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For 60 years, the English have declared that the World Cup trophy — sport's greatest-ever ornament — is returning to the shores that birthed the beautiful game.
And for 60 years, that pilgrimage has been delayed. England is one of the world's most preeminent footballing nations. But that hasn't been borne out in international competition, specifically the World Cup.
From penalty shootout heartbreak to brutal collapses, the Three Lions have suffered defeats in the most unusual of ways over the past 60 years. Here's an exhaustive look at their most sorrowful World Cup results, a list that got that much larger with their meltdown against Argentina.
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Worst England World Cup heartbreaks
1. 2026: Semifinal loss to Argentina
Perhaps there's a hint of hindsight in this result. Argentina and England looked equals for most of the contest, with the Three Lions' pace proving especially effective in transition opportunities. That brought about England's greatest moment — Anthony Gordon's second-half strike sent the Three Lions faithful, both in attendance and abroad, into raptures.
Then, Thomas Tuchel called on his players to sit off, allowing Argentina — spearheaded by the best player to ever traipse on grass — to camp outside of England's penalty area.
The Three Lions huffed and puffed, benefitting from timely interventions by Djed Spence and Jordan Pickford. But the dam would soon break in the 85th minute when Enzo Fernandez whipped a curling effort from distance into the corner of the net.
Seven minutes later, it was Lautaro Martinez who wheeled into the corner, having hammered Messi's deft right-footed cross past Pickford with his head.
Tuchel's tactics proved costly and robbed England of a prime chance to return to the World Cup final for the first time in 60 years. While the Argentines were certainly a daunting proposition, the nature of the Three Lions' collapse makes this the most devastating in England's World Cup history.
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2. 1990: Semifinal loss to West Germany
England has a checkered history in World Cup penalty shootouts. The Three Lions are a measly 1-3 when the knockout matches advance to spot kicks, with their lone win coming in the Round of 16 vs. Colombia.
The first of those three defeats came at Italia 1990. The Three Lions brushed the net with each of their opening three strikes, only to see Stuart Pearce and Chris Waddle miss the target.
No defeat is as agonizing as one that comes in a penalty shootout. The origins of England's spot kick meltdown are hazy. But it's hard to imagine the results of the 1990 tournament not lingering in the heads of those who have challenged themselves from the spot in the tournaments that have taken place since.
3. 2018: Semifinal loss to Croatia
England's loss to Argentina wasn't the first time it had surrendered a one-goal lead en route to a defeat in a World Cup semifinal.
The result was preceded by an identical one that took place eight years prior. The Three Lions were matched up with Croatia, a side blessed with a technically gifted midfield, but one that had failed to get out of the group stages in any of its prior three trips to the World Cup.
The Croatians were nothing to snuff at. They beat Messi's Argentina 3-0 in the group stage and fended off Denmark and Russia via penalty shootout. Gareth Southgate's team started the better of the two sides, taking an early lead after Kieran Trippier struck with a free kick in the game's opening moments.
But as the match wore on, Croatia proved the more proactive of the two sides. Ivan Perisic leveled things in the second half, while Mario Mandzukic shook off his marker to slip the ball past Pickford late in extra time. For all of the Croatians' talent, England appeared the likelier of the two sides to hoist the World Cup trophy prior to the start of the tourney. It's hard to class this result as anything less than a heartbreaking one for the Three Lions, especially when considering how brightly they started.
MORE ARGENTINA-ENGLAND NEWS:
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4. 2002: Quarterfinal loss to Brazil
There is no shame in losing to the eventual World Cup winner. While England suffered defeat at the hands of a star-laden Brazil side that had revenge on its mind following its loss in the 1998 World Cup final, the Three Lions were one goal to the good in their quarterfinal tilt.
The Brazilians were too good in the end, with Ronaldinho catching England goalkeeper David Seaman out with a chipped free kick and Rivaldo stealing the show with the game-winning strike. Still, you'd be remiss to think English supporters weren't dreaming after Michael Owen opened the scoring inside of 25 minutes.
5. 2022: Quarterfinal loss to France
As was the case in its loss to Brazil, England was subjected to a buzzsaw-like adversary in the 2022 World Cup quarterfinals. Southgate's bunch did well to equalize after Aurelien Tchouameni struck from distance. Olivier Giroud's go-ahead goal proved a back-breaker of sorts. But after a clumsy challenge in the box, the Three Lions were gifted a penalty in the game's dying embers.
Up stepped leading goal-scorer Harry Kane, one of the world's greatest-ever finishers. He had found the target with his first attempt from the spot that day, whipping his effort beyond Hugo Lloris. His second skied over the crossbar, relegating the Englishmen to a heartbreaking defeat.
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