To ask why the England team (the men) keep falling at the final hurdle, (well virtually at the final hurdle,) at the football World Cup ... and The Euros too?

[GorgeousSpringtime]

Not an England-team bashing thread, but why, oh WHY do they - the men - keep falling at the final hurdle (well, virtually the final hurdle,) every time at the football (soccer) World Cup - and the Euro Cup too...?

They do so well, and get so far, and then BANG they're out. Nearly always in the top 8, or top 4, (and the top 2, in the World Cup once, and a couple of times in the Euros I think,) but never the winner. (Not since 1966 anyway!)

Is it nerves? Is it that they're so anxious to win that they keep making silly mistakes? Are they just not quite good enough? WHAT IS IT? Why do they keep getting so close, but just never manage to get the win?!

As I said, I am not bashing them, and they did well, and I am proud of them, but I just get so frustrated that they can't quite ever get the win!

!

So?

They still have to qualify.

Shouldn't be a problem but you never know.

They did really well I think .Argentina play dirty ,but a the end of the day were a better team! I think we gee everyone up and its as if they are defo going to win! A poor little boy was in floods of tears, and it was upsetting to watch.Maybe say they have a good chance and obv big them up .But dont make it seem like a foregone conclusion as it very rarely is!

@Gloriia · Today 12:39

Are you being sarcastic? I'll get accused of misogyny and being a women I'm certainly not but omg women's football? I've seem more excitement at school tournaments.

@Cherrytree86

**
Gloriia, that must be the circles you move in. I know LOADS of people who are really into women’s football

Yeah this. ^

@Gloriia You must have a short memory. There was LOADS of interest in the womens football last time (2025) AND the time before (2022,) when they won the Euros TWICE. 100s of 1000s of people were mad about it!

Maybe 10+ years ago, not that many people were interested, but you're wrong that people don't have interest in the womens football now. Many people do. I don't think you're a misogynist but I do think you are wrong.

There was ENORMOUS media coverage of the womens football the last time, and the time before. The children at the 3 primary schools within a couple of miles from me were obsessed with The Lionesses! They actually got quite a few girls who I know into playing football..... And not just for those 2 summers. They still play it now.

.

Let's hope so and we experiment with not going defensive !

Yes but they didn't repeatedly smash Liechtenstein over and over

No, they just hammered far inferior sides like Albania over and over across the past four qualifying tournaments, hence the accumulation of ranking points.

There is nothing inconsistent about where they are ranked currently, have been ranked and their actual results.

There is, because you'd expect a team which is genuinely the 4th best on the planet to be able to hold their own with other highly ranked teams, and win almost as frequently as they lose to them, but with England, as soon as they run into another highly ranked team, they lose, every single time.

This is why the ranking is misleading. All it is, is a representation of how many ranking points you have accumulated. It says nothing about your record vs teams in the same bracket, and it isn't attained by reaching certain stages of tournaments, it's points accumulated by the results of the matches you play, hence why you can attain 4th in that table while still losing every single match you play against other highly ranked opponents.

@TheChewdors Scots hear it constantly, I can assure you of that. When the Tartan Army were in Boston, the Insta posts were FULL of hateful comments from England fans.

Oh no, sorry to hear that.

It’s down to chance. The other team scored more goals.

And 2026!!

And two Euro finals in the last 2 Euros.

That's quite a record! Why are you trying to diminish it?

You're missing my point and yet I though I was being very clear. I can and do change the channel' that doesnt change the fact it is covered constantly and excessively on many channels. I hope that helps but happy to explain again if needed.

Netherlands have never won the World Cup and won Euros once, yet they are always considered in the conversation and have been amazing so many times.

Why are England fans always tearing into their own players???

They will be either 3rd or 4th in the world. That’s pretty good by anyone’s reckoning.

This is the part that irritates me when it comes to the English media. When you’re up you are celebrated, you slipped up and your stamped on. It’s disgusting.
The media is probably why people support other countries against England as the media are insufferable.

France crumpled against Spain and didn't even try

We were the far better team last night until the last half hour or so which is a classic well known. Argentina special time

I'm actually watching the game again now .

That's not true.

The Netherlands didn't take football seriously until the 1960s. It's a nation with a population of less than a third of England's.

They are always seen as "nearly" men, underachievers, bottle-merchants etc because of the fact they turn up at tournaments playing great football and then get dumped out, or they get to a Final and lose.

Despite this, the Netherlands have four Tournament Final appearances, and one Tournament Final win. This is in comparison to England's three Final appearances and one win.

So a nation which has been viewed as a perennial underachiever still has a superior record of achievement to England's, despite being much smaller and starting down the path of serious organised football a century later.

Their qualification record is also patchy, so no, they are not always in the conversation or considered amazing.

So you don't have to watch it, you've got plenty of other options, and yet you're grumbling?

No need to apologise.

I don’t understand why we have this massive pressure on them to reach the final. They won once in the 60s and ever since I can remember we think we are going to bring it home. I can see in recent years why we might be more excitable but but not since the 60s. The minute we don’t apply this pressure is the minute we shall win.

Because other teams also want to win and have more talent than England? England are ranked 4th in the world so they’ve kind of got as far as expected. Any further would have been a bonus. I’m Scottish so I think they’ve done great! They’ve got no entitlement to win. They just need to keep going.

The Lionesses are England's best hope for an international win.

Exactly. France lost in the quarter final and they have won the World Cup twice.

It's sport. You can be a champion one day and an also ran a few days later. There are no guarantees

You could say that about the other teams too.

France faced easy opponents, had everyone gushing over them, and then folded like a deckchair when up against a world class team like Spain.

Argentina also had an easy path to the semis, though they made it look pretty difficult at times.

And I'm not sure England have elevated ideas of their ability. If anything, the problem could be the opposite. Tuchel's emphasis on defence when only leading 1-0 being a prime example.