. But their victory over Argentina in the second group was not enough to see them through, as they crashed to Italy in a pulsating 3-2 defeat in Barcelona.
His team’s early performances in Mexico did little to improve the situation, with England losing their opening game to Portugal 1–0, and only managing a goalless draw against Morocco – with Ray Wilkins getting sent off. England’s fortunes improved in the final group game against Poland, which they won 3-0, with Gary Lineker scoring a hat-trick.
And so it turned out, with Maradona putting Argentina ahead in the most controversial of circumstances, television replays showing him clearly punching the ball into the net. With just six minutes remaining, Maradona conjured up one more piece of genius to flick a perfect pass into the path of Jorge Burruchaga, who strode away from the German defence and slid the ball past Harald Schumacher.Disappointed England players after the semi-final defeat to West Germany - on right Steve Bull and Chris WaddleEngland headed to Italy amid controversy, forced to play their group games in Sardinia and Sicily amid concerns about the behaviour of England fans.
In the round of 16, Platt scored a 119th-minute winner against Belgium after the game went into extra time. In the final, West Germany avenged their 1986 defeat with a 1-0 victory over Argentina, Andreas Brehme scoring the only goal of the game in the 85th minute. It also made Brazil the first nation to win four World Cup titles. There were three new entrants in the tournament: Greece, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia; Russia also appeared as a separate nation for the first time, following the break-up of the Soviet Union, and for the first time since 1938, a unified Germany took part in the tournament. They were also defending champions, but were eliminated in quarter-finals by Bulgaria.
England, managed by Glenn Hoddle, had come second in Group G, having beaten Tunisia 2–0 in the first game, followed by a 2-1 defeat to Romania and a 2–0 win over Columbia. Sven-Goran Eriksson had become England’s first foreign manager, and entered the competition in good spirits following a 5-1 victory over Germany.
An early goal from Owen gave England hope, but a blunder by keeper David Seaman saw England lose 2–1.The stage was set for a classic final, with Ronaldo scoring both goals to secure the Samba boys a record fifth World Cup win.Germany 2006Third place: GermanyEngland’s so-called ‘golden generation’ went into the 2006 World Cup with high hopes, having won eight of their 10 qualifiers.
England were held to a goalless draw by Portugal in the quarter final, but went out on penalties as Ricardo became the first goalkeeper to save three penalties in a shoot-out. Ricardo saved from Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, and Jamie Carragher; the only England player who converted his penalty was Owen Hargreaves. Portugal won the shoot-out 3–1, despite misses from Petit and Hugo Viana.
But England looked flat right from the start, beginning the tournament with a poor 1-1 draw against the US, thanks to a major error by goalkeeper Robert Green. Matthew Upson responded quickly to get England back into the game, and Frank Lampard appeared to have scored the equaliser with a superb half-volley from 25 yards. But inexplicably, the goal was ruled not to have crossed the line, despite replays showing it clearly to have done so. German goalkeeper Neuer later admitted he knew the ball had crossed the line.
Claudio Marchisio had put Italy ahead on 35 minutes, but Daniel Sturridge equalised within two minutes leaving the two sides on level terms at half-time. But Mario Balotelli scored on 50 minutes, and England were unable to take advantage of their chances in the second half. The 21st World Cup was controversially held in Russia amid allegations of bribery and corruption. England arrived amid low expectations. The humiliation of the 2014 World Cup was compounded by a lacklustre showing at the 2016 European Championships.
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