Thomas Tuchel will lead England into his first major tournament at the 2026 World Cup this summer. His predecessors as boss of the Three Lions have had a mixed record in the most famous international competition.
Here is a look back at the performance of every England World Cup manager.
Walter Winterbottom (1950, 1954, 1958, 1962)
It is unthinkable now that a manager who lost twice as many games at the World Cup finals as he won might be able to remain in his position for two tournaments, let alone four, but the culture was different when Walter Winterbottom became the first manager to lead England at the World Cup.
Before 1946, England's team had been selected by committee. Winterbottom had no previous senior coaching experience and his playing career had consisted of 26 matches for Manchester United before he retired due to a spinal condition. Having run coaching courses for the FA in schools, he was approached by Stanley Rous to take on the role as England's first permanent manager.
England won their first match in 1950 against Chile but a huge upset loss to the United States and a further defeat by Spain sent them home. In 1954, Walterbottom's England were unbeaten in their two-match group but went out to Uruguay in the quarter-finals.
The 1958 campaign was even worse as they failed to win a match, but there were signs of progress in Winterbottom's final tournament in 1962 as they made the last eight again, losing 3-1 to eventual winners Brazil.
Winterbottom's win percentage at World Cups was less than half his overall figure of 56.12, with six of his 28 defeats in 139 matches as manager coming at the finals.
World Cup record:
Games managed: 14 Wins: 3 Draws: 5 Losses: 6 Furthest stage achieved in WC: Quarter-finals (1954, 1962) Win percentage: 21.4
Alf Ramsey (1966, 1970)
The most famous manager in England's World Cup history, Alf Ramsey, took over in 1963 following Winterbottom's resignation. A former right-back for Southampton and Tottenham, he had managed Ipswich for eight years, winning the Division One title in 1961-62 after leading them to the top flight from the Third Division South.
Ramsey did an almost perfect job as England hosted the 1966 finals as they won five games in a row to lift the Jules Rimet Trophy after opening with a dour goalless draw against Uruguay at Wembley.
Argentina and Portugal were dispatched in the knockout stages and Ramsey's bold move not to select fit-again striker Jimmy Greaves for the final against West Germany paid off when his replacement, Geoff Hurst, scored a hat-trick. Having earlier threatened to resign rather than drop midfielder Nobby Stiles, his decision-making skills and determined personality were clearly a huge asset.
England went to Brazil in 1970 with hopes of retaining the trophy as one of the favourites and qualified from the same group as the hosts, only to lose 3-2 after extra-time to West Germany having taken a 2-0 lead.
World Cup record:
Games managed: 10 Wins: 7 Draws: 1 Losses: 2 Furthest stage achieved in WC: Winners (1966) Win percentage: 70
Ron Greenwood (1982)
With Ramsey's England failing to qualify for the finals in 1974 and Don Revie's team coming up short in qualifying in 1978, the Three Lions returned to the finals in 1982 under Ron Greenwood.
A former defender for Bradford Park Avenue, Brentford, Chelsea and Fulham, Greenwood had managed West Ham from 1961 to 1974, winning the FA Cup in 1963-64 and the European Cup Winners' Cup the following season. Greenwood took over as caretaker manager of England following Revie's resignation and went out of the 1982 finals despite not losing a match due to the format of the tournament. After three wins in the first group stage, they finished second in a three-team second group after goalless draws with Germany and Spain. He retired from football after the tournament.
World Cup record:
Games managed: 5 Wins: 3 Draws: 2 Losses: 0 Furthest stage achieved in WC: Second group stage (1982) Win percentage: 60
Bobby Robson (1986, 1990)
One of England's most popular managers, Bobby Robson followed Ramsey in taking over the national team after a successful spell with Ipswich. The progressive coach, a former Fulham and West Brom player who earned 20 caps for England, had won the FA Cup and UEFA Cup with the Suffolk club having started his managerial career at Craven Cottage.
Both his World Cup finals ended in heartbreaking fashion for England. In 1986, a promising campaign that saw Gary Lineker win the Golden Boot ended with the infamous 'Hand of God' match against hosts Argentina in the quarter-finals.
Four years later, Robson's England, inspired by mercurial midfielder Paul Gascoigne, went even closer to returning to the final as they suffered a semi-final defeat to West Germany on penalties after extra-time wins over Belgium and Cameroon in the knockout stages.
