England Men's Top 5 Unluckiest Tournament Moments

Ever since 1966 England have been that ‘nearly’ team. Euro 1996, World Cup 2006, World Cup 2018, and Euro 2020 spring to mind in tournaments where England either came very close to winning a tournament, or where success just seemed to narrowly slip from their grasp.

In this article we explore the 5 most unlucky moments for England in major tournaments. Be warned, this could bring back some rather unpleasant memories!

5. Rooney Sending Off + Losing on penalties (England 0-0 Portugal, 2006 World Cup)

Image: Playing Pasts

England v Portugal was a tight affair, and things were made worse by the infamous Rooney stamp on Carvalho, followed by Rooney’s sending off and Ronaldo’s wink.

England’s luck was to get worse as they were condemned to a penalty shootout, something England have very rarely been successful at.

England perhaps had one enemy greater than Ronaldo at that time, and it was the goalkeeper, Ricardo. Not only did he help save penalties to knock England out of Euro 2004, he did it again in 2006.

A classic penalty shoot-out heartbreak for England, again…

4. Paul Gascoinge’s miss (England 1-1 Germany, 1996 Euros)

Image: The Analyst

This was the Euro 96 Semi Finals and England had battled hard and well, deserving of a place in the final. The match went to extra time and England were agonisingly close to winning the game as Gascoigne slid in to put a cross in the back of the net but missed by a few inches.

What could have been… the game eventually was a draw and went to penalties. Unfortunately for England, Gareth Southgate missed a decisive penalty and England were knocked out on home soil.

3. Euro 2020 Final (England 1-1 Italy)

Image: The Telegraph

England reached their first major final since 1966 and the nation was full of optimism. This only boomed as after less than 5 minutes Luke Shaw put England 1-0 up at Wembley!

Sadly, this was the last thing to cheer about that evening, as Italy levelled around the hour mark and England didn’t register a single shot on target for the rest of the game.

Misery was compounded further, as after scoring our first two penalties, and the reliable Jorginho missing his, England missed their final 3 penalties in a row.

This was yet another heartbreaking moment for England that resulted in 55 years since last winning a major trophy.

2. Lampard’s Ghost Goal (Germany 4-1 England, World Cup 2010)

Image: Goal.com

Whilst this may come as a surprise to some, considering this was a last 16 game in which England won, I have this down as England’s 2nd most unlucky tournament moment for the pure fact that this was absolute daylight robbery.

England were 2-0 down vs Germany before half time, but Matt Upson provided some hope by making it 2-1 before the break. Suddenly, Lampard strikes a fantastic effort against the underside on the crossbar, seemingly making it 2-2… but not on the referee’s watch.

For me, this could have been a game changer. Whilst not convincing in the group stage, England could have gone in 2-2 at the break full of confidence and momentum which could have shifted the tie in their favour.

I believe this is up there as the 2nd most unlucky moment as this was surely something out of England’s hands, an incorrect decision from a referee possibly causing England to crash out of the World Cup early.

England’s other unlucky moments were perhaps all scenarios that were well within their hands, a case of simply not taking chances, or being outplayed. Perhaps Germany 2010 was not the most heartbreaking moment in major tournaments for England, but I believe due to the referee’s decision this goes down as the most outrageously unlucky.

1. Hand of God - Argentina 2-1 England, World Cup 1986

Image: The Guardian

What could be more unlucky than losing a penalty shoot out or not being awarded a goal that crossed the line? Perhaps a 5ft 4 Argentinian jumping through the air to punch the ball into the back of the net!

This goal, also known as ‘The Hand of God’, was scored by Diego Maradona which knocked England out in the quarter finals in the 1986 world cup. Not only that, it was the deciding goal in a 2-1 victory.

Where was the referee or linesman in all of this? Perhaps on holiday, or maybe they were Argentina fans? But luck would have it that England were on the wrong end of one of the most audacious and controversial goals to ever be scored in football and on the biggest stage too, the World Cup!

So there we have it, England men’s top 5 most unlucky moments in tournament football. If you read all the way through, I hope you’re not too depressed. But either way, thanks for reading!