England’s World Cup exit has ended Bayern Munich’s stunning 40-year streak of having at least one squad player in every final.
Skipper Harry Kane failed to inspire the Three Lions to reach a first World Cup final since 1966 as Thomas Tuchel’s side lost 2-1 to Argentina in Wednesday’s semi-final.
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England were just five minutes of normal time away from setting up a final meeting with Spain on Sunday following Anthony Gordon’s 55th minute opener.
But holders Argentina equalised through Enzo Fernandez’s strike from range in the 85th minute, before Lautaro Martinez headed home a stoppage-time winner.
Argentina now have the chance to become the first nation since Brazil in 1962 to retain the title.
England’s heartbreak has seen many fans and pundits demand Tuchel leave the dugout following his decision to shut up shop immediately after England’s opener.
eSPORTY understands that the FA have no plans to sack him with the German having a contract through to Euro 2028.
Waving Good-Bay to history
While England’s 60-year trophy drought continues, their defeat to Argentina has finally put an end to Bayern’s 40-year streak, which spanned across 11 editions.
From 1982 to 2022, the Bavarian giants had at least one player competing for the biggest trophy in world football.
Kane was the only player on Bayern’s books in the England squad.
Meanwhile in the other semi-final, Spain overcome France 2-0 as they advanced into their first World Cup final since winning the tournament in 2010.
Bayern had two representatives in the Les Bleus squad – winger Michael Olise and centre-back Dayot Upamecano.
Bayern Munich’s 40-year World Cup final streak
1982 final – Italy 3-1 West Germany
- West Germany: Paul Breitner, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Wolfgang Dremmle
1986 final – Argentina 3-2 West Germany
- West Germany: Lothar Matthaus, Dieter Hoeness, Norbert Eder
1990 final – West Germany 1-0 Argentina
- West Germany: Klaus Augenthaler, Stefan Reuter, Jurgen Kohler
1994 final – Brazil 0-0 Italy (3-2 on penalties)
1998 final – France 3-0 Brazil
2002 final – Brazil 2-0 Germany
- Germany: Oliver Kahn, Thomas Linke, Jens Jeremies
2006 final – Italy 1-1 France (5-3 on penalties)
2010 final – Spain 1-0 Netherlands
- Netherlands: Mark van Bommel, Arjen Robben, Edson Braafheid
2014 final – Germany 1-0 Argentina
- Germany: Philipp Lahm, Toni Kroos, Thomas Muller, Mario Gotze, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Jerome Boateng, Manuel Neuer
2018 final – France 4-2 Croatia
2022 final – Argentina 3-3 France (4-2 on penalties)
- France: Dayot Upamecano, Benjamin Pavard, Kingsley Coman
Will Harry Kane play in the 2030 World Cup?
In the immediate aftermath of England’s exit, attention has turned to whether Kane may have played his final World Cup match.
The 32-year-old, who was given a 6/10 in Adrian Durham’s player ratings against Argentina, finished as England’s joint top scorer alongside Jude Bellingham with six goals in North America.
Having become England’s most capped outfield player in history on Wednesday, he also leaves the World Cup as his country’s outright top scorer in the competition.
But the centre forward has admitted he is unsure whether he will be continuing to write his name in World Cup history in four years time, with the player to be 36 when it next rolls around.
He said: “It’s still too early to say. I take it year by year and see how I feel.
“I love playing for England. But of course, four years is a long time.
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“Then again, you can see someone like [Lionel] Messi still performing at the highest level even at an older age.
“I honestly don’t know. Right now, I just need to process this elimination.
“We gave everything we had, but in the end, it wasn’t enough.”
