document_title: Anna Devane

question_text: who is anna devane daughter on general hospital

question_tokens: who is anna devane daughter on general hospital

text: Anna Devane

text: Casting[edit]

text: Hughes joined the cast of General Hospital in the spring of 1985,[3] and made her first appearance on April 10, 1985.[2] Hughes auditioned for the role of Anna in early 1985, about three months after she relocated to New York City. About two weeks later, Hughes was shocked when she actually got hired because the role was originally written for an American actress.[4] In late 1991, rumors circulated that Hughes had been fired. However, instead during contract negotiations, she took advantage of an out clause to work on another project. Hughes last taped scenes aired during December 16, last airing on December 17, 1991. If negotiations went well, Hughes was slated to return by the spring of 1992.[5] In the interim, she was replaced by Camilla Moore who made her first appearance December 20, 1991. Moore last appeared on January 20, 1992 and Hughes returned to the role for one episode on February 25, 1992.[2] Hughes briefly returned from November 13 to 22, 1995 as Anna's spirit to comfort the character's daughter Robin Scorpio (Kimberly McCullough), who is dealing with the loss of her boyfriend to AIDS-related illness and is herself HIV-positive.[6] On All My Children, when Hughes reprised the role of Alex in February 2001 after her maternity leave,[7] Hughes also made her first appearance as Anna on March 2, 2001.[2]

text: In late July 2003, All My Children announced that Hughes would exit in the role of Anna when her contract expired. Hughes made her final appearance on September 11, 2003. An ABC spokesperson hinted that Hughes could return to the series in a recurring capacity but she never did.[8] Rumors immediately followed that Hughes would return to GH. However, Hughes later revealed in an interview that she was open to a return, but had not been contacted by the series.[9] When Tristan Rogers returned to the series as Robert in 2006, many speculated that Hughes would return to the series as well.[10] However instead, Emma Samms instead returned to the series. Samms and Rogers's returns intensified speculation that Hughes would eventually reprise her role,[11] Though initial reports hinted that Hughes refused to return, ABC finally confirmed Hughes's return in April 2006. Hughes first reappeared May 12, 2006.[12] Hughes concluded her stint on August 30, and returned once again from July 13 to August 24, 2007.[2]

text: In late March 2008, it was announced that Hughes would make a return to General Hospital.[13] Hughes reappeared on April 25, 2008 and concluded her return stint on May 7, 2008.[2] Days later, it was announced that Hughes would soon join the cast of The Young and the Restless and was slated to begin airing on June 19, 2008.[14] At the time, Hughes was not contractually obligated to ABC, so accepted the four episode guest stint.[15] However, Michael Logan of TV Guide later reported that ABC pressured Hughes into dropping out of the role in favor of a "big" storyline for the summer on GH. Hughes who was scheduled to start taping on May 28, was never actually replaced and her character was never introduced onscreen.[16] On December 11, 2011, TV Guide confirmed that Hughes would return to General Hospital starting in mid January and would reappear just in time for February Sweeps.[17][18] Hughes first airdate was slated for the week of February 13, 2012.[19] On April 6, 2012, executive producer, Frank Valentini announced on Twitter that Hughes had been placed on contract with the series.[20]

text: In October 2015, it was reported that Hughes has inked a deal with the series and will remain in the role of Anna.[21]

text: Storylines[edit]

text: Anna Devane was a spy with the WSB prior to 1985. In those early days, she fell in love with and secretly married her colleague WSB agent Robert Scorpio. The two agents experienced an incredible whimsical romance that would remain in their hearts and memories forever, however tragedy ensued. In a take-down caper, Robert seriously injured a double agent or traitor who was working with the nefarious rival agency, the DVX. Robert was shocked to discover that this agent was indeed his beloved Anna. Feeling shocked and betrayed, Robert insisted on a divorce and walked away from Anna. Anna gave Robert his divorce, but also gave birth to their daughter, Robin Scorpio in secret. Anna remained deeply scarred for many years (as did Robert), but carried on for the sake of her daughter.

text: In 1985 Anna, arrives in Port Charles where Robert is now living with Holly Sutton Scorpio, a women he married for reasons of convenience, but eventually came to love. At first, Anna tries to undermine Robert's marriage to Holly, but soon realizes that Robert is truly happy with Holly and that Holly is not so bad. Eventually, the truth comes out about Robin, however, and a new long term friendship is forged between Anna an Robert-based largely on their connection through Robin, but also on deep feelings that they will always hold for each other.

text: Eventually, Anna becomes Police Chief of the Port Charles Police Department and develops a new love interest in Port Charles nightclub owner and erstwhile mobster, Duke Lavery, who tries to break ties with the mob for love of Anna. Duke and Anna attempt to get married but on their wedding day, a dark secret is revealed about Duke's past. Mid-ceremony, reporters crash the wedding, disrupting it. Camelia, a woman involved in these past events and who loves Duke has memories that come rushing back to her causing her to realize that she killed Evan Jerome of the Jerome mob family. Duke was involved in covering up this reality and kept all of this a secret for many years. (Camelia is eventually acquitted of the crime in Canada, though realizes that she can never win Duke's love, and leaves Port Charles.)

text: Because of the strains and publicity around these past events and Duke's mob connections, Anna breaks up with Duke and resigns as Police Chief. She starts her own PI agency and is delighted to have her ex-husband Robert Scorpio return to Port Charles to be her partner. Robert came back with the sad news: Holly had died in a plane crash. Robert tries to win back his former love, Anna, but she chooses to reunite with Duke. A forlorn Robert Scorpio quietly observed Duke and Anna's rekindled bliss. He watches with a broken heart as they finally successfully marry in a glorious Scottish wedding.

text: At one point in their adventures together, Anna was kidnapped by a psychotic enemy of Robert Scorpio, who was originally after Robin, but was happy to take Anna instead - knowing of Scorpio's close relationship with his ex-wife. To find Anna, Duke desperately turned to underworld crime boss Victor Jerome! Putting together the clues, both Duke and Robert independently tracked down Grant in the Adirondack Mountains. In a final snowmobile chase, Robert caught up to Grant. In a heart-stopping climax, he rescued the evil killer just as he was about to plummet from a cliff. After subduing Grant, Robert turned to Anna, who raced into his comforting arms, her ordeal finally over! Just then, Duke arrived on the scene and stood in stunned silence as he witnessed the sight of his wife in her ex-husband's arms.

text: Duke Lavery struggled to keep his underworld involvement under wraps. When Victor Jerome's son, Julian, took a bullet meant for Duke, he made a deathbed request of Duke to help his father legitimize the mob. Back in Port Charles, a grieving Victor intended to hold Duke to his promise! Meanwhile, Victor's brassy blonde daughter, Olivia, showed a strong attraction to Duke. Secretly, Olivia was obsessed with ruling the mob. Only a select few knew that it was Olivia who ruthlessly ordered the hit on her brother, Julian. When Olivia realized she couldn't lure Duke from his pregnant wife Anna, she decided to kill him. But Anna became her unintended victim when she was caught in an elevator rigged to crash! Anna was rushed to General Hospital, where the fall cost her the life of her unborn baby. Later, Olivia was gunned down in her hotel suite. When the police arrived, they discovered Anna, holding a gun, standing over Olivia's fallen body. While Olivia lay comatose in General Hospital, Anna was charged with attempted murder. The real killer turned out to be Olivia's one-time henchman, Dino, who was also revealed to be Victor Jerome's illegitimate son.

text: A triumphant Anna watched with glee as Olivia was found guilty and shipped to a mental institution. Though she would escape on several occasions, Olivia's long reign of terror against Anna was finally over! But so was Anna's marriage. After Duke testified against the mob, his life—and that of his loved ones—was in danger. Fearing that Anna and Robin were in danger, Duke sacrificed himself. He faked his own death in a warehouse explosion. Resigned to his fate, Duke secretly entered the Witness Relocation program.

