Have England ever missed the World Cup? The Three Lions’ full history at the tournament

England are competing at their 16th World Cup with Gareth Southgate’s side determined to go all the way in Qatar after narrowly missing out on glory when Italy beat them in the final of Euro 2020.

Much is always made of the fact that England haven’t won a major tournament since their World Cup 1966 triumph on home soil, but there have also been occasions when they missed out on the finals entirely.

For the first three World Cups – in 1930, 1934 and 1938 – England didn’t compete because they weren’t a FIFA member, keeping them waiting for a debut at the finals in 1950, when defeats against Spain and most surprisingly the USA meant they did not advance from the group stage.

But which other times has the famous footballing nation failed to qualify for the biggest footballing tournament?

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When did England first fail to qualify for the World Cup?

A key figure in any conversation about England’s greatest ever manager, Sir Alf Ramsey led the Three Lions to glory in 1966, although their opponents in the final, West Germany, avenged their defeat by beating them in the quarter-finals of the 1970 tournament in Mexico.

Four years later, England’s fall from grace became stark when Sir Alf failed to guide them to qualification success for the 1974 finals in Germany. Iconic captain Bobby Moore earned his final cap during the campaign, and the manager was sacked in May 1974.

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Have England qualified for every World Cup since then?

Unfortunately for a squad blessed with talents such as Kevin Keegan and Trevor Brooking, more pain was to come following that failure in 1974 and the departure of their revered coach.

Don Revie took over as boss but did not see out the unsuccessful campaign to reach Argentina in 1978. Successor Ron Greenwood could not prevent the team from being edged out in qualifying by Italy.

Arguably the most ignominious qualification attempt in England’s history came in their often-hapless bid to reach USA 1994, when they finished third in their group behind the Netherlands and Norway. Manager Graham Taylor was cruelly ridiculed at times and left the hotseat shortly afterwards.

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England’s full World Cup history

England’s most frequent result at the World Cup finals has been a quarterfinals berth, most recently reaching the final eight at the 2002 and 2006 tournaments.

Their best results since 1966 has seen them reach the semifinals in 1990 – when they lost on penalties to West Germany – and 2018, when they were beaten by Croatia. England lost the third-placed playoff match on both occasions.

With a talented squad at his disposal, Southgate will be hopeful of his side going at least one match further at the finals than they did four years ago, and they have been drawn in a kind-looking group alongside the USA, Iran and Wales.