Full-time era begins (1946–1962) Before 1946, the
England national football team had been under the leadership of a
Football Association (FA) official and a
trainer, usually from a London club. Appointed in 1946, initially as chief coach,
Walter Winterbottom had been a member of the FA "International Selection Committee". The England squad was selected by an FA committee during his tenure, with Winterbottom's role restricted to selecting the starting team together with the coaching and tactics. he led England to a 7–2 victory over
Ireland at
Windsor Park,
Belfast in the
1946–47 British Home Championship. Success in the Home Championship in
1950 resulted in England's qualification to the
1950 World Cup in Brazil. During the tournament, England suffered a
shock defeat against the
United States, and went out of the tournament with another 1–0 defeat, this time to
Spain. England experienced another surprise upset under Winterbottom's guidance in 1953 when
Hungary defeated England
6–3 at
Wembley Stadium. Winterbottom said afterwards, "... The press tended to think we would win easily, but I tried to point out that the Hungarians were actually a great side." He guided England to first place in the
1953–54 British Home Championship, which qualified the team for the
1954 World Cup in Switzerland, but saw his side knocked out in the quarter-finals, going down 4–2 against
Uruguay. Three wins and a draw from four matches enabled England's
qualification for the
1958 World Cup, only for Winterbottom's side to fail in the group play-off stage, losing 1–0 to the
Soviet Union. England lost to
Brazil in the quarter-final of the
1962 World Cup in Chile and, under attack from the British press, Winterbottom resigned five months later. He remains the longest serving manager of England.
World Cup success (1962–1974) managed the England team that won the
1966 World Cup.|alt=Alf Ramsey
Alf Ramsey took control of the team in 1962, but unlike Winterbottom, Ramsey had been a club manager, winning the
League championship with
Ipswich Town. Upon his appointment, he declared England would win the
1966 World Cup. His first match in charge resulted in a 5–2 loss at
Parc des Princes against
France. England automatically qualified for the 1966 World Cup as hosts and, after a goalless draw in the first match against Uruguay, four consecutive victories saw England through to the final against
West Germany. A 4–2 victory, after
extra time, won England the World Cup for the only time. As a result of his and England's achievements, Ramsey was awarded a
knighthood in 1967. The following year England finished third at
Euro 1968 in Rome, but Ramsey reflected "We are world champions. Third place is not our real position." Automatic qualification for the
1970 World Cup was secured as world champions so Ramsey led England on a pre-tournament tour of South America. The effects of altitude on the team led Ramsey to appoint the first full-time team doctor, Neil Phillips, who helped prepare the squad for the forthcoming tournament in Mexico. England were defeated in the quarter-final by West Germany; with a 2–0 lead with 25 minutes of the match remaining, Ramsey substituted
Bobby Charlton and goalscorer
Martin Peters, but West Germany went on to win 3–2 after extra time. Ramsey was heavily criticised in the British press for the substitutions. Losing out to West Germany again, this time in a two-legged
quarter-final for
Euro 1972, Ramsey prepared England for
qualification for the
1974 World Cup. Needing a win against
Poland, Ramsey's tactical use of substitutions was again called into question as the match ended in a 1–1 draw. England had failed to qualify for the World Cup, and Ramsey was dismissed the following May. before the FA appointed
Don Revie on a five-year contract. It was a year before Revie's England suffered a defeat but despite this, he changed his starting line-up for every game. His relationship with the FA had broken down and his team-building exercises, including carpet bowls and indoor golf, led to disconsolation in the squad. A 2–0 defeat to the
Netherlands at Wembley Stadium turned the press against him; some commentators compared the loss to the 6–3 defeat by Hungary in 1953. Convinced he was to be replaced by
Bobby Robson, he announced he was to become manager of the
United Arab Emirates team. Selling his story to the
Daily Mail, he subsequently resigned on 11 July 1977. Revie was charged with bringing the game into disrepute and was banned by the FA in a "kangaroo court" for ten years. On appeal to the High Court, the ban was overturned but the judge ordered Revie to pay two-thirds of the costs.
Brian Clough applied for the position in 1977, but the FA rejected him and
Ron Greenwood was appointed, initially as a temporary replacement for Revie, but later in 1977 on a permanent basis.
Bobby Moore described him as "the encyclopaedia of football", and he guided England to
Euro 1980 without a defeat during
qualification. The team exited the tournament at the group stage and Greenwood turned his attention to
qualification for the
1982 World Cup in Spain. Defeats in Switzerland and Romania led Greenwood to consider resignation, but a victory over Hungary convinced him to stay. Wins over France,
Czechoslovakia and
Kuwait allowed England into the second round group but two 0–0 draws ended in England going out of the tournament, without having lost a game.
