England's quest for a major trophy continues following their recent defeat to Argentina at the 2026 World Cup. It has now been 60 years since the Three Lions secured their only major tournament victory, marking one of the most enduring trophy droughts in international football.
This makes England the team with the longest drought among all European nations to have ever won a major tournament.
Their lone success came on home soil during the 1966 World Cup, highlighted by a Geoff Hurst hat-trick in a 4-2 win over West Germany. Since that triumph, England have suffered losses in three World Cup semi-finals and two European Championship finals, with four of these heartbreaks occurring since 2018.
South Korea currently holds the record for the longest major tournament drought. The Taegeuk Warriors won back-to-back Asian Cup titles in 1956 and 1960, but have failed to secure a trophy in the 66 years since. During this period, they have finished as runners-up four times and reached the semi-finals on four other occasions.
Notably, they also achieved a semi-final finish during their 2002 World Cup run as tournament hosts.
Other nations share similar struggles, often defined by a single major victory achieved while hosting the tournament. Sudan remains a notable example, having claimed their only Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title as hosts in 1970.
Hasabu El-Sagheir scored the decisive goal in a 1-0 final victory against Ghana. Despite that success, Sudan has never qualified for a World Cup and has progressed past the AFCON group stage only twice since.
Similarly, Israel won the 1964 Asian Cup by defeating South Korea in the final. More than two decades after facing political protests from other Asian nations, Israel moved to compete within UEFA in the 1990s, though they have never qualified for a European Championship or a World Cup.
Ethiopia also experienced early success in the AFCON, finishing as runners-up and third before winning the title in 1962.
While they reached the semi-finals in five of the first six editions of the tournament, they have qualified only four times since and have not advanced past the group stage.
In other football news, the Premier League has issued a statement explaining why Tottenham were not awarded a penalty against Leeds. The decision denied Spurs midfielder James Maddison a significant moment during his return from injury. Meanwhile, in the Saudi League, an error by Brazilian goalkeeper Bento prevented Al-Nassr from securing the title this past Tuesday.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s team had been leading 1-0 until the 53rd minute of the second half before the mistake occurred.
Jayden Adams, 25, dies after making World Cup debut
Predicting which clubs the summer's biggest free agents will sign for