text: Later, a man named Jonathan Paget, who seemed to be Duke with plastic surgery, appeared on the scene. He convinced Anna that he was indeed the husband whom she believed to be dead. Eventually, this individual was shot by Julian Jerome and dies in Anna's arms. Anna is again heartbroken and is left believing that Julian Jerome was responsible for her husband's death. (The real Duke somehow wound up in a Turkish prison for many years, and only made a return to Port Charles decades later.)

text: Anna eventually got past her grief and found herself romantically involved once again with her old flame, Robert Scorpio. Anna and Robert experienced a wonderful romance once again, remarried in a beautiful garden wedding complete with an Australian aboriginal guard and all their friends gathered around. They settled down in wedded and family bliss with their daughter Robin, but the happy ending was short lived. Continuing to live adventurously and on the edge, Robert and Anna were undermined by their enemies and both presumed dead after an explosion in 1992.

text: Super-spy Anna Devane was found alive after a decade of supposedly being dead. Her twin sister, Alexandra Marick (also played by Hughes), found her in a cabin in Canada near death. Alex and Anna's guardian, Bart, took her to Pine Valley and put her in the hospital under Alex's name so as not to arouse suspicion. Dimitri Marick and Edmund Grey helped with the charade. Dimitri opened his home to his sister in law. Anna could not remember where she had been in the last decade, but did remember that she was a spy who had many enemies. The Wildwind crew decided to keep everything between them so as to protect as many people as possible. But more and more people became involved, including Dimitri's niece Gillian Andrassy and her husband Ryan Lavery. This would prove fatal for Gillian who was killed by the assassin sent to kill Anna.

text: Anna felt as if she put everyone in harms way and wanted to get out of Pine Valley. But, her brother Gabriel gave her reason to stay and rebuild her life. Gabriel, Alex, and Dimitri returned to Hungary to comfort Gillian's family. Edmund told Anna she could either go with them or stay with her new family here. She stayed and began a new arc in her life. She even helped Ryan, who she learned to be her cousin by marriage to Duke Lavery, in finding his reason to live.

text: Daughter Robin Scorpio made her way to Pine Valley to see her mother. The two embraced in finding each other again. Unfortunately, their time was cut short, as Anna still believed her life to be in danger. She sent her daughter back to Paris to protect her from suffering the same fate as Gillian.

text: Federal Agent Chris Stamp enlisted her help in solving the Proteus case. She fell in love with prime suspect, David Hayward, and helped exonerate him. His drugs where created in hopes of saving his beloved Dixie Martin from her heart problem. Not wanting to testify against him on other drug charges, they eloped in her fourth marriage invoking the martial confidentiality clause. Vanessa Cortlandt, David's mother, was discovered to be Proteus. Someone wanting to get Vanessa’s drug money by threatening to kill Leo du Pres, David’s brother, drugged her. Anna was able to stop him moments before shooting Leo even under the influence of a drug. Anna was offered the job of Police Chief against DA Jackson Montgomery's wish who could not believe an officer would shoot while under the influence of a drug. Eventually, the two grew close. Maybe too close even for David. Her family grew when her nephew Aidan Devane made it to Pine Valley. Between David and Aidan's troublemaking, she was one busy Police Chief.

text: The marriage was cut short with the revelation that David had drugged and hid Anna's sister in law Maria Grey from her family for over half a decade. She could not be with a man who tore apart a family like what happened to her. At the same time, she discovered she was pregnant. David did everything he could to work his way back into Anna's life, including admitting to some crimes and giving up his job at the hospital for one at the free clinic. Anna's life was almost taken at the clinic when frightened juvenile delinquent Reggie Porter held her at scalpel point. David professed his love for Anna at that point, and the two reconciled.

text: Their baby had a heart problem, so Anna had to go to a specialist in Switzerland for help. David could not leave because of his probation, but arranged for Robin to take care of Anna while she was abroad. The surgeon suffered a stroke moments before the repairing surgery was to be done in Anna's uterus. David was allowed to fly out a conduct the surgery. They saved Anna and the baby. Leora Hayward was soon born and took the namesake of the late Leo du Pres.

text: Leora needed another surgery, but David did not want it. Anna signed off the papers without him and Dr. Joe Martin continued with the surgery. Leora did not make it through and David blamed the Martins, who he thought where trying to claim revenge for his past acts against them, for Leora's death. Anna tried to help him, but he pushed her farther away. Anna turned to Jackson again for comfort. On the day of the funeral, Anna told David he had to let go. Weeks later he plotted to wipe the memories of the Martin family at the July 4th celebration, but Anna was able to stop him. In the cabin, they fought and cried together and realized they could not mourn the life of their daughter without each other. When they fall to the floor holding each other, a little girl is seen at the doorway, unseen by them. She smiles to herself and walks out of the cabin, shutting the door behind her.

text: Anna was tired of covering for David. She discovered he and Erica Kane could have been responsible for the death of Michael Cambias. She went to the cabin and left the evidence she had found and a note for David. David came before she could leave. She told him she was going to Paris to be with Robin and she did not want him to follow her. She walked out the door and out of Pine Valley.

text: Anna resurfaced in the Markaam Islands in 2006, reuniting with Robert for the first time since 1992. She unceremoniously greeted him with a few good shots to the face. She returned to Port Charles in 2006 to reconnect with Robin and Robert. All the while, she is on assignment for her agency, investigating Lorenzo Alcazar.

text: Anna spent the summer of 2007 in Port Charles where she tried and succeeded in turning Dr. Noah Drake into the drastically paranoid Eli Love to stand in for him at the LIFEbeat concert which was held to support of HIV and AIDS awareness.

text: Anna returned to General Hospital on April 25, 2008 to learn her daughter Robin was expecting. Unable to handle this news, she got herself into a drinking contest with Luke Spencer, and became very drunk. She left on May 7, 2008, and returned on Friday, June 27, 2008. On July 18, 2008, with the return of Eli Love, Anna finally accepted the fact she was going to become a grandmother, and admitted to Robin how excited and grateful she was. On August 12, 2008, it was discovered that Anna would have a granddaughter.

text: Anna returned to Port Charles on October 29, 2008 in time for Robin's wedding; Robin gave birth to daughter Emma Drake during the ceremony. When Robin fell into a coma shortly after Emma's birth, Anna was in the hospital to give her strength.[22] Anna went to grab Chinese food for dinner with Patrick and Robin asked Anna to be her maid of honor at her wedding. Robert, Patrick, Robin, Anna, and Mac shared a meal and toasted family. Robin summed up the meaning of family as she told each of them how much they meant to her and how grateful she was to have family around her so that they could share Christmas together. On Robin and Patrick's wedding day, Anna danced with Patrick and told him that she would trust him with her daughter. Patrick thanked her for her trust and said that he would never stop loving Robin.[23] As Robert watched, he flashed back to the time that he and Anna had told Robin that they were her parents and would love her forever. When Robert turned to Anna and asked if she thought about the time they had admitted being Robin's parents, they were both stunned to learn that they had both been recalling the same moment in time. Anna remarked to Robert that she was in awe that a young woman as lovely as Robin had been conceived out of their love for each other. Anna had tears in her eyes as she looked from Robert to her daughter.

text: In early 2010, it was hinted that Anna and Robert were once again doing espionage missions. It was also implied that she spent her free time in London. Later that same year, Robin and her daughter Emma visited Anna for a short time in London off-screen.

text: Anna returned to town in 2012, as a Valentine's Day gift from Patrick and Emma to Robin. During the visit, Robin is killed in a hospital lab explosion, leaving Anna devastated. She delivers the sad news to Mac and tries unsuccessfully to contact Robert. Robert returns to town and is told by Anna that Robin has died due to the lab explosion. Anna sends Luke after Robert who storms off after looking at Robin's remains in the morgue. When Robert returns he tells Anna that he's the father of Holly's son Ethan Lovett. Luke and Holly told him that Ethan has been kidnapped by Helena Cassadine. Robert doesn't want to lose another child and do right by Ethan. Robert decides to find him and leaves Anna behind before Robin's funeral not knowing that Luke and Holly lied to him in order to give him something worth living for. After Robert left Luke starts to take care of Anna eventually feeling bad that he has to lie to her about Ethan. The friendship of the two grows as Luke asks Anna to move in with him, much to jealousy of Luke's ex-wife Tracy Quartermaine, in his suite at the MetroCourt Hotel. Anna agrees as she doesn't want to be alone.

