Ranking England's most heartbreaking defeats since 1990: France, Italy, Germany...

Since lifting the World Cup in 1966, England have become famous for their heartbreaking defeats - and because we like to wallow in our own misery, we've ranked the 12 most infuriating of them all.

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We often say to ourselves that we shouldn't expect too much from the England team during the big tournaments, but it's still difficult not to get carried away when we finally arrive.

Unfortunately, that almost certainly means we'll be adding to this list for years to come…

13. England 2 Romania 3 – Euro 2000

After dramatically blowing a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2 to Portugal in the opener and then beating a bad Germany team but a Germany team nonetheless, no one really knew how to what to expect when England start their last Group A encounter against Romania needing just one point to progress.

All looked fine at half-time with England 2-1 up, but Nigel Martyn – a last-minute substitute for the injured David Seaman – crumbled from a cross and handed Romania an equaliser. A draw was still enough for England, but they couldn't hold it off, with Phil Neville presenting himself as the legendary national scapegoat by conceding a last-minute penalty.

12. England 1 Iceland 2 – Euro 2016

"Another miserable night for England at a major tournament," Clive Tyldsley said of the Three Lions' latest embarrassment. It was arguably their most dismal performance, but while few expected much from Roy Hodgson's men, they still managed to put the shirt to shame, such was their limp surrender.

Only Marcus Rashford showed composure or incisiveness - and he came off the bench with four minutes left.

The full-time image summed up England's shambles, with players strewn across the Icelandic penalty area after a late corner kick went nowhere. Joe Hart was among them, using his chocolate hands to "cope" and make the kind of apologies he seems oddly fond of making.

11. Norway 2 England 0 – 1994 World Cup Qualifier

Graham Taylor took England to Norway safely knowing the Three Lions hadn't lost a World Cup qualifier in 12 years.

That defeat also came in Norway, when commentator Bjorge Lillelien brilliantly gave him the jackpot: "Lord Nelson, Lord Beaverbrook, Sir Winston Churchill, Sir Anthony Eden, Clement Attlee, Henry Cooper, Lady Diana… we We beat them all, we beat them all! Maggie Thatcher, can you hear me? Maggie Thatcher…your boys took a hell of a beating! Your boys took a hell of a beating!"

The tabloid headline following the 1993 defeat was rather more punchy: "Norse Manure".

Graham Taylor's surprise decision to switch to a three-man defense backfired, leaving England to win in Holland, where the referee largely cost the Three Lions a Champions League place world and to Taylor his post. 10. England 2 Croatia 3 – Euro 2008 Qualifiers

After a series of unfortunate disappointments when it often seemed like England failed more because of luck than bad judgment, Steve McClaren came along and reminded everyone just how much the Three Lions could be incompetent.

They needed just one point in their last qualifying game to reach Euro 2008 and McClaren felt the best way to do that was to drop Paul Robinson and David Beckham. "I thought Scott Carson was ready and I'm sticking with that decision," McClaren said after watching the young keeper drop an early snap on his way to a 2-0 deficit.

Beckham was ejected from the bench at half-time and his cross allowed Peter Crouch to equalize in the second half, which may have given McClaren a break. But, under his umbrella, the embattled manager had to watch Mladen Petric secure a 77th-minute winner for Croatia, excluding England from another major tournament and McClaren's reputation in tatters.

9. Germany 4 England 1 – 2010 World Cup

Mcclaren's replacement Fabio Capello has assured England won't make the same mistake of failing to qualify for the next major tournament, but once in South Africa the Three Lions embarrassed themselves again .

Given how difficult they had to get through a group that included Algeria, the United States and Slovakia, perhaps we should all have expected the beating inflicted on England by the Germany in the second round.

Frank Lampard's 'goal' that the officials somehow missed offered an excuse for Capello's men, but even that couldn't hide the humiliation of being overtaken, beaten and beaten by a German team that barely needed to break a sweat against one of the most still teams to grace the biggest stage.

8. England 1 Croatia 2 - World Cup 2018

England's entire World Cup campaign felt like something of a mirage as the whole country suffered from heatstroke. A friendly team of players you might identify with, coached by a nice man...