Robson and "The Hand of God" (1982–1990) managed England from 1982 to 1990.|alt=Bobby Robson Robson's tenure included 28 qualifying matches, of which only one, against
Denmark in 1983, resulted in a defeat. This contributed to England's failure to
qualify for
Euro 1984, and Robson offered his resignation. It was rejected by the FA chairman, Bert Millichip, and Robson went on to lead the England team to
qualify for the
1986 World Cup in Mexico. England were defeated in the quarter-final by
Argentina with a brace of goals from
Diego Maradona; the
"Hand of God" goal, and the "
Goal of the Century" he scored five minutes later. Robson's England dropped only one point in
qualifying for
Euro 1988, which included an 8–0 win over
Turkey. Robson was vilified by the British press, and after a draw in a friendly with
Saudi Arabia, one newspaper demanded: "In the name of Allah, go". Robson led England without conceding a goal through
qualification for the
1990 World Cup. As in the 1986 World Cup, Robson was denied the service of his captain,
Bryan Robson, who suffered an
achilles tendon injury which prevented him playing in the latter stages of the tournament. England topped their group in 1990, accumulating four points from their three games. Robson denies this claim in his autobiography. This was followed by victories over
Belgium and
Cameroon in the knock-out stages, to set up a semi-final with West Germany. England lost the match on a
penalty shoot-out, after the score had been level at 1–1 following extra time. Robson's last public appearance before his death from cancer was at the
Sir Bobby Robson Trophy match in July 2009, played between veterans from that 1990 semi-final as a tribute to his life and in aid of his cancer charity.
Controversial times (1990–2001) Robson had announced before the tournament that he would step down from the post after the finals and
Graham Taylor was appointed, having been approached in April 1990 by the FA. Failure to proceed past the group stage of
Euro 1992 with a 2–1 defeat against
Sweden led to newspaper headlines such as "Swedes 2 Turnips 1" and Taylor's nickname of "Turnip Head". Following defeat to the Netherlands in the penultimate
qualifying match for the
1994 World Cup, for only the third time in its history, England had failed to qualify for the World Cup. The qualifying campaign was recorded in a television documentary, and Taylor's remark "Do I not like that" soon entered popular culture. managed England from 1996 to 1999.|alt=Glenn Hoddle Failure in the qualification resulted in Taylor resigning, and
Terry Venables took over the helm in 1994. As England were hosts for
Euro 1996, he did not manage the team in a competitive match for over two years. In January 1996, he announced that he would resign after the tournament as a result of several court cases, but led England to the semi-finals, where they were defeated by
Germany on penalties. He was replaced by
Glenn Hoddle, whose unorthodox off-the-field approach in bringing in
faith healer Eileen Drewery to help the team drew significant criticism. Hoddle suggested she was "more of an agony aunt" but during the
1998 World Cup, the press suggested Drewery had influenced Hoddle in squad selection. England were knocked out of the tournament in the second round, once again on penalties, this time against Argentina. Hoddle's diary portraying his version of events at the World Cup was subsequently published, drawing further criticism. An interview with Matt Dickinson, a reporter from
The Times, suggested that Hoddle had a "controversial belief that the disabled, and others, are being punished for sins in a
former life." Hoddle's comments were criticised by several notable politicians, including Sports Minister
Tony Banks and Prime Minister
Tony Blair. Hoddle stated that he was not prepared to resign and claimed his words were misinterpreted and pointed out his contributions and commitment to organisations helping the disabled. The FA terminated Hoddle's contract soon afterwards, which was welcomed by representatives of disabled groups. Howard Wilkinson was caretaker manager for two games, before the appointment of
Kevin Keegan in February 1999. Initially combining the job with a role at
Fulham, Keegan was made full-time coach in May. He led England to
qualification for
Euro 2000 following success in a two-legged play-off against
Scotland. Two 3–2 losses resulted in England leaving the tournament at the group stage. A loss to Germany in the last international match at the old Wembley Stadium in the first
2002 World Cup qualifying match led to Keegan's resignation. Wilkinson again returned as caretaker for one more match, followed by
Peter Taylor who presided over a friendly loss to Italy.
