World Cup 2022: Latest England odds, previews and history
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England World Cup betting odds, tips and latest news
England got their World Cup campaign off to superb start with a 6-2 victory against Iran on Monday afternoon and hopes remain high they can continue their excellent progress in major tournaments.
The Three Lions reached the last four at the last World Cup in Russia in 2018 and the final at Euro 2020 where they lost to Italy on penalties, but were relegated from the top tier at the Nations League.
We have created a page dedicated to the latest England World Cup betting tips, news, fixtures and a brief history of their performances on the biggest stage of all.
An examination of the various betting markets regarding Southgate’s team in Qatar, including group winner odds, stage of elimination and going out on penalties!
A breakdown of what the World Cup draw means for England and the other favourites to win the tournament and what it could mean in terms of England World Cup betting.
England overview
The Three Lions secured their place in Qatar with eight wins and two draws, six points clear of nearest rivals Poland, and have now finished top of their World Cup qualification group in the last six editions.
England bagged 39 goals along the way, the highest of any nation, with Harry Kane the joint top scorer alongside Netherlands striker Memphis Depay with 12 goals. The Three Lions have only once failed to make it to the knockout stage since 1998, ending up bottom of the group in Brazil in 2014.
England World Cup fixtures
Iran: November 21, 13.00 kick-off GMT, BBC1, Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan
USA: November 25, 19.00 kick-off GMT, ITV, Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor
Wales: November 29, 19.00 kick-off GMT, BBC1, Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan
England manager
Gareth Southgate took over the reins in 2016 as a replacement for Sam Allardyce who was caught in a Daily Telegraph sting after just one game as England head coach. The former Middlesbrough manager led the Three Lions to the last four at the 2018 World Cup and three years later the final at the delayed European Championship.
With 46 victories and 17 draws in his 76 games, Southgate is behind Fabio Capello, Alf Ramsey and Glenn Hoddle with a 60% , although the last two were nowhere near as successful as the ex-Aston Villa defender.
Southgate put his faith in youth during both tournaments and utilised a 4-2-3-1 formation at Euro 2020, with Kalvin Phillips and Declan Rice operating as holding midfielders.
However, Southgate has come in for criticism following a failed Nations League campaign which saw them humiliated 4-0 at home to Hungary en route to finishing bottom of the group and relegation to the second tier.
England’s key players
Harry Kane
The England captain is the focal point of the attack and his Golden Boot-winning six goals in Russia played a major part in their run to the semi-finals. The Tottenham striker is just two goals behind Wayne Rooney’s record of 53 and the 2022 World Cup could be where he takes over as England’s most prolific player. Kane reached his half-century after just 71 appearances, but Rooney took 120 games to score 53.
Raheem Sterling
Sterling has scored 19 goals in 77 appearances for England and although he swapped Manchester City for Chelsea during the summer, the winger is expected to play a major part in the Three Lions’ campaign in Qatar. Skilful and pacy, Sterling will be a worry for any full-back on the international stage.
Declan Rice
Rice has become an integral part of Southgate’s squad and his ability to break up play and bring the ball forward will be instrumemtal to England’s hopes of success in the Middle East this winter. The West Ham midfielder made his international debut for Republic of Ireland in a friendly against Turkey in 2018, but switched allegiance to England in the following year after six months of soul searching.
England World Cup history
1950 – Brazil (Manager: Walter Winterbottom)
England qualified by winning the British Home Championship, but their first appearance at the World Cup was a damp squib. Despite a 2-0 win against Chile, England lost 1-0 to the USA in one of the all-time World Cup shocks and then lost by the same scoreline to Spain as they failed to reach the final round-robin stage.
1954 – Switzerland (Manager: Walter Winterbottom)
England drew 4-4 with Belgium after extra time in their opening group game but a 2-0 win against Switzerland meant they faced Uruguay in the quarter-finals which they lost 4-2 in Basel.
1958 – Sweden (Manager: Walter Winterbottom)
England drew all three of their group games against the Soviet Union, Brazil and Austria to finish joint runners-up. However, they had an identical record as the Soviets so were involved in a play-off which they lost 1-0 in Gothenburg.
1962 – Chile (Manager: Walter Winterbottom)
An opening defeat to Hungary did not bode well, but England got back on track in a 3-1 victory over Argentina thanks to goals from Ron Flowers, Bobby Charlton and Jimmy Greaves, with a goalless draw against Bulgaria ensuring they unusually went through to the quarter-finals on goal ratio. However, they lost 3-1 to Brazil in the last eight in what was Winterbottom’s last game in charge.
1966 – England (Manager: Alf Ramsey)
England’s greatest success on the international stage as they clinched the World Cup on home soil. The hosts topped their group with two wins and a draw without conceding a goal and in a fierce quarter-final beat Argentina 1-0 at Wembley. In the semi-finals Bobby Charlton scored twice in a 2-1 victory over Portugal to set up a clash with West Germany.
Germany took the lead through Helmut Haller, but Geoff Hurst soon equalised and with 12 minutes remaining Martin Peters put England in front only for Wolfgang Weber to send the game into extra time in the closing stages. Hurst scored one of the most controversial goals in World Cup history to put England ahead with a shot which probably didn’t cross the line off the bar and completed his hat-trick in the dying seconds for a 4-2 victory, sparking the immortal lines from commentator Kenneth Wolstenhome: “Some people are on the pitch, they think it’s all over, it is now!”
