England turned the primary European nationwide staff to safe a spot on the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Tuesday. They did so with a dominant 5-0 away win over Latvia, with Harry Kane starring as soon as once more.
Thomas Tuchel’s squad locked up the highest spot in Group Ok of the World Cup qualifiers with a flawless marketing campaign—profitable all six of their matches and accumulating 18 factors, seven away from second-place Albania, their closest challengers.
With this outcome, England have now secured their eighth consecutive World Cup look. They’ve certified for each version of the event since 1998. The final time they didn’t make it was in 1994, when the event was held in the US. Fittingly, they’ll now journey to North America with a brand new alternative to compete on the worldwide stage.
Forward of the 1994 version, the Three Lions completed third in Europe’s Group 2 behind Norway and the Netherlands, lacking out on the event for the primary time in 16 years. Nonetheless, the World Cup’s expanded format—from 24 to 32 groups—drastically improved England’s qualification prospects within the years that adopted, they usually’ve made each version since.
Thomas Tuchel, Supervisor of England.
What number of World Cups have England missed?
England are tied with France because the sixth-most frequent members in World Cup historical past, every with 16 appearances. The highest 5 contains Brazil (22— the one nation to have performed in each version), Germany (20), Argentina and Italy (18 every), and Mexico (17).
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Previous to 1994, the Three Lions missed two straight tournaments in 1974 and 1978 after failing to qualify. Add to that the primary three editions of the World Cup—1930, 1934, and 1938—which they skipped totally. On the time, the English Soccer Affiliation was not a part of FIFA and declined invites in favor of home competitions.
Harry Kane leads England’s World Cup hopes
With their spot within the 2026 World Cup now secured, England followers as soon as once more dare to dream. Since lifting the trophy on residence soil in 1966, the nationwide staff has not gained one other main event and has by no means returned to a World Cup remaining.
Their finest finishes since then had been semifinal appearances in 1990 and 2018. However now, Thomas Tuchel has a squad filled with world-class expertise, led by Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden, Marcus Rashford, and Declan Rice—gamers who’ve all confirmed themselves on the membership stage. The problem now could be to translate that particular person brilliance into worldwide success.