Foreign management (2001–2012) , from Sweden, became England's first foreign manager. Eriksson led England to the quarter-finals of the
2002 World Cup. The FA then took the unprecedented, and widely criticised step of appointing the first non-Englishman as coach, Swede
Sven-Göran Eriksson. England were knocked out by Brazil in the quarter-finals and Eriksson came under fire for his "ice-cool" appearance on the touchline failing to inspire his team, senior player
Gareth Southgate remarking after the tournament that "we needed
Winston Churchill but we got
Iain Duncan Smith". Eriksson led England to
qualification for
Euro 2004 but once more the team fell at the quarter-final stage, again losing on penalties, this time to
Portugal. Losing 1–0 to
Northern Ireland in Belfast during the
qualification for the 2006 World Cup led to fans chanting "Sack the Swede", frustrated again at the lack of obvious emotion in Eriksson while his coach,
Steve McClaren, was much more animated. Ultimately, Eriksson was replaced by the man who had coached the side under him, Steve McClaren.
Qualification for
Euro 2008 proved too much, England losing the final qualifier against
Croatia 3–2 in November 2007, when a draw would have been enough to take England to the finals. The British press turned on McClaren, former Scottish international
Alan Hansen stating that "... what McClaren should be held accountable for is that with a squad of this quality he failed to qualify from what seemed a reasonably straightforward group ...". McClaren was dismissed the day after the defeat by Croatia, and was replaced in December 2007 by Italian
Fabio Capello. The defeat by Croatia is remembered in the sports press for the moniker "Wally with the Brolly", a reference to McClaren's pitchside presence under an umbrella in a match played in heavy rain. Capello led England to
qualification for the
2010 World Cup, winning nine of the team's ten qualifying matches, but the team's performance in the tournament was less impressive. Two lacklustre draws in the group stage against the United States and
Algeria were followed by an ignominious 4–1 defeat by traditional rivals Germany in the Round of 16. The team's performance was at least partly attributed to selection and tactical errors by Capello and led to calls for his dismissal. On 2 July, the FA confirmed that he would remain in the role until 2012, Conflicting reports came out of the FA as to whether the next manager would be English. On 15 August 2010, the FA's Adrian Bevington stated to the
BBC that "we should have an English manager after (Euro 2012)", but on 22 September, the FA's Director of Football Development,
Trevor Brooking, stated that "We would like to go English (but) we've got to see what English people are available". Two weeks later, Capello's England
qualified for Euro 2012 with a 2–2 draw away against
Montenegro. In February 2012, Capello resigned following the FA's decision to remove the captaincy of the national side from
John Terry, with Englishman Stuart Pearce taking over the role on a caretaker basis.
Return to English managers (2012–2016) , England manager from 2016 to 2024|alt=Gareth Southgate Following a 3–2 defeat at Wembley Stadium by the Netherlands in February, Pearce was replaced on 1 May 2012 by West Bromwich Albion manager
Roy Hodgson on a four-year contract. Despite the team being based in
Kraków in Poland for the tournament, England's first fixture in Euro 2012 was in
Donetsk in Ukraine against France, which ended in a 1–1 draw. Subsequent victories over Sweden and tournament co-hosts
Ukraine resulted in a quarter-final match against Italy. The game ended goalless after extra time, sending the game to a penalty shoot-out which Italy won 4–2. Hodgson claimed that England's exit from major tournaments had become a "national obsession". With a 2–0 victory over Poland in October 2013, Hodgson led England to
qualification for the
2014 World Cup. However, in the 2014 World Cup, England lost two consecutive group matches, against Italy and Uruguay, by 2–1 on each occasion. This was the first time England had lost two group matches since the 1950 World Cup (when they lost against the United States and Spain) and the first time England had been eliminated at the group stage since the 1958 World Cup. This was also the first time that England had not won a match at the tournament since 1958, and England's points total of one from three matches was its worst ever in the World Cup. England
qualified for
UEFA Euro 2016 in September 2015, following a 6–0 win over San Marino. On 27 June 2016, Hodgson resigned as manager almost immediately after England were knocked out 2–1 by
Iceland in the round of 16, a result described as the team's "worst humiliation since they were knocked out of the 1950 World Cup by USA."
Southgate and semi-final success (2016–2024) On 22 July,
Sam Allardyce was appointed England manager on a two-year contract. Tuchel officially started in the post on 1 January 2025, marking the end of Carsley's six-game spell in which the former
Ireland international took England to the top of their
Nations League group and promotion into League A for
2026–27. Tuchel's England qualified for the
2026 FIFA World Cup on 14 October 2025, becoming the first European nation to do so. ==Media reaction==