text: In April 2012, Anna is visited by John McBain, a former protege of hers from the FBI. As the two spend time catching up on their respective pasts, John asks Anna for assistance in taking down local mob boss Sonny Corinthos, who McBain believes to be responsible for an accident that led to the deaths of Cole Thornhart and Hope Manning-Thornhart and also killing her daughter Robin. When Anna senses that McBain's hatred for Sonny is more personal than McBain would like to admit, he then reveals that Sonny is responsible for the death of his sister several years back during his time with the FBI, but that was revealed to be false that it was Joe Scully, Jr. that did the job and framing Sonny and making Robin's kidnapping occur. Anna also becomes to subject of Heather Webber's obsession, due to her involvement with Luke Spencer.

text: After Mac Scorpio is let go from his position as Police Commissioner of the PCPD, Anna is offered the job. Anna is effective as the commissioner, as she is able to locate the body of Anthony Zacchara, Tracy's husband who went missing.[24] Meanwhile, Luke is kidnapped by Heather, but is found by Anna just as the cabin he is being held in is burning down. Heather shoots Luke in an attempt to shoot Anna, and she is arrested by the police. Anna later finds out she also hurt Olivia Falconeri in the orders of Sonny's enemy Cesar Faison, Heather's son, Steve's girlfriend, and the mother of her fellow detective, Dante.[25]

text: When Heather is brought to the station, Anna comes to question her and Heather tells her Robin is alive. Anna doesn't believe her initially, but later interrogates Heather at gunpoint to get answers. Heather says she saw Robin at Ferncliff Sanitarium, where Heather had been. Anna goes to Ferncliff, but Robin isn't there. However, she finds a pamphlet to a clinic in Switzerland, and decides to go there to get answers.

text: In Switzerland, Anna pretends to be a patient in order to snoop around in hopes of finding Robin. Luke later arrives to help her search, but they don't find her, and decide to return to Port Charles. Luke later tells Anna about the lies he told Robert, and she isn't able to forgive him. Later, Anna's presumed deceased, ex-husband, Duke Lavery, shows up and wants to get back together with her. Initially skeptical, Duke is able to convince Anna that it is the real him, and they grow closer. Later Faison, who is obsessed with Anna shows up and it is discovered he has been wearing a mask so that he can act and look like Duke to try and win Anna's heart. Faison pretends to be Duke for a time and Anna begins to not only believe that he is Duke, but that Duke is falling madly in love with her all over again. Just when Anna thinks she too is falling back in love with Duke, Anna begins to question the true identity of Duke/Faison.

text: As Faison realizes Anna is beginning to find out his true identity, he takes her away to Switzerland. This is where the real Duke and where Robin are being held captive. Robert tracks Anna down and reveals the identity of Faison just prior to Anna being swept away romantically. Next, Anna and Robert find and free Duke. Robert also comes upon Robin, but is drugged by Dr. Obrecht, an attack which sends him into a long term coma. Anna and the real Duke return to Port Charles. Robin continues to be held hostage by Obrecht and Faison is imprisoned until Obrecht later frees him.

text: Now, Duke lays low for a while, but tells Anna he still loves her with all his heart and soul. Anna is confused as Luke also wants her back, but she eventually decides to rekindle her relationship with Duke.

text: Eventually, Robert regains consciousness and remembers seeing Robin. He and Anna then set out to locate their daughter, ultimately finding her on Cassadine Island in Greece. They are unable to free Robin and are themselves trapped on Cassadine island while Robin is transported back to Port Charles She is hidden on Spoon Island, with Faison and Obrecht, following instructions to conduct research in order to keep her parents from being killed. Robert and Anna eventually escape and free Robin. They themselves "take care of" Faison.

text: Anna is now able to enjoy a reunion with her daughter in Port Charles, continued friendship with Robert and a rekindled romance with Duke.

text: Eventually Duke becomes entangled once again with the Mob in Port Charles. This is partly sparked by the return of Julian Jerome and the Jerome Mob connections to the area. Duke makes his allegiance with Sonny Corinthos' forces in order to oppose Julian. This active Mob involvement gradually alienates him from Anna who pleads with him to stay away from criminal activities as long as she is the Police Commissioner. Ultimately, their relationship breaks up. This happens just at the same time that it is discovered that Faison has resurfaced in Port Charles, having only been imprisoned (rather than executed) by Robert and Anna. Anna is in "hot water" with the Justice Department at this point because it is viewed by an investigating agent that she and Robert took the law into their own hands by imprisoning Faison privately.

text: Duke and Anna reconcile in 2015, and agree to run away together but Duke is fatally shot on the docks the same night they agree to run away. Anna is once again devastated and struggles to overcome the loss of Duke. Anna becomes obsessed with seeking revenge against Carlos Riviera, eventually holding him at gunpoint but with the intent to arrest him for the murder of Duke Lavery under Julian's orders, a crime of which Carlos went on about how he will walk if he's tried for. He taunted about how he will be let go because the charges will never stick. That tormented Anna to the point where she blasted him four times in the chest, "killing" him. Carlos was actually wearing a bulletproof vest with blood squibs in it to fake his death so he could get away with it all.

text: Since his "death" Anna had been having frequent hallucinations of Carlos taunting her about how she's supposed to be upholding the law but then turned around and violated the law herself, so she decided to talk to Kevin to deal with her grief. Kevin wrote a prescription for a low dose of antianxiety medication, but the visions continued. Determined to move forward, Anna slipped into the morgue to see Carlos' body, but Jordan caught her. Anna pleaded with Jordan to help, so Jordan opened the drawer containing Carlos' body. It was empty. They discovered that the body had been cremated, but a review of the examiner's report raised red flags because photos were missing, and the information was incorrect.

text: According to the report, Carlos had been shot twice, but Anna recalled firing at him four times. Anna realized the records had been falsified -- or the body that was recovered wasn't Carlos. Anna suspected Paul was behind the cover-up and confronted him, but Paul advised Anna to drop it. Anna refused and continued to push until Paul revealed that he knew she'd shot Carlos because Kyle had provided him with proof of her guilt. Paul assured her that he'd taken steps to keep Anna's secret buried and promised that Kyle wouldn't be a problem, since Kyle could be charged as an accomplice.

text: Meanwhile, Kevin reached out to a colleague to take Anna's case because he thought she needed someone to be objective. Kevin introduced Anna to Dr. Andre Maddox. The sessions started off rocky, but Anna eventually grew to trust Andre. Paul continued to be a thorn in Anna's side because he held her secret over her head. Tensions mounted between Paul and Anna when she took on a cold case -- the shooting of Sonny Corinthos at a warehouse while he'd been rescuing T.J. Ashford. Paul wanted Anna to drop the investigation and resorted to blackmail to force her to comply with his wishes.

text: Anna returned to see Andre and confessed that she'd killed Carlos. It was the reason she suffered from insomnia. She admitted that one other person knew, and they'd been holding it over her head. Andre promised to keep her confidence, but they had a lot of work to do. Anna decided to bide her time with Paul until she could turn the tables on him.

text: Things took an unexpected turn when Anna had an encounter with Carlos on the piers. Carlos managed to evade her before she could question him, but she had proof that he was alive because he'd dropped a necklace with "Carlos & Sabrina" engraved on it. Mac Scorpio caught Anna breaking into Kyle Sloane's apartment. She advised him that she suspected that Kyle had been in cahoots with Carlos and theorized that Kyle had set things up to make it appear she'd killed Carlos. Mac wondered whose body had been recovered from the harbor as he and Anna looked around Kyle's abandoned apartment. Anna found a slip of paper with a familiar phone number and decided to call it. She was shocked when Paul answered.

