England haven’t won by more than five goals since 2023 – and it’s going to take a lot more than that to beat their biggest ever win.
In qualifying for Euro 2024, the Three Lions smashed North Macedonia 7-0 at Old Trafford in a demolition job.
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Before that, they had recorded their largest margin of victory for 57 years during a 10-0 demolition of San Mario in 2021.
And they then secured their biggest victory at a major tournament with a 6-2 victory over Iran at the World Cup in 2022.
But since those huge wins, England’s largest triumphs have been a handful of 5-0 triumphs over the last few years.
Two 5-0s have occurred under Thomas Tuchel so far, proving that his side can find the back of the net with ease at times.
However, if they want to win by their biggest margin ever at the 2026 World Cup, they’re going to need to score a lot more…
What is England’s biggest win?
The Three Lions’ biggest-ever victory came back in 1882 and was against one of their local rivals.
The first international match in Northern Ireland’s history, 15 months after the founding of the Irish FA, saw them set an unfortunate record.
Howard Vaughton hit five and Arthur Brown bagged four in what was England’s first and second-ever hat-tricks to help the Three Lions romp to a 13-0 win in a friendly played at Bloomfield in Belfast.
Unfortunately for Northern Ireland, they were also responsible for England’s biggest win on home soil – a 13–2 win in Sunderland during the 1898/99 British Home Championship.
England’s 2021 win over San Marino remains their fourth-highest margin of victory and the first time since a 1964 win over the USA that they had managed to hit double figures.
What is England’s largest win in a World Cup match?
Before the 2018 World Cup in Russia, England had never won by a margin of more than THREE goals in a single game.
Their previous historic results saw them achieve 3-0 wins against Denmark (2002), Paraguay and Poland (both 1986).
But under Gareth Southgate eight years ago, Harry Kane hit a hat-trick en route to a 6-1 victory over Panama, who Tuchel’s side will face in the group stage this summer in the USA.
And it was the first time England had scored four or more goals in a World Cup game since…the 4-2 win in the 1966 World Cup final.
England hit six again in Qatar in 2022, but are still a way off the all-time nine-goal margin record at a World Cup finals.
Hungary are responsible for two of the three sides to accomplish that feat, (beating El Salvador 10-1 in 1982 and South Korea 9-0 in 1954), with Yugoslavia’s 9-0 win over Zaire in 1974 the other.
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What is England’s largest win in a Euro match?
In the other major tournament, the Three Lions are historically not high goal scorers at UEFA’s European Championships.
But England were just one goal away five years ago from matching the highest margin of victory in the all-time record books.
In July 2021, Southgate’s side secured their place in the semi-finals of Euro 2020 in spectacular style by smashing Ukraine 4-0.
Ironically, it was the only game at the tournament that England didn’t play on home soil, having taken a brief venture away from Wembley to Rome.
Five teams have racked up five-goal winning margins in EURO fixtures, the most recent of which was at the same tournament when Spain beat Slovakia 5-0 at Euro 2020.
Although, only one team have scored six, with the Netherlands downing Yugoslavia 6-1 in the Euro 2000 quarter-finals.
