Unlike World Cups past, England’s usual fan and media fervour seems to be at a dull groan. At least for now.
Perhaps it’s years of under performing with the same old players or perhaps reality has set in with supporters, but the 2014 World Cup seems to lack the fan intensity and unreal expectations that so many World Cups before it had.
Since winning the tournament in 1966, England have seen 11 World Cup Finals come and go without appearing in the championship match. In three of those 11 tournaments – 1974, 1978, 1994 – England did not even qualify for the finals.
The furthest the Three Lions have gone since that magical 1966, when England hosted the tournament, was Italia ’90 with a fourth place finish and Paul Gascoigne’s tears that still receive repeated play every four years on ITV, Sky Sports and the like.
England’s last five tournaments haven’t been very kind. In 1994, under Graham Taylor, England missed out on the finals in the USA. Four years later in France, David Beckham was vilified for “lashing out” at Diego Simeone, becoming a scapegoat that papered over the other shortcomings of an average England squad.
In 2002 under Sven-Goran Eriksson, Beckham-mania and the hairstyle that still won’t die, the Faux-hawk, steamrolled into Japan and South Korea. England appeared in the quarter-finals where the team lost to eventual champions Brazil. Rather than Beckham receiving the fans’ ire, this time it was David Seaman’s turn to step-up to make the error that cost the team the match. The goalkeeper was caught off his line on a Ronaldinho free-kick that saw Brazil beat the Three Lions 2-1.
Eriksson remained in charge of England for Germany 2006 as a nation prayed for a fit Wayne Rooney. 
Rooney played and despite England topping their group with seven points, the team looked shaky. An own goal in the opener against Paraguay was followed by a faulty 2-0 win over a feisty Trinidad and Tobago.
England spent 83 minutes looking for a breakthrough when Peter Crouch finally headed a David Beckham pass into the back of the net. A 90th minute penalty by Steven Gerrard finally put the game to bed.
The tournament would mark the last World Cup Finals for Golden Balls as he turned in his best World Cup Finals performance of his career. In the Three Lions final group match, England were pegged back twice by Sweden, but still went through as group winners.
A quarter-final showdown with Portugal was secured after a 1-0 victory over Ecuador thanks to a Beckham free-kick which cued pandemonium and continuous shots of Victoria Beckham in the stands. However, England’s hopes were dashed by Portugal as Wayne Rooney saw red and the Three Lions went out with a whimper on penalties 3-1.
Fabio Capello’s England fared worse as the team finished 13th overall at the 2010 installment. Robert Green’s error against the USA in match one kicked off more under performing as England scraped together five points, one ahead of Slovenia, to finish second behind the Yanks.
In the round of 16 against Germany, Frank Lampard’s 39th minute shot ricocheted off the crossbar and over the goal line before bouncing out. The clear goal was not given keeping the game at 2-1. That goal could have changed things completely as it would have equalised the game at two. However, Germany added two more goals and England cried foul to FIFA.
England now enter the World Cup this time around having won their group in qualifying. Roy Hodgson’s squad is undefeated going into Brazil and despite the lacklustre fanfare at home, may turn in a better performance than expected. A solid Italy and last World Cup’s surprise package Uruguay will be England’s biggest challengers in the group stage. But the Three Lions can’t discount Costa Rica if they are to put enough points together to qualify for the round of 16.
Follow Drew Farmer on Twitter @CalcioFarmer
