England's relationship with the World Cup is best understood as a 60-year argument the country is having with itself. They won it in 1966, at home, in a final still disputed by anyone with a German passport. Since then: nothing. A semifinal in 1990. Quarterfinals. Round-of-16 exits on penalties, three of them, all to teams England were better than.
Then 2024 happened. England reached the Euros final, played the worst tournament football imaginable for six matches, and somehow found themselves 90 minutes from glory. Mikel Oyarzabal scored late. Spain won. Gareth Southgate, who had gotten England closer than anyone since Bobby Robson, walked away. Enter Thomas Tuchel — the German manager who won the Champions League with Chelsea and somehow accepted the most pressure-laden job in English sport.
So far, mixed. Tuchel inherited Bellingham, Kane, Saka, Foden, Rice, Pickford — talent depth no other manager has ever had — and the March friendlies were a 1-1 draw with Uruguay and a 1-0 loss to Japan when Kane pulled out. The system depends on Kane. The team depends on Bellingham. The country depends on belief, which it has in dangerously unlimited supply. It's coming home, allegedly, again.
Week 1 Update: England beat Croatia by two goals in the opener — and for once, the performance matched the expectation. Tuchel's side were clinical, Bellingham was everywhere, and the 60 years of hurt got a little quieter for 90 minutes. Three points, a clean-ish goal difference, and Group L is exactly where England want it. The dangerous part is what comes next: belief is rising, and English belief at a World Cup has never, historically, been a safe thing to carry.
Matchday 2 Update: England 0, Ghana 0 — and the momentum is gone. After the brilliant 4-2 opening win over Croatia, England stalled completely: 78% possession, no goals, and Kane skied a wide-open late volley that will haunt the highlight reels. Four points from two matches means they're still likely through, but the performance was a reality check. The 60 years of hurt just got a little louder.
Matchday 3 Update: England 0, Panama 0 — two goalless draws in a row after the electric 4-2 Croatia opener. The pattern is undeniable now: England created chances, dominated possession, and finished with nothing. Kane is scoreless since Matchday 1. England finish top of Group L with 5 points, which is exactly what the pre-tournament plan would have called for — but the momentum is gone and everyone knows it. The 60 years of hurt just got a little more anxious heading into the knockouts.
Round of 32 (July 1): England trailed DR Congo at half-time after Brian Cipenga's shock early goal — scoreless through four matches and now losing to a team that scraped through as a third-place qualifier. Then Kane happened. Two goals in eleven minutes: 75th-minute header, 86th-minute finish, England through 2-1. The man who missed the decisive Euro 2024 penalty and arrived in North America with doubts swirling around his form has now answered the loudest question in English football. Belgium await in Seattle. The 60 years just got a little quieter.
Round of 16 (July 5): England 3-2 Mexico at the Azteca — and Bellingham wrote the first chapter of his World Cup legend. Two goals in 98 seconds: a cool finish, then immediately another before Mexico could breathe. England led 2-0 before the stadium had finished processing the first goal. Jarell Quansah was sent off on 54 minutes following a VAR review, and England spent the final 36 minutes defending with 10 men while Kane's penalty (60') gave them a two-goal cushion. Jiménez pulled one back from the spot late to set up a tense finish, but England held. Mexico's first-ever home World Cup loss. England are through to the quarterfinals, and Bellingham finally looks like the player everyone was waiting for.
Quarter-Final (July 11): England 2-1 Norway (AET) — Bellingham again, twice, and England are in the semifinals. Andreas Schjelderup's early stunner gave Norway the lead and a nation hope, but Jude Bellingham equalized right before halftime and then, deep into extra time, struck the winner that ends Norway's fairytale. A scoreless second half tested England's nerve; extra time revealed the difference. Bellingham has become the tournament's main character, and England march on to face Argentina in a heavyweight semifinal — Bellingham vs. Messi, the succession story writing itself.
Born in Stourbridge, signed for Borussia Dortmund at 17, won the Champions League with Real Madrid at 20. He's now the gravitational center of this England team — Tuchel benched him briefly, England promptly stopped scoring, and Bellingham was back in the leadership group within a month. The whole tactical structure runs through what he sees in the final third. He's 22 and already on his second World Cup.
England's all-time leading scorer, the captain, the man who missed the penalty against France in 2022 and the penalty against Spain in the Euro 2024 final. Now at Bayern Munich and finally winning trophies, he's also 32 and visibly carrying the weight of being the only true No. 9 the team trusts. He pulled out of the March friendly against Japan with a knock — England were toothless without him. Verify everything about his fitness before you bet anything.
From Ealing in west London, a one-club player at Arsenal since age 7. Missed the decisive penalty in the Euro 2020 final at age 19, took the racist abuse that followed with more grace than any teenager should have to, then quietly became one of the best wide attackers in Europe. Plays with the kind of relaxed two-footed balance that makes defenders look heavy. The country's collective protective instinct toward him is real.
A proper Sunday roast — beef or lamb, Yorkshire pudding the size of your face, roast potatoes crisped in beef dripping, peas, gravy that takes a stock pot two days to make. The other answer is fish and chips, eaten outside, in the wind, ideally with a wooden fork. Add curry sauce if you're north of Birmingham, mushy peas if you have any sense.
The Londoner now has four DFW locations — Addison, Colleyville, Mockingbird Station, and a new Arlington spot at 1409 N. Collins St. (opens June 13, the closest pub to AT&T Stadium) — and is the actual answer most British expats give. Hand-cut chips, cask ales, full English on weekends, and they will turn on whatever match you ask them to. Queens Head Pub is now open in Deep Ellum at 2713 Elm St. (the old Green Room space) — built specifically for the World Cup, 6,000 sq ft with a 40-foot bar and a 2,000 sq ft rooftop patio, shepherd's pie and Scotch eggs, Tuesday-Sunday from 11am, closed Mondays. A strong option if you want a new room with no expat regulars guarding their stools.
A soundtrack for the matches, the pregame, and the afterparty.
English support is unique because it carries 60 years of unbroken disappointment as if it were a credential. Expect "Three Lions" — "It's coming home" — sung at every chance, with full understanding that it usually isn't. Expect "God Save the King" sung loud, then the moment the whistle blows, expect 80,000 people to start booing the opposing keeper's goal kicks for sport. There's also a real edge: England fans can be fantastic and they can be a problem, often in the same five minutes. Sit near the family sections if you're new to this. The chants are funnier and the beer is colder.
England has won exactly one World Cup — at home in 1966 — and reached exactly one final since (Italia '90 doesn't count, that was a semi). The country has spent 60 years writing songs about it. 'Three Lions' from 1996 is still the most-played football song in human history.