text: Anna suspected that Paul had killed Kyle and passed his body off as Carlos, but she had no proof. Anna was briefly sidetracked from her investigation when she and Robert joined forces to rescue their daughter from Jerry Jacks and Helena Cassadine's diabolical clutches on Cassadine Island.

text: Anna decided to hunt down Carlos to prove her theory that it was Kyle, and not Carlos they found dead, so she and Jordan paid Sabrina a visit. Unfortunately, Sabrina had vanished. It quickly became clear that Sabrina had gone on the run with Carlos, prompting Anna to reach out to Robert for help. Anna and Robert quickly picked up Carlos and Sabrina's trail in Halifax, Nova Scotia.However, Paul arranged for Anna and Robert to be detained to buy Carlos and Sabrina time to disappear. Anna and Robert raced to the cabin they suspected Carlos and Sabrina had been in, but the couple had managed to get away with their newborn son. Anna returned to Port Charles and redoubled her efforts to investigate Paul's life.

text: Jordan eventually collected enough evidence against Paul to arrest him, but Anna begged her to hold off because Anna needed more time to capture Paul's accomplice, Carlos. Anna remained determined to send Duke's killers to jail, but she couldn't take Julian down without Carlos' testimony. Jordan reluctantly agreed.

text: Anna's life took an unexpected turn when a young man appeared on her doorstep, claiming to be Duke Lavery's long lost son. Griffin willingly took a DNA test, which confirmed that he was indeed Duke's son. Anna and Griffin bonded instantly as she told Griffin about the man he'd never met. Griffin also grew close to Robin and Emma, who visited Anna often.

text: As time passed, Anna filled Sonny in about Paul's connection to Carlos. She was certain Carlos had decided to remain in hiding instead of cutting a deal with the D.A. Sonny offered to tap Paul's phone and office. Anna couldn't support the plan, but she wanted justice for Duke. A few days later, Sonny told Anna he had a lead on Carlos' location. He provided Anna with a jump drive of Paul's conversation, but he asked her to retrieve the tracking device from Paul's phone.

text: Anna bumped into Paul at the hospital and persuaded him to let her use his phone to call Robin. She feigned a poor connection, ducked around a corner, and removed the tracking device. Later, Paul arrived at Anna's house to stop her from going to Ecuador with Sonny to capture Carlos. He tried to arrest her, but she chloroformed him, cuffed him to her staircase, and left.

text: In Ecuador, Anna was forced to remain in Sonny's jet because she was wanted in Port Charles. Paul called Anna while she waited for Sonny to return. She quickly realized that he hoped Sonny would kill Carlos. Anna knew if Sonny killed Carlos, Paul would charge her and Sonny with murder when they returned to Port Charles. She accused Paul of trying to save his own skin because Carlos knew that Paul had killed Kyle. Sonny found Carlos in a church, dressed as a priest. After a brief standoff, Anna burst into the church to stop Sonny from killing Carlos. Carlos took advantage of the distraction and lunged at Sonny. A brief struggle ensued, followed by a gunshot. Carlos had been hit in the shoulder. Anna handcuffed Carlos, and they all boarded Sonny's plane back to Port Charles.

text: In the interrogation room, Anna told Jordan that she'd been set up to make it look like she'd killed Carlos, but he'd been wearing a bulletproof vest and had goaded Anna about Duke until Anna had shot Carlos in the chest four times. Paul argued that Anna didn't have any proof, but Anna reminded Paul that he had confessed to her that he had killed Kyle to avenge Susan. Jordan arrested Paul and Anna.

text: Anna was arrested for her own crimes and spent time in lockup. She admitted that she was ready to face the consequences of her actions. Paul blurted out that he was in love with Anna, but Anna scoffed. After Mayor Lomax secured Paul's release, Paul informed Anna that she wouldn't be granted bail because he had concerns about her mental well-being. He said Anna's compulsion to mete out punishment for perceived wrongdoings bordered on irrational, so he wanted an expert to determine her mental stability. Anna was stunned when Andre sided with Paul. After hearing Anna ramble, Andre felt Anna's behavior. bordered on obsessive. Anna accused Andre of playing into Paul's hands. When Paul returned, Andre advised him he couldn't evaluate Anna because it would be a conflict of interest.

text: At Anna's hearing, Anna entered a plea of not guilty. Paul produced a report from a psychiatrist deeming Anna unfit to be released, but he decided to testify on Anna's behalf so she would be granted bail. Later, a witness named Hale stepped forward and made a statement that he'd witnessed Carlos murder Duke. However, Hale was found dead from a drug overdose days later. Anna suspected Julian was behind the witness's death because Hale had claimed to be clean.

text: Days later, Carlos escaped while being transported to prison. Anna was certain that Paul had had a hand in staging the accident and Carlos' subsequent escape. Anna joined in on the manhunt and found Carly hiding at the piers. She tried to arrest him, but he managed to overpower her and knock the gun out of her hand. Carlos threw Anna into a meat locker then fled. Trapped and injured, Anna dreamed a vision of Duke. Duke begged Anna not to waste her life seeking justice for him. He wanted her to focus on the time they'd had together rather than trying to change something that couldn't be undone. After Duke vanished, Anna woke up.

text: Luckily for Anna, Andre found her before she succumbed to hypothermia. At the hospital, Anna and Andre were shocked when paramedics rushed past them with an unconscious Carlos on the gurney. Weak and gravely injured, Carlos begged to see a priest. Everyone was shocked when Griffin revealed that he was a Catholic priest on sabbatical then gave Carlos last rites and heard his confession. However, Carlos died with his secrets. After Sabrina returned to Port Charles, she agreed to cooperate with the police. She told Anna that Carlos hadn't said anything about Julian, but Carlos had been in contact with a mystery person. Anna assumed it was Julian and vowed to take him down.

text: Anna continued to build her case against Julian for Carlos' murder. The dagger that had killed Carlos had been found at Julian and Alexis' home. The blade had been wiped clean, but there was blood between the handle and the blade. The DNA test confirmed the blood had belonged to Carlos'.

text: Anna flew to California to spend a few weeks with Robin, Emma, and Patrick. Shortly after she returned home, Paul had been revealed to be a serial killer who had arranged for Julian to be acquitted of all the crimes he'd been charged with. Paul had confessed and was sent to Pentonville for life. Anna felt that she hadn't done enough to keep Julian off the streets.

text: Anna contacted Robert and told him that she would like to resume her work for the WSB. It was agreed that Anna's home base would be in Port Charles. A short time later, Griffin introduced his ex-lover Claudette and Claudette's young daughter to Anna. Claudette needed help to protect herself from another ex-lover, Valentin Cassadine. A DNA test revealed that Valentin Cassadine was Charlotte's daughter.

text: After Claudette vanished in Canada, Anna paid Valentin a visit. She sensed something familiar about the black sheep Cassadine, but he denied having ever met her. Anna suspected that he had lied, but she remained determined to help Griffin and agreed to help get custody of Charlotte because Valentin was the prime suspect in Claudette's disappearance. During a lull in the custody hearing, Valentin whispered a Latin phrase that left Anna shaken. Translated, the phrase was, "Open your eyes," and it had been the motto for the WSB training academy. Anna doubted it had been a coincidence that Valentin had referred to the motto. She was a link between Valentin and the WSB, especially since Valentin's Uncle Victor had once been head of the WSB. Robert informed Anna that there was no record of Valentin working at the WSB, so she paid Valentin a visit to question him about the motto. Valentin played innocent and claimed that he'd been referring to Shakespeare's play Richard III.