1970 – Mexico (Manager: Alf Ramsey)
England qualified for the finals automatically as champions and once again reached the quarter-finals by finishing runners-up to Brazil in their group. Their 1-0 loss to the Brazilians was an iconic match made famous by Gordon Banks scooping out a powerful header from Pele, widely regarded as the greatest save of all time. Bobby Moore also had a majestic game at the back in keeping Pele at bay.
Banks was ill for the quarter-final so Peter Bonetti was in goal for the clash with West Germany, who went 2-0 down with goals from Alan Mullery and Peters, but Franz Beckenbauer and Uwe Seeler took the game to extra time where Gerd Muller bagged the winner in a 3-2 win, avenging their defeat in the 1966 final.
1982 – Spain (Manager: Ron Greenwood)
England returned to the World Cup stage having failed to qualify for West Germany in 1974 and Argentina in 1978, reaching the second group stage after winning all three group games against France, Czechoslovakia and Kuwait. Goalless draws against West Germany and Spain meant they missed out on the semi-finals.
1986 – Mexico (Manager: Bobby Robson)
After a disappointing 1-0 defeat by Portugal and a goalless draw with Morocco, England were on the brink of elimination from the group stage, but a hat-trick from Gary Lineker, who went on to win the Golden Boot, sealed a 3-0 win against Poland and a spot in the round of 16 which they won 3-0 against Paraguay.
That win ensured a quarter-final with Argentina, who took the lead through Diego Maradona’s Hand of God goal. Minutes later he scored one of the greatest goals in World Cup history, dribbling from inside his own half and rounding Peter Shilton to ensure England’s elimination despite Lineker’s late consolation.
1990 – Italy (Bobby Robson)
England drew their first two group games against Republic of Ireland and Holland, but scraped into the round of 16 with a 1-0 victory against Egypt. David Platt’s brilliant extra-time volley against Belgium set up a quarter-final with Cameroon, who were leading 2-1 with nine minutes remaining only for Lineker to take the game into extra time with a penalty, and another spot-kick from the England man sealed a 3-2 win.
Lineker struck 10 minutes from time to take the semi-final with West Germany into extra time, but 30 minutes failed to produce a winner and England went out on penalties, a fate that befell them frequently in later years.
1998 – France (Manager: Glenn Hoddle)
England missed out under Graham Taylor in 1994, so it was Hoddle that led the national team in France where they beat Tunisia and Colombia 2-0 either side of a 2-1 defeat by Romania to finish runners-up in the group.
They met Argentina in a bad-tempered round-of-16 tie which saw David Beckham sent off for the merest of touches on Diego Simeone, but despite being a man down, England drew 2-2 at the end of 90 minutes and extra time only to lose on penalties.
2002 – South Korea/Japan (Manager: Sven-Goran Eriksson)
Eriksson twice took England to the quarter-finals, finishing runner-up in their 2002 group with a W1 D2 L0 record against Sweden, Argentina and Nigeria, but cruised to a 3-0 victory against Denmark in the round of 16. In the quarter-finals, Michael Owen put England ahead against Brazil who levelled after a superb run from Ronaldinho was finished off by Rivaldo.
Ronaldinho then scored with a bizarre free-kick which caught David Seaman off his line and although the Brazilian was later sent off for a stamp on Danny Mills, the South Americans held on for a 2-1 victory.
2006 – Germany (Manager: Sven-Goran Eriksson)
England met Sweden again four years later, but this time they finished top of a group also comprising Paraguay and Trinidad & Tobago. Eriksson’s much-admired team edged past Ecuador in the round of 16, but penalties proved to be their undoing again in the quarter-finals where they lost to Portugal after a goalless 120 minutes which saw Wayne Rooney sent off. His cause was not helped by the intervention of Manchester United team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo, whose wink suggested he had swayed the referee to brandish a red card. Replays suggested he probably got it right.
2010 – South Africa (Manager: Fabio Capello)
England made a mess of the group stage, Rob Green’s howler handing USA a 1-0 win and a goalless draw with Algeria resulted in the team being booed off by their supporters. However, a 1-0 win against Slovenia meant they finished runners-up, but had to face Germany in the round of 16.
The Germans were much the better team and took a 2-0 lead only for Matthew Upson to pull one back and then came another moment of controversy as Frank Lampard’s long-range shot comfortably crossed the line off the bar, but was not awarded. Germany went on to win 4-1 in another disappointing campaign.
2014 – Brazil (Manager: Roy Hodgson)
England were even worse four years later when they finished bottom of a group comprising Italy, Uruguay and Costa Rica. The Three Lions started with 2-1 defeats by Italy and Uruguay and drew 0-0 with Costa Rica, who remarkably won the group.
2018 – Russia (Manager: Gareth Southgate)
The Three Lions restored their pride in Russia where they reached the semi-finals. England beat Tunisia 2-1 and thrashed Panama 6-1 to ensure they reached the knockout stage but a 1-0 defeat by Belgium meant they qualified as runners-up.
England beat Colombia on penalties and then eased past Sweden 2-0 to secure a semi-final clash with Croatia, who fell behind to Kieran Trippier’s fifth-minute free-kick only for Ivan Perisic to level midway through the second half. Mario Mandzukic broke English hearts with the winner in extra time.
