First whistle Three Lions’ opening matches at each of their 14 World Cups

1950 Brazil Chile 2-0 England’s first game in Rio de Janeiro was a comfortable win against Chile, with goals from Stan Mortensen and Wilf Mannion. It proved deceptive: their next game resulted in one of the biggest shocks in football history, a 1-0 defeat by the United States.

Finished Group stage 1954 Switzerland Belgium 4-4 The campaign began with a thriller in Basel. England were 3-1 up until two goals in seven minutes midway through the second half took the game into extra time, when Nat Lofthouse’s goal was cancelled out by an own goal from Jimmy Dickinson.

Finished Quarter-finals 1958 Sweden USSR 2-2 England had been placed in a fiendish group, meaning their first game against USSR was crucial. They came from two goals down courtesy of Derek Kavan and Tom Finney’s penalty, but the same opponents ended their hopes in the group play-off.

Finished Group stage 1962 Chile Hungary 1-2 Hungary were not quite the force they had been in the 1950s, but were still too good for England, even if Ron Flowers’s penalty had briefly drawn them level in the second half.

Finished Quarter-finals 1966 England Uruguay 0-0 Little hint of the drama to come for England on home soil, as they were held to a goalless draw by Uruguay, who played with a steely determination to frustrate their opponents. It was the first time England had failed to score at Wembley since 1945. Still, the clean sheet was the first of four in a row. Finished winners 1970 Mexico Romania 1-0 The world champions were grateful to a familiar hero – Geoff Hurst – for sealing victory after 65 minutes in the first game of their title defence in the sweltering heat of Guadalajara.

Finished Quarter-finals

1982 Spain France 3-1 England’s first World Cup match in 12 years was worth the wait, with inspirational midfielder Bryan Robson scoring twice in an emphatic win over a talented French side who were unfortunate to lose in the semi-finals.

Finished Second group stage 1986 Mexico Portugal 0-1 A flat performance from England saw them slump to defeat through Carlos Manuel’s 75th-minute goal in Monterrey.

Finished Quarter-finals 1990 Italy Ireland 1-1 England failed to earn revenge for defeat at Euro ‘88. Gary Lineker scored early in Cagliari (left) but Kevin Sheedy levelled. Finished Semi-finals 1998 France Tunisia 2-0 After a build-up dominated by fan violence on the streets of Marseille, a highly-rated England side started in fine fashion, dispatching Tunisia with a goal by centre-forward Alan Shearer and an exquisite strike by Paul Scholes.

Finished Last 16 2002 South Korea & Japan Sweden 1-1 Sweden were a bogey side for England – they had not beaten them in 10 games prior to their meeting in Saitama – and the run continued after Niclas Alexandersson equalised Sol Campbell’s first-half opener.

Finished Quarter-finals 2006 Germany Paraguay 1-0 The “golden generation” were fortunate to start with a victory, ultimately secured by an own goal from Carlos Gamarra in stifling heat in Frankfurt. Finished Quarter-finals 2010 South Africa United States 1-1 England had been handed a simple-looking group but they made heavy weather of their opening game. Having gone ahead after just four minutes through Steven Gerrard, a horrendous error by Robert Green gifted the United States an equaliser.

Finished Last 16 2014 Brazil Italy 1-2 The campaign began in the Amazon rainforest city of Manaus, and England were probably unfortunate to lose. Daniel Sturridge had equalised Claudio Marchisio’s fine strike but Mario Balotelli’s header won it for the Italians.

Finished Group stage