Ranking England's most heartbreaking defeats since 1990: France, Italy, Germany...

Since lifting the World Cup in 1966, England have become famous for their heartbreaking defeats - and because we like to wallow in our own misery, we've ranked the 12 most infuriating of them all.

>

We often say to ourselves that we shouldn't expect too much from the England team during the big tournaments, but it's still difficult not to get carried away when we finally arrive.

Unfortunately, that almost certainly means we'll be adding to this list for years to come…

13. England 2 Romania 3 – Euro 2000

After dramatically blowing a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2 to Portugal in the opener and then beating a bad Germany team but a Germany team nonetheless, no one really knew how to what to expect when England start their last Group A encounter against Romania needing just one point to progress.

All looked fine at half-time with England 2-1 up, but Nigel Martyn – a last-minute substitute for the injured David Seaman – crumbled from a cross and handed Romania an equaliser. A draw was still enough for England, but they couldn't hold it off, with Phil Neville presenting himself as the legendary national scapegoat by conceding a last-minute penalty.

12. England 1 Iceland 2 – Euro 2016

"Another miserable night for England at a major tournament," Clive Tyldsley said of the Three Lions' latest embarrassment. It was arguably their most dismal performance, but while few expected much from Roy Hodgson's men, they still managed to put the shirt to shame, such was their limp surrender.

Only Marcus Rashford showed composure or incisiveness - and he came off the bench with four minutes left.

The full-time image summed up England's shambles, with players strewn across the Icelandic penalty area after a late corner kick went nowhere. Joe Hart was among them, using his chocolate hands to "cope" and make the kind of apologies he seems oddly fond of making.

11. Norway 2 England 0 – 1994 World Cup Qualifier

Graham Taylor took England to Norway safely knowing the Three Lions hadn't lost a World Cup qualifier in 12 years.

That defeat also came in Norway, when commentator Bjorge Lillelien brilliantly gave him the jackpot: "Lord Nelson, Lord Beaverbrook, Sir Winston Churchill, Sir Anthony Eden, Clement Attlee, Henry Cooper, Lady Diana… we We beat them all, we beat them all! Maggie Thatcher, can you hear me? Maggie Thatcher…your boys took a hell of a beating! Your boys took a hell of a beating!"

The tabloid headline following the 1993 defeat was rather more punchy: "Norse Manure".

Graham Taylor's surprise decision to switch to a three-man defense backfired, leaving England to win in Holland, where the referee largely cost the Three Lions a Champions League place world and to Taylor his post. 10. England 2 Croatia 3 – Euro 2008 Qualifiers

After a series of unfortunate disappointments when it often seemed like England failed more because of luck than bad judgment, Steve McClaren came along and reminded everyone just how much the Three Lions could be incompetent.

They needed just one point in their last qualifying game to reach Euro 2008 and McClaren felt the best way to do that was to drop Paul Robinson and David Beckham. "I thought Scott Carson was ready and I'm sticking with that decision," McClaren said after watching the young keeper drop an early snap on his way to a 2-0 deficit.

Beckham was ejected from the bench at half-time and his cross allowed Peter Crouch to equalize in the second half, which may have given McClaren a break. But, under his umbrella, the embattled manager had to watch Mladen Petric secure a 77th-minute winner for Croatia, excluding England from another major tournament and McClaren's reputation in tatters.

9. Germany 4 England 1 – 2010 World Cup

Mcclaren's replacement Fabio Capello has assured England won't make the same mistake of failing to qualify for the next major tournament, but once in South Africa the Three Lions embarrassed themselves again .

Given how difficult they had to get through a group that included Algeria, the United States and Slovakia, perhaps we should all have expected the beating inflicted on England by the Germany in the second round.

Frank Lampard's 'goal' that the officials somehow missed offered an excuse for Capello's men, but even that couldn't hide the humiliation of being overtaken, beaten and beaten by a German team that barely needed to break a sweat against one of the most still teams to grace the biggest stage.

8. England 1 Croatia 2 - World Cup 2018

England's entire World Cup campaign felt like something of a mirage as the whole country suffered from heatstroke. A friendly team of players you might identify with, coached by a nice man...

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