England World Cup teams you remember ranked best to worst

[lackedpunch]

This thread asks you to:

Think about the England teams you remember watching at the World Cup and rank them in a table from best to worst.

If you feel like it, you could cite players and tournament performances that informed your decision.

The first World Cup I watched was in 1982.

Here are my rankings of the England teams I've seen in World Cups from Best to Worst:

1) 1986
2) 1990
3) 1982
4) 1998
5) 2002
6) 2006
7) 2014
8) 2010

And please feel free to do the same for other countries!

[Ek weet nie]

ABE List

1) 1994.

[EIM]

1. Italia 90

This is my England team, even after my hero Robson got injured. Gascoigne, Platt, Waddle and Lineker. And Bobby Robson, a gent who deserved to win it just so he could ram it up the media's collective hole. England actually played shite, didn't they? But there were so many memories and moments. I still get a bit teary eyed at times. My first World Cup, and a formative football experience for me. (I actually watched every game as a 9 year old in full kit, boots and Robson Sondico Gold shin pads, in case I needed to come on and play. Which was fucking daft really, as it was the Euro 88 kit so I wouldn't have been allowed)

2. France 98

Arguably the last time I gave a shit about the national team, and it's no coincidence it was the first tournament I watched in a pub, thus introducing me to the small town, little Englander mentality. There was the basis of a good team there, and Hoddle was a genuinely good coach, following the equally adept Venables. A mix of the best of Euro 96 plus a new generation coming through, led by Owen, Beckham and Scholes.

3. 2002

I'm just listing these in chronological order, aren't I? Were the 2006 side better? Probably not. This was the first World Cup of the Golden Generation that did fuck all. Pre coasting it Sven, and a pre bloated Golden Generation. I was still in small town England, and still appalled by the actions of the locals, especially after the breakfast kick offs.

4. 2006, 2010, 2014

I actually don't remember any of these. Was 2006 when Rooney stamped on someone's bollocks and winked? 2010 was Lampard's shot that went in but wasn't given v Germany? And 2014 was group stage elimination, despite taking Lambert, in a football version of when Noel Edmonds takes terminally ill kids to Lapland for xmas.

It probably does go in chronological order, doesn't it? The slow decline of English football. The post 3 Lions changing of the imperialist mindset. No longer a world force, dealing with an existential threat to a perceived global power that no longer exists. Taking this lack of success on - and off - the pitch and transforming it into throwing beer over tourists in Amsterdam before Russian hooligans throw England fans into the harbour at Marseille.

Or something.

[EIM]

I meant to say Ronaldo winked at someone, didn't I? Rooney did no winking. But it was nice for them to have two United players to be able to blame.

[Sam]

1998 was the first World Cup I was able to watch England at. The ones since then just blend into one really, but it's nice that the current squad at least don't all seem like complete wankers. Even if I've now been abroad so long I don't really care how they do, and indeed don't know who quite a few of them are. I was reading through the Guardian photo thing yesterday which had a brief bio of each of the players, and was slightly annoyed that they hadn't bothered to mention which club each player is currently at (just position, caps, international goals), because there were one or two who I actually hadn't heard of before, and a good number more who I had heard of but don't know who they play for.

[lackedpunch]

I meant to say Ronaldo winked at someone, didn't I? Rooney did no winking. But it was nice for them to have two United players to be able to blame.

The image of Rooney stamping on someone's bollocks and then winking to the camera is making me chuckle!

[Patrick Thistle]

In 2010 I enjoyed watching them get beaten by the best German side I'd ever seen, who were basically a youth side and Philip Lahm. Germany got even better 4 years later. England got Suarezed.

I remember Mexico 86 quite well and the semi final at Italia 90. Otherwise they needn't have bothered going as far as I can remember.

[Patrick Thistle]

I meant to say Ronaldo winked at someone, didn't I? Rooney did no winking. But it was nice for them to have two United players to be able to blame.

That was at a Euros, not a world cup. Unless that's the joke.

[Various Artist]

No, that was the WC 2006 quarter-final wasn't it? Ronaldo got Rooney sent off, winked, then Portugal then won on penalties despite 10-man England holding on for a 0-0 draw.

[G-Man]

In my time of watching World Cups...

1982: A pretty good but unspectacular side which did well in the group stage. They beat France 3-1, dispatched a decent CSSR side, and then fizzled out. Still, unbeaten in their five games.
2002: A pretty good but unspectacular side that was unlucky to get knocked out by the only team that was ever going to win the thing. But impressive wins against Argentina and Denmark.
1986: A pretty good but unspectacular side that was unlucky to get knocked out by a handball. Dire in the first two games, excellent in the next two. They coulda been contenders...
1998: A pretty good but unspectacular side that was unlucky to get knocked out on penalties. I think the Dutch would have done worse to them in the QF than Romania did in the group stage.
1990: A pretty good but unspectacular side that was a bit unlucky to get knocked out on penalties. But they were quite lucky to even get to the SF.
2006: A fairly good but aggressively unspectacular side that was a bit unlucky to get knocked out on penalties.
2014: A pretty poor side that was a bit unlucky to be in a group with powerhouses like Costa Rica and Uruguay. Saved from being a laughing stock by the diversion of Italy's and Spain's humiliations.
2010: An utter shambles of hapless village idiots who were perfectly represented by the two idiot fans dressed up like RAF pilots in the 1-4 against Germany.

[Patrick Thistle]

No, that was the WC 2006 quarter-final wasn't it? Ronaldo got Rooney sent off, winked, then Portugal then won on penalties despite 10-man England holding on for a 0-0 draw.

I thought that was Euro 2004 but now i think you're right. In my head I've confused watching an England game at a staff conference and the events of that game. I know there was some controversy.

Ah well. Memory, hey!

[Kevin S]

I do like the squad announcement video they've done this time.

[ad hoc]

Since my first two world cups were 74 and 78 I still haven't got used to the concept of England being in the World Cup. I have high hopes for Scotland again this year.

[N est à?]

^ needlessly cruel imo

still appalled by the actions of the locals, especially after the breakfast kick offs.

Fuck, walking through Croydon town centre after the lunchtime Argentina game it felt like a pogrom was about to kick off

[N est à?]

Actually two years later there were riots in Croydon when England lost to France at euro 2004.

[E10 Rifle]

1990: Two of their performances were out and out stinkers (Ireland, Egypt), two more saw very fortunate wins (Belgium, Cameroon), but the process of watching a team develop and learn under our eyes in four weeks was still the most compelling England tournament story I've seen
1986: Ditto, albeit with a more limited team
2002: About matched their ability and expectations
1998: Should have done better, for all the "heroics" of the Argentina loss. England paid for the one game in which they were outpassed and outthought (the group game against Romania which meant they had to play Argentina in the second round)
1982: Dull, from what I can remember, and got worse after a good start
2014: Not as bad as painted –*a rare tough group, and a genuinely decent match against Italy
2010: Grim
2006: Forget the fact that the 'golden generation' reached the last eight: this over-rated self-regarding England side stank the place out, with undeserved victories and draws all over the shop. The scrappy, snarly, ill-tempered exit was totally overdue and deserved. A horrible, horrible, dislikeable side