text: Meanwhile, Andre had recognized Valentin, but she'd known him under the name of Theo Hart -- the head of an international diamond-theft ring operating out of the Ukraine. Theo had vanished before he could be apprehended. Valentin continued to taunt Anna, but when a picture of her, taken during her days at the WSB training academy, was discovered by Emma in Valentin's possession, Anna reached out to Andre. Anna hoped that hypnosis therapy would help her figure out why Valentin seemed so familiar and had an uncanny insight into her days of training to become an international spy. Under hypnosis, Anna recalled seeing a door at the end of a hallway with a beam of light shining from under the door. She also had a vivid memory of hearing someone whistling a tune. Anna's final memory was of dropping a watch she'd been winding, which had stopped at 11:05 on October 29 -- her birthday.

text: Anna confronted Valentin, who conceded that he'd been in her room at the training academy. However, he refused to elaborate. During another encounter with Valentin, he reminded Anna that not every sinner paid for their crimes then added that she knew that truth better than anyone. Anna had a flashback to her birthday, entering her room at the training academy, and finding Valentin waiting. She recalled him saying, "I have waited so long for this." Anna had recoiled in horror. "No. Stop!" Anna recalled saying to the disfigured young man.

text: Anna witnessed Griffin storm out onto the balcony to confront Valentin after learning that Claudette had died. Things quickly escalated when Griffin accused Valentin of murdering Claudette. Valentin brutally beat Griffin until Anna and Andre interceded. Anna accused Valentin of being a vicious thug and slapped him. Valentin was stunned and began to stutter. Mortified, he fled.

text: Eventually, Valentin revealed that he and Anna had once been good friends at the training academy. He had excelled at analytical work because of his high IQ and aptitude for languages. However, Valentin had wanted more than friendship, so he'd tried to kiss her on her birthday. He confessed that her cruel rejection had driven him to sell his skills to the highest bidder to fund the numerous surgeries to straighten his spine and correct his deformities. Anna recalled Valentin had used the name Ivan Theodore at the time and reached out to her contacts at the WSB. They sent a file, but it suddenly vanished off her computer as she tried to read beyond the cover page. Anna called Robert and asked him to track down Carl Browning, a man who'd trained with her and Valentin at the WSB.

text: Carl advised Anna to keep her distance from Valentin. He explained that Valentin's file had been redacted for a reason then revealed that Anna had put Valentin on a hit list. Anna had no recollection of ordering Valentin's murder, so she went to Wyndemere to get some answers. Unfortunately, Valentin caught her before she could plant a listening device. Valentin demanded an explanation, but Anna -- who'd been suffering from debilitating migraines -- collapsed. Valentin picked her up and raced her to the hospital.

text: Anna was initially diagnosed with a blood clot, but further testing determined that Anna had a rare type of blood cancer known as polycythemia vera, or PV. Griffin revealed there was no cure, but it was considered a chronic condition that was manageable with blood thinners and regular appointments with a phlebotomist. Robin flew to be at her mother's side and shared the news that she was expecting another baby. Anna was delighted that she'd soon have another grandchild. Their excitement was soon interrupted when Olivia Jerome resurfaced in Port Charles and kidnapped Robin, holding her hostage in an elevator. Olivia also tried to bring Duke back to life by drugging his son Griffin, to use his body is vessel for Duke's spirit. Anna tried to stop Olivia, but collapsed from blood loss after Olivia cut her hand with a scalpel. Griffin eventually came to and saved Anna after Olivia escaped. Anna awoke from her injuries and found Robin with the help of Jason Morgan.

text: Once home from her PV diagnosis and harrowing ordeal with Olivia Jerome, Valentin visited Anna. Anna advised him she'd recently discovered that she'd put Valentin on the WSB's hit list and begged him to tell her why. She told him she had no memory of it. Valentin refused to fill in the blanks. Anna's determination to solve the mystery of her relationship with Valentin was redoubled when Valentin revealed that he and Anna had been intimate. Anna turned to an expert at the WSB, who helped her uncover more memories. Anna returned to Port Charles and apologized to Valentin for everything she'd done to him.


document_title: England at the FIFA World Cup

question_text: who did england beat in the first round of the world cup

question_tokens: who did england beat in the first round of the world cup

root

text: England at the FIFA World Cup

text: History[edit]

text: Brazil 1950[edit]

text: England's first qualifying campaign for the FIFA World Cup doubled as the 1950 British Home Championship. The series kicked off for England on 15 October 1949 at Ninian Park, Cardiff, against Wales. Stan Mortensen gave England the lead after twenty two minutes, and just seven minutes later, Jackie Milburn doubled the lead. This was the first goal of Milburn's hat trick, which left England 4–0 up with 20 minutes to play. Mal Griffiths scored a consolation goal for Wales ten minutes from time, but England held on for a comfortable victory.

tag: p

text: A month later, England welcomed Ireland to Maine Road, and it began well for the home side as Jack Rowley scored inside six minutes. England were already 6–0 up, thanks to Jack Froggatt, two for Stan Pearson, Stan Mortensen and a second from Rowley, by the time Ireland struck back through Samuel Smyth after 55 minutes. Rowley added a third and a fourth to his tally in the three minutes following Smyth's goal, however, leaving the score at 8–1 at the hour mark. The frantic scoring rate calmed down after that, with only one apeice before the final whistle, with Stan Pearson completing his brace for England's ninth, and Bobby Brennan scoring for Ireland.

text: It was not until May 1950 that England travelled to Hampden Park to face Scotland, who were also undefeated after their games against Ireland and Wales. With the top two from the group qualifying, both teams were guaranteed progression to the finals, and the game was solely for the honour of winning the British Home Championship, and the seeding advantage to be enjoyed upon reaching Brazil. A solitary goal from Roy Bentley gave England the victory, the title and the top spot in the group.

text: 1950 Finals[edit]

text: England were seeded in pot one for the finals, which meant they were the favourites to progress from Group 2, which also contained Spain, Chile and the United States. England's campaign kicked off against Chile in Rio de Janeiro, and, as was expected, England cruised to a 2–0 victory, courtesy of goals from Stan Mortensen and Wilf Mannion.[citation needed]

text: Their troubles began four days later when they faced the Americans in Belo Horizonte in what has become one of the most famous matches of all time. Joe Gaetjens scored the only goal of the match to give the United States an unlikely victory, which has gone down as one of the World Cup's greatest upsets. A myth arose that the English newspapers were so confident of an English victory that when the result was telegrammed back, they assumed a misprint and printed the score as 10–1 in England's favour. However, this has proven to be untrue.[5]

text: This left England in a sticky situation prior to their final match, against Spain in Rio. They needed to win, and for Chile to beat the United States to stand any chance of going through, and even then they would need the goal averages to fall in their favour. As it turned out, no such calculations were necessary, despite Chile's victory, as Spain's Zarra scored the only goal of the game, eliminating England from the competition.

text: Switzerland 1954[edit]

text: This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

tag: table

text: As with their first World Cup, England's qualifying for the 1954 edition also constituted the 1953–54 British Home Championship. They played Wales at Ninian Park as their first match once again, and the 4–1 result was the same. However, unlike four years earlier, it was the home side that went into the lead, after twenty two minutes through Ivor Allchurch. Despite being 1–0 down at half time, England scored four within eight minutes of the restart; two each for Dennis Wilshaw and Nat Lofthouse.

text: Goodison Park was the venue for England's home clash against Ireland, who were newly renamed Northern Ireland. Harold Hassall got England off to a good start with a goal after just ten minutes. Eddie McMorran put the Irish back on terms just before the hour mark, but Hassall completed his brace six minutes later. Lofthouse completed a comfortable 3–1 win for England.

text: With the top two in the group qualifying for the finals, the final game between England and Scotland, at Hampden Park, settled nothing except the placings within the group, despite Scotland having dropped a point with a 3–3 draw at home to Wales. Allan Brown put the home side ahead after just seven minutes, but it was all square again thanks to Ivor Broadis just four minutes later. Johnny Nicholls gave England the lead for the first time just after half time, and they began to extend a lead after Ronnie Allen's 68th-minute goal. Jimmy Mullen made the game all but certain seven minutes from time, and although Willie Ormond scored a consolation for Scotland with just 1 minute to play, England topped the competition for the second time in a row.