Robson left after the tournament to manage PSV Eindhoven and went on to lead Sporting, Porto, Barcelona and Newcastle.
World Cup record:
Games managed: 12 Wins: 5 Draws: 4 Losses: 3 Furthest stage achieved in WC: Semi-finals (1990) Win percentage: 41.67
Glenn Hoddle (1998)
After Graham Taylor's England failed to qualify for the 1994 finals and Terry Venables went close to a home success at Euro 96, former Tottenham, Monaco, Swindon and Chelsea midfielder Glenn Hoddle took charge in 1996, having earned his managerial spurs at Swindon and Chelsea.
Despite a group-stage upset by Romania, England finished second in their World Cup group but lost on penalties to familiar World Cup foes Argentina in the second round.
Hoddle was dismissed in 1999, and went on to manage Southampton, Tottenham and Wolves.
World Cup record:
Games managed: 4 Wins: 2 Draws: 1 Losses: 1 Furthest stage achieved in WC: Second round (1988) Win percentage: 50
Sven-Goran Eriksson (2002, 2006)
The FA broke with tradition after Kevin Keegan resigned following their first qualifying match for the 2002 finals, appointing England's first foreign manager in Sven-Goran Eriksson. The Swede had managed eight clubs including Benfica and Lazio before taking the job but could muster only a pair of quarter-final appearances despite working with a so-called golden generation of players including David Beckham, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney.
In 2002, a 1-0 group win over Argentina was the highlight but England lost 2-1 to Brazil in the quarter-finals, while in 2006 they won their group but went out to Portugal in the last eight after a goalless draw. World Cup record:
Games managed: 10 Wins: 5 Draws: 4 Losses: 1 Furthest stage achieved in WC: Quarter-finals (2002, 2006) Win percentage: 50
Fabio Capello (2010)
For the South African finals in 2010, a second foreign manager was at the helm in experienced Italian coach Fabio Capello. A player for Juventus, Milan and Italy, Capello had managed several European giants, winning Serie A titles with Milan, Roma and Juventus and La Liga with Real Madrid.
A drab group performance including draws with the United States and Algeria was followed by a humbling 4-1 defeat by Germany in the round of 16.
World Cup record:
Games managed: 4 Wins: 1 Draws: 2 Losses: 1 Furthest stage achieved in WC: Round of 16 (2010) Win percentage: 25
Roy Hodgson (2014)
Experienced manager Roy Hodgson became the first England coach not to win a group game at the finals since Winterbottom in a disappointing 2014 effort in Brazil.
The well-travelled coach had managed Liverpool and West Brom before his appointment, having enjoyed earlier success with Malmo and Inter, while gaining international experience with Switzerland and Finland.
Defeats by Italy and Uruguay meant that England were already eliminated before their goalless draw with Costa Rica. Hodgson returned to club football with Crystal Palace and Watford and recently had a spell with Bristol City at the age of 78.
World Cup record:
Games managed: 3 Wins: 0 Draws: 1 Losses: 2 Furthest stage achieved in WC: Group stage (2014) Win percentage: 0
Gareth Southgate (2018, 2022)
Gareth Southgate became the first manager since Eriksson to survive for a second World Cup thanks to his strong performances in 2018 and at Euro 2020. The former Crystal Palace, Aston Villa and Middlesbrough man, who had missed the decisive spot-kick against Germany in the Euro 96 semi-finals, had managed Boro before taking over in a crisis situation following a brief stint by Sam Allardyce.
Southgate's England were not to everyone's taste but they compiled the best results for 30 years. In 2018 it still felt like they underachieved when going out after extra time to Croatia in the semi-finals. Having reached the final of Euro 2020, the Three Lions made only the quarter-finals in Qatar four years ago, as they went down 2-1 to France.
Southgate stepped down after reaching the final of Euro 2024 and has not yet returned to the dugout.
World Cup record:
Games managed: 12 Wins: 6 Draws: 2 Losses: 4 Furthest stage achieved in WC: Semi-finals (2018) Win percentage: 50
Remember you can follow England's World Cup journey as it happens in the United States, Mexico and Canada on LiveScore.
More England World Cup history
