England’s surprisingly poor World Cup group stage record – and why it might not be a problem

• England were held to a 0-0 draw by Ghana in their second match at the 2026 World Cup on Tuesday evening.
• This result means that England have failed to win all of their group games again, and their overall record in the early stages of international football’s biggest tournament is surprisingly poor.
• Since the World Cup began in 1930, England have only won all of their group stage matches once back in 1982, and they were then knocked out at the second group stage following two 0-0 draws with West Germany and Spain, meaning they exited the tournament without losing a game.
• England’s only World Cup triumph came in 1966, but Sir Alf Ramsey’s side actually drew their opening game 0-0 against Uruguay, while on the two other occasions England have reached the semi-finals, England drew two group games in 1990, and were beaten by Belgium in 2018.
• This signals that Tuesday’s draw against Ghana may not be a major problem for Thomas Tuchel’s team , who remain in pole position to top their group and progress to the round of 32.