text: 1954 Finals[edit]

text: England were drawn in Group 4 for the finals, with hosts Switzerland, Italy and Belgium. In an odd twist, unique to the 1954 tournament, England and Italy, as the two seeded teams in the group, did not have to play each other.

text: Equally, Switzerland and Belgium did not have to play each other. England's first game in Switzerland was against Belgium in Basel, and they suffered a shock as Léopold Anoul put the Belgians into the lead after just five minutes. Ivor Broadis put the favourites back on terms just over twenty minutes later, and although Nat Lofthouse gave England the lead 10 minutes later, it was proving to be tougher than they had expected against the Belgians.

text: Broadis scored his second just after the hour, but Henri Coppens hit back four minutes later to keep Belgium in the game at only 3–2 down. Anoul completed his brace another four minutes after that to level the scores again. In another oddity peculiar to this World Cup, drawn matches in the group stage would go to extra time, and as such the teams played on with the score at 3–3.

text: Just one minute into the added period, Lofthouse added a fourth for England and they seemed to have won it, but Jimmy Dickinson scored an own goal three minutes later to put the score back at 4–4. It stayed this way until the extra period was up, and as penalty shoot-outs were yet to be invented and replays were not used in the group, the match was recorded as a draw.

text: England's second and final group game was against the hosts in Bern. This proved to be an easier game for the Three Lions, and they scored one goal in each half (from Jimmy Mullen and Dennis Wilshaw respectively) to give them a comfortable win of 2–0. As Switzerland (against England), Italy (against Switzerland) and Belgium (against Italy) had all lost one game, England progressed as group winners, along with Switzerland, who won a play-off against Italy.

text: England faced the winners of group three and defending champions Uruguay in the quarter-finals. Carlos Borges gave the South Americans the lead inside 5 minutes, but Lofthouse put England back on terms ten minutes later. England were clearly struggling, but held on until just before half time, when Obdulio Varela gave the lead back Uruguay.

text: Juan Alberto Schiaffino doubled the lead just after the break, but Tom Finney kept England's foot in the door with his sixty seventh-minute goal. However, it was all over after Javier Ambrois restored the two-goal lead with twelve minutes to play. The score remained at 4–2, and England were eliminated from the cup.

text: Sweden 1958[edit]

text: For the first time, England had to play against countries other than the Home Nations to reach the Finals in Sweden. They were drawn against the Republic of Ireland and Denmark. In the qualifying round, England won three out of the four games and drew the other. Four months before the World Cup, Roger Byrne, Duncan Edwards, David Pegg and Tommy Taylor all lost their lives in the Munich air disaster while playing for Manchester United. At the finals, which is the only tournament to have seen all Home Nations take part, the Home Nations were all drawn in different groups.

text: England were drawn against the Soviet Union (2–2), Brazil (0–0) and Austria (2–2), who finished third in the 1954 World Cup. At the end of the group stage, Soviet Union and England each had three points, and had scored four goals and conceded four goals. This meant there was a play-off to decide the second-placed team in the group, the winner to qualify. England lost the play-off 1–0 and were thus knocked out. The only consolation for England was that they were the only team to play the eventual winners Brazil and not lose.

text: Chile 1962[edit]

text: The third World Cup which took place in South America, saw England qualify by successfully qualifying from the group, which contained Portugal and Luxembourg, defeating Luxembourg on both occasions, and defeating Portugal at home, and drawing in Lisbon.

text: At the finals, England were drawn in a group with Hungary, Argentina and Bulgaria. England defeated Argentina 3-1, thanks to goals from Ron Flowers, Bobby Charlton and Jimmy Greaves,[6] before playing out a goalless draw with Bulgaria, and a 2–1 defeat to Hungary.[7]

text: England finished in second place behind Hungary and played the winners of group 3, defending champions Brazil, in the quarter-finals. Brazil scored first through Garrincha, before an equaliser for Gerry Hitchens before half time. However, second-half goals from Garrincha and Vavá meant Brazil won the game 3–1, and eliminated England from the competition.[8] This defeat was manager Walter Winterbottom's last game in charge. Winterbottom had led England to four World Cup Finals. From May 1963, Alf Ramsey became the manager of England.

text: England 1966[edit]

text: This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (July 2018)

text: In the 1966 World Cup Finals, England used their home advantage and, under Ramsey, won their first, and only, World Cup title. England played all their games at Wembley Stadium in London, which became the last time that the hosts were granted this privilege. After drawing 0–0 in the opening game against former champions Uruguay, which started a run of four games all ending goalless. England then beat both France and Mexico 2–0 and qualified for the quarter-finals.[citation needed]

text: The quarter-finals saw England play Argentina, which ended in a 1–0 win to England. This match saw the start of the rivalry between England and Argentina, when Argentinian Antonio Rattín was dismissed by German referee Rudolf Kreitlein in a very fierce game. A 2–1 win against Portugal in the semi-final then followed. Portugal were the first team to score against England in the tournament. The final saw England play West Germany, with the result finishing in a 4–2 win for England, after extra time.[citation needed]

text: Mexico 1970[edit]

text: 1970 saw the first World Cup finals take place in North America and England qualified automatically for the tournament by winning the 1966 FIFA World Cup. England were drawn in a group with Romania, former world champions Brazil and Czechoslovakia. Each of the matches only saw one goal, with England defeating Romania and Czechoslovakia, and losing to Brazil. The quarter-final saw a repeat of the 1966 final, with England playing West Germany. England were hampered by the fact that first-choice goalkeeper Gordon Banks was ill, and Peter Bonetti played instead. England led 2–0 with goals by Alan Mullery and Martin Peters, but in the 70th minute, Franz Beckenbauer pulled one goal back for West Germany.

text: After Beckenbauer's goal, Ramsey substituted Bobby Charlton, who overtook Billy Wright as England's most capped player ever, with caps totalling 106. Uwe Seeler equalised for the Germans in the eighty first minute, thereby taking the game into extra time. During extra time, Gerd Müller scored the winning goal for West Germany which saw the German side win 3–2. This turned out to be Charlton's last game for England.[9]

text: West Germany 1974[edit]

text: For the first time, England did not qualify for a World Cup. In a group with Olympic champions Poland and Wales, England could not overtake Poland. After only drawing at home to Wales 1–1 and losing the first leg 2–0 to Poland, meant that England had to beat Poland at home, whilst Poland only needed to draw. Poland managed to withstand England's attacks in the first half, who had Martin Peters playing for them. Poland took the lead in the 57th minute with a goal from Jan Domarski.

text: England equalised six minutes later, with a penalty converted by Allan Clarke. England were unable to score any more goals with goalkeeper Jan Tomaszewski keeping England at bay. Brian Clough had previously called Tomaszewski a "clown".[10] The commentator of the game then said "it's all over".[11] Poland took this good form to the finals and ended in third place. After failing to qualify, Alf Ramsey resigned from his post and after a time, where Ramsey and his predecessor had lasted a total of 29 years, no manager was able to last in the job for longer than eight years. This ended when Bobby Robson became England manager.[12]

text: Argentina 1978[edit]

text: England also did not qualify for the fourth World Cup which took place in South America. This time, England were denied by Italy, who had scored three more goals than England after both teams finished on the same points. Goals scored dictated who qualified after the head-to-head record between the two sides finished the same, following a 2–0 home win for each team. The lower-ranked teams in the group were Finland and Luxembourg, but the size of the wins against them proved to be decisive. Nevertheless, Ron Greenwood was given a second chance in charge of England, after taking the role in 1977.

text: Spain 1982[edit]

text: 1982 saw the first time where the European Qualifying Rounds were divided into groups of five teams, where the top two teams qualify for the World Cup. Greenwood used his second chance and took England to Spain by finishing second behind Hungary and above Romania, Switzerland and Norway.

