With each passing year, the spectre of 1966 looms larger over the England national team.
While the Lionesses' success in recent Euros has quelled some of the hurt, the failure of the men's team to win a World Cup since 1966 remains embedded in the national psyche.
Thomas Tuchel is the latest England manager entrusted to put a full stop to this barren run. Will the 2026 be a red-letter year in English football or will it be the latest edition to the long list of hurt?
ESPN takes a look at each chapter in this list of hurt.
1970: Four years of hurt
The 1970 edition in Mexico is the first chapter in the saga of England World Cup heartbreak. It's also the only time they have entered the tournament as defending champions.
Alf Ramsey's side came through the group stage to set up a quarterfinal clash against West Germany. On the eve of the game, goalkeeper Gordon Banks was taken ill with a case of food poisoning and Peter Bonetti took his spot in the lineup. It proved an bad omen for what was to come.
England were 2-0 up going into the final stages of the game before calamity struck. In the 69th minute, Bonetti let a shot from Franz Beckenbauer go under him to kick start the Germany comeback and they found an equaliser six minutes later. The game went to extra time where Gerd Muller scored the winner.
Bonetti was made the scapegoat for the loss and he never played for England again. However, Ramsey's decision to take off captain Bobby Charlton when England were 2-1 up was an equally significant reason for the defeat.
1982: Unbeaten but in vain
The World Cup in Spain was England's first in 12 years and it was secured on the back of a nervy qualification campaign in which they lost three of their eight games.
It remains the only World Cup to date in which England didn't lose a single game in. It's an impressive feat considering they faced the likes of France, West Germany and hosts Spain. But, this was the period when World Cups had two group stages and the fact that England drew three of their five games meant they went home without technically reaching the knockouts.
1986: Diego's divine intervention
England found themselves on the wrong side of history in 1986. Diego Maradona's goals against them in the quarterfinal were instantly iconic but for differing reasons. The first saw him vie for a ball with goalkeeper Peter Shilton before infamously using his left hand to loop it over the the England No. 1 without the officials noticing.
"A little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God," was how the Argentine described it later.
The second came just four minutes later, when he began a run from his own half and weaved past four white England players before rounding Shilton to fire into an empty net.
1990: The summer of glorious failure
Italia '90 is an integral part of the canon of England World Cup heartbreak. The fact that they had to wait 18 years to reach another semifinal has furthered the campaign's legend.
Paul Gascoigne's tears in extra time in the semifinal against West Germany became the defining picture of England's World Cup. The midfielder's waterworks stemmed from his yellow card in extra time that ruled him out of the final. England lost the game on penalties, thus birthing their long voodoo in shootouts.
Gascoigne was hailed a hero in England but his meltdown was seen less favourably outside the country, with some deeming his actions selfish and felt it impacted his performance.
1998: Beckham's moment of infamy
The dominant narrative around England's 1998 World Cup exit was David Beckham's red card in the round of 16 against Argentina. With the score at 2-2, Beckham petulantly flicked Diego Simeone with his leg and the Argentine's subsequent histrionics helped reduce England to 10 men early in the second half.
England valiantly took the game to penalties where they eventually lost 4-3. The exit saw Beckham cast as public enemy No. 1 and he was routinely booed by opposition fans in the subsequent Premier League season.
2002: A Brazilian exit
England qualified for the 2002 finals in dramatic fashion with Beckham's sensational free kick against Greece. Once there, however, their campaign fell flat.
They won just once in the group stage, and after overcoming Denmark in the round of 16 met Brazil in the quarterfinals. Michael Owen gave England a shock lead but goals from Ronaldinho and Rivaldo sealed Brazil's progression.
The only high point of the tournament was Beckham's moment of redemption against Argentina in the group stage, where he scored the winning penalty.
2006: The curtain comes down on the Golden Generation
The likes of Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, John Terry and Wayne Rooney played together in subsequent World Cups but 2006 felt like the end of the road for the Golden Generation™.
The excursions of the players and their families at their base in Baden Baden dominated headlines for the wrong reasons, and performances on the pitch did little to quieten the noise.
England were unconvincing in their path to the quarterfinals, where they were knocked out on penalties by Portugal. It's a game that's best remembered for Cristiano Ronaldo's role in getting his then-Manchester United teammate Wayne Rooney sent off.
2010: Wavin' (the white) Flag
Fabio Capello's sole major tournament in charge of England went up in smoke with a 4-1 demolition at the hands of Germany. Rio Ferdinand's injury on the eve of the World Cup was an inauspicious start and they never quite recovered from Robert Green's howler in their tournament opener against the United States.
It was a World Cup replete with incident for England. Among other things -- a fan broke into their dressing room after the draw to Algeria, Wayne Rooney turned on the fans and John Terry publicly challenged Capello's tactics in a news conference.
Of course, if Frank Lampard's effort had stood against Germany when the score was 2-1, it could have been a completely different story.
2014: A campaign that ended before it really began
The ignominy of England's 2016 exit to Iceland is often cited as the low point of Roy Hodgson's England reign, but there's a case to be made that the 2014 World Cup was even worse. It remains the only World where they failed to win a game and was their first group stage exit since 1958.
Successive 2-1 defeats to Italy and Uruguay respectively meant Engand's return tickets were already booked before their final group game against Costa Rica.
Fun fact: The Azzurri haven't won a World Cup game since sinking England in their tournament opener in Manaus.
2018: All downhill after the Trippier free-kick
Kieran Trippier's fifth-minute free kick was a quintessential 'where were you and what were you doing' moment. Plastic beer cups have never been hurled in the way they were after the right-back's strike into the top corner.
Reaching the semifinals was an overachievement for this group of tyros, taking the lead in it was beyond imagination. So understandably, they went into their shell and allowed Croatia a way back in.
Ivan Perisic brought Croatia level in the second half to force the game into extra time, where Mario Mandzukic struck the killer blow to dash England's dreams.
2022: First time so nice, but Kane couldn't do it twice
There is a case to be made that the quarterfinal against France was England's best showing in a knockout match under Gareth Southgate. They went toe-to-toe against world-class opposition and were a missed-Harry Kane penalty away from taking the game to extra time.
The England captain had already converted from the spot to bring his side level after a stunning Aurélien Tchouaméni opener. Olivier Giroud's late header saw France regain the lead in the 78th minute as England fought hard for a way back.
Just when it seemed like the game was beyond Southgate's side, a Theo Hernández shove on Mason Mount saw VAR award England a penalty in the 84th minute. Kane stepped up again, but this time blazed his shot over goal. And with it, went England's hopes.