text: At the finals, England won all three group games, defeating France 3-1, with a brace from Bryan Robson,[13] before beating Czechoslovakia 2–0, with a Jozef Barmos own goal, [14] and World Cup newcomers Kuwait 1–0, thanks to a Trevor Francis goal.[15]

text: The next round saw a second group stage consisting of three teams, a first time event at the World Cup. England drew with West Germany 0–0 and after the Germans beat Spain 2–1, England then had to beat Spain with a two-goal difference to progress to the next round. England, however, only managed a 0–0 draw against the Spanish. England remained unbeaten at the end of the tournament. After the World Cup, Ron Greenwood's time as England manager ended, and he was replaced by Bobby Robson.

text: Mexico 1986[edit]

text: 1986 saw the second World Cup to take place in Mexico. England qualified for Mexico 1986 by winning four games and drawing four times against Northern Ireland, who qualified in second place, Romania, Finland and Turkey. In Mexico, England lost their opening game to Portugal 1–0 and could only manage a goalless draw against Morocco. The final group game, however, saw England beat Poland 3–0, which is one of the three highest scores for England at the World Cup, with Gary Lineker scoring a hat-trick.

text: This result took England to second place and finished behind Morocco. England then also beat Paraguay 3–0 in the Round of 16. In the quarter-finals, England renewed their rivalry with Argentina in a game that has become notorious for the Argentina goals, both scored by Diego Maradona. Maradona's first goal, known as the Hand of God, was illegal and should not have counted, as he used his hand to punch the ball into the net. However, the referee missed this infringement, and ruled that the goal should stand. Maradona then made the score 2-0, famously dribbling from inside Argentina's half and around several English players before scoring. Gary Lineker pulled back the score to 2-1, but England ran out of time to equalise, and were eliminated. Nevertheless, Lineker finished with the Golden Boot by scoring six goals and thereby becoming England's first Golden Boot winner.

text: Italy 1990[edit]

text: By winning three and drawing three, England qualified for Italia '90, the second World Cup to be held in Italy, scoring ten goals and conceding none. England were unbeaten through qualification, winning three games, and drawing the remaining three, but still finished second to Sweden, whom they drew with twice.[16] England profited from Romania's 3–1 win over Denmark, who, had they won, would have qualified as the third-best second-placed team. West Germany and England were able to qualify for Italia '90 as the best second-placed teams in the groups with four teams.

text: Because a few years previously saw English hooligans at European competition matches, England were forced to play their group games on Sardinia and Sicily. In group F, was the European champions Netherlands, the Republic of Ireland and Egypt and England. After opening the tournament with a 1–1 draw against Ireland and a 0–0 draw against the Dutch, England then beat Egypt 1–0. This was Egypt's first appearance since the 1934 World Cup.[citation needed] England won the group with four points.[17]

text: In the next round, England had to play Belgium. The game went to extra time, and in the hundredth and nineteenth minute, David Platt scored the winning goal.[18] England also had to play extra time against Cameroon in the quarter-finals. Cameroon were the first African team to have reached the quarter-finals. England opened the scoring through David Platt, but Cameroon quickly turned around the game to lead 2-1. Lineker subsequently won and scored a penalty in the 83rd minute to ensure the game went to extra time. He then scored a second penalty, to see England reach the semi-finals.[19]

text: In the semi-finals, England met West Germany. There was no separating the two teams after 90 minutes, which made England the first team to have played extra time in three successive World Cup games. There was also no separating the two teams after extra time, thereby taking the game to penalties.[20]

text: Although English goalkeeper Peter Shilton dived the right way for every penalty, he was unable to save any. German goalkeeper Bodo Illgner, having failed to save any of England's first three penalties, saved England's fourth penalty, taken by Stuart Pearce. Olaf Thon then scored for Germany, meaning that England's Chris Waddle would have to score his fifth penalty and hope that Shilton saved the Germans' fifth penalty. However, Waddle's penalty missed completely, going high over the crossbar, thereby resulting in England's being knocked out of the competition.[20] The third-place playoff between England and Italy saw England lose their only game of the tournament in normal time. Even though this was England's best finish since the 1966 World Cup, Bobby Robson's time as England manager had come to an end.[21][22]

text: United States 1994[edit]

text: For the 1994 World Cup in the United States, under the leadership of new manager Graham Taylor, England surprisingly did not qualify for the tournament. In a group with six teams, England lost to Norway and the Netherlands, finishing third above Poland, Turkey and San Marino.

text: England went into their final game with San Marino knowing they would need a seven-goal victory and for Poland to beat the Netherlands in the other match in order to qualify.[23] In the game against San Marino, Davide Gualtieri scored against England after nine seconds, taking the lead for the outsiders. England went on to win 7–1, which was too small a goal margin. Additionally, despite the half-time score between the Poles and the Dutch being 1-1, the Dutch went on to win 3-1, meaning that however many goals England scored, they could still not qualify. Taylor's tenure in charge ended and he was replaced by Terry Venables, who was dismissed after England lost the semi-final of Euro 1996, hosted in England.[12]

text: France 1998[edit]

text: After missing out on the World Cup in 1994, England, managed by Glenn Hoddle, qualified for the World Cup in France. England were drawn in Group 2 of UEFA qualifying with Italy, Poland, Georgia and Moldova. England beat Poland, Georgia and Moldova both home and away, but a home defeat to Italy in their fourth match meant they went into the final qualifier at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome just a point ahead of the Azzurri and only needing a draw to qualify automatically; defeat would see them have to navigate a play-off to secure qualification. The match finished as a goalless draw and England finished top of the group.

text: At the finals in France, England played in Group G. England defeated Tunisia 2–0 in the first game, with goals from Alan Shearer and Paul Scholes.[24] Their second match saw England lose 2–1 to Romania; despite an 81st-minute equaliser from Michael Owen, Dan Petrescu scored a winner shortly before injury time. In their final group game, England defeated Colombia 2–0 in the decisive match, thanks to goals from midfielders Darren Anderton and David Beckham.[25] England finished second in Group G, which saw them qualify for the last 16 phase, and play the winner of 1998 FIFA World Cup Group H, Argentina.

text: In a fiery game containing six yellow cards and two penalties, David Beckham was controversially sent off in the 47th minute for what many felt was at most a yellow card offence, knocking over Diego Simeone.[26][27] Gabriel Batistuta opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the fifth minute of the game, before an equaliser also from the spot by Alan Shearer four minutes later. England took the lead through Owen, in the 16th minute. Argentina drew level through Javier Zanetti in injury time of the first half.

text: The game finished 2-2, and, as neither team were able to find a winner in extra time, penalties were needed to decide the team that qualified to the next round. While David Seaman did save one penalty, Argentine goalkeeper Carlos Roa managed to save two, including the vital one from David Batty, thereby knocking England out of the World Cup. Beckham subsequently received death threats and was sent bullets in the post.[28][29]

text: South Korea/Japan 2002[edit]

text: In 2002 the World Cup took place in Asia for the first time. England, under its first ever foreign manager in Swedish Sven-Göran Eriksson, were able to qualify for the tournament. England were drawn in Group 9, alongside Germany, Finland, Greece and Albania. In the last ever game in the original Wembley Stadium, (which closed after the match) England played Germany, losing 1–0, the only goal scored by Dietmar Hamann. The match was the last under the management of Kevin Keegan, who resigned at the end of the match, and was replaced by Eriksson.[30] By beating Germany 5–1 in Munich, England's qualifying campaign was revitalised, and they qualified automatically, by drawing 2–2 with Greece. Germany, who could only draw 0–0 with Finland, had to play a play-off game against Ukraine, with England qualifying ahead winning the group.

text: In Japan, England had to play against Eriksson's homeland, Sweden, and both settled out for a 1–1 draw. England and Beckham gained a measure of revenge for their previous 1998 defeat in defeating Argentina 1-0, thanks to a Beckham penalty. However, England could only manage a disappointing 0-0 draw against Nigeria, meaning that although they were able to qualify for the second round, where they played Denmark, they qualified as runners up, which meant that they would meet favourites Brazil in the quarter-finals if they qualified.

text: England played Denmark in the round of 16 defeating Denmark 3–0, thanks to goals from Micheal Owen, Rio Ferdinand, and Emile Heskey.[31] England played four-time World Cup winners and 1998 runners-up Brazil in the quarter-finals. Despite leading through a Michael Owen goal, a mistake by David Seaman saw England lose 2–1, and Brazil won their fourth World Cup match against England, and went on to win the tournament.[32]

text: Germany 2006[edit]

text: England were drawn into Group 6 of European qualifying for the 2006 World Cup. The group featured other home nations in Wales, and Northern Ireland, as well as Poland (who had eliminated England the last time the World Cup took place in Germany), Azerbaijan and Austria. England won eight of the 10 games, and qualified as group winners, in front of Portugal, despite drawing to Austria in Vienna, and losing to Northern Ireland in Belfast.[33]

text: In Germany, however, England were less convincing. England played in Group B, alongside Paraguay, Trinidad and Tobago, and Sweden. England started with a 1–0 win against Paraguay; which was won due to a 3rd minute own goal.[34] The second game against first time qualifiers Trinidad and Tobago saw England have to wait until the 83rd minute for England to take the lead, with Peter Crouch opened the scoring with a goal many felt was illegal, and the second goal of the game coming in added time from Steven Gerrard.[35][36] The last group game saw England play against Sweden, where an eventual 2-2 draw saw them qualify for the next round as group winners, thereby avoiding playing hosts Germany.[37]

text: In the last 16 stage, a free kick from David Beckham saw England win 1–0 against Ecuador and reach the quarter-finals, where they faced Portugal.[38] The game finished goalless, and England once again were knocked out on penalties and Portuguese goalkeeper Ricardo became the first goalkeeper to save three penalties in a penalty shoot-out. Ricardo saved from Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, and Jamie Carragher; the only England player who successfully converted his penalty was Owen Hargreaves. Portugal won the shoot-out 3-1, despite misses from Petit and Hugo Viana. This game was also Erickson's final match as England manager.[39]

text: South Africa 2010[edit]

text: Qualification for the first African World Cup went successfully for new England manager Fabio Capello, after previous manager Steve McClaren was unable to secure qualification to the Euro 2008. By winning nine times and only losing to Ukraine, England qualified ahead of Croatia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Andorra. England's group was seen as a favourable one, containing comparatively much weaker teams.[40] However, England opened up their campaign with a 1–1 draw against the United States, thanks to a major error by goalkeeper Robert Green. They then drew 0–0 against Algeria and were booed off the field by their own fans, drawing the ire of striker Wayne Rooney.[41] England eventually qualified for the next round by beating Slovenia 1–0, but only qualified as runners up to the United States, thereby meaning they would draw favourites Germany.

text: In the second round match, Germany took the lead after 20 minutes after goalkeeper Manuel Neuer played the ball down the pitch to Miroslav Klose, who opened the scoring. The score became 2–0 to Germany after 32 minutes. Shortly after, England defender Matthew Upson scored a header. Later, Frank Lampard had a shot at goal which was disallowed despite crossing the line; which was confirmed on replays. German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer admitted subsequently he knew the ball had crossed the line, but decided to deceive the referee.[42] The German media reported it was "revenge for Wembley", while the English media criticised FIFA's refusal to implement goal-line technology. Ironically, despite his earlier opposition to goal-line technology, Sepp Blatter said that it should be introduced after a Ukrainian goal against England at Euro 2012 was ruled out.[43][42][44] As England tried to equalise, Germany used this to their advantage and scored two more goals. This became Germany's biggest win against England in a World Cup, winning 4-1.[45]

text: Brazil 2014[edit]

text: Under Roy Hodgson, who replaced Fabio Capello after Euro 2012 after a disagreement between Capello and The FA, England qualified for the second World Cup to be held in Brazil. Ukraine were again one of the opponents in the qualifying rounds. The other opponents included Montenegro, Poland, Moldova and San Marino. After winning six games and drawing four, England qualified unbeaten.[46]

text: The draw for the finals saw England have to play against Italy and Uruguay, both former world champions, which meant that it was the first ever time three World Champions were drawn in the same group, along with Costa Rica. England lost to Italy and Uruguay, and were thus knocked out after two games. The final match against Costa Rica finished as a goalless draw. This performance was statistically their worst ever performance at a World Cup, ending up with just one point after two losses to Uruguay and Italy and a goalless draw with Costa Rica in the dead rubber match, their lowest points total in the group stage of a world cup.[46]

text: Russia 2018[edit]

text: England played in UEFA Group F in qualification for the 2018 World Cup, in a group of six with Slovakia, Slovenia, Scotland, Lithuania and Malta, with only the winner of the group guaranteed qualification. England went into the qualification process under manager Sam Allardyce, only for Allardyce to leave the post after just one game due to controversy regarding discussing breaking FIFA rules.[47]

text: Under Allardyce's replacement, Gareth Southgate, England went undefeated throughout qualification, winning eight matches out of 10, drawing with Slovenia 0–0 in Ljubljana, and drawing 2–2 with Scotland in Glasgow thanks to a 90th-minute equaliser from Harry Kane.[48] This was the third successive major tournament that England were undefeated, having been undefeated in 2014 World Cup, and Euro 2016 qualifying.

text: 2018 Finals[edit]

text: Under Gareth Southgate, the England team began their tournament in group G against Tunisia. The game started well for England with a goal from Harry Kane in the 11th minute. Tunisia equalised through Sassi from the penalty spot in the 35th minute following a foul by Kyle Walker. Some controversy followed as various potential offences against Harry Kane, inside the penalty area were ignored by the referee and no VAR checks were carried out. England persevered and scored a second goal in the 91st minute, again by Harry Kane, resulting in a 2–1 victory.[49]

text: In the second group stage match, England surpassed their record for goals scored in a World Cup match by beating Panama 6-1. Jesse Lingard scored the third goal, John Stones scored the first and fourth goals and Harry Kane scored a hat-trick with the second, fifth and sixth goals.[50]

text: In the final group stage match, England narrowly lost 1-0 to Belgium. Adnan Januzaj scored the sole goal of the game; but with both teams having fielded reserve teams, with England specificially making 9 changes. Before the game media outlets stating that a loss could potentially become beneficial, as the winner would be in the half of the draw with four of the top seven sides in the world.[c][51][52] The result that meant Belgium topped the group and England finished second, setting up a last 16 clash with Group H winners Colombia.[53][54]

text: England played their last 16 match in the Otkritie Arena, Moscow, with the same team as against Tunisia. Harry Kane scored his sixth goal of the tournament, and the third penalty, after once again being fouled in the box from a corner, similarly as against Panama.[55] The score remained at 1-0, until stoppage time, where a header from Yerry Mina beat Jordan Pickford in goal to bring the game to extra time. Neither team managed to score in extra time, and the match went to penalties, which England won 4-3.[56] As well as being the first knockout match England had won at a major tournament since 2006 (last defeating Ecuador in the last 16); it was the first time England won a World Cup penalty shoot-out.[d][58] The match was notable for the heated atmosphere the game was played in, with a total of eight yellow cards being shown in the match.[e][59]

text: England played against Sweden in their quarter-final at Cosmos Arena, Samara on 7 July 2018.[57] They won the match 2–0, with defender Harry Maguire scoring his first England goal, a header scored from a corner, and Dele Alli a second header from close range. This would send them through to their third World Cup semi-final and their first since 1990, and third overall.[60] The team played Croatia in the semi-final, resulting in a 2–1 loss after extra time.[61] England would later finish fourth in the competition, the best result since 1990. England would lose again to Belgium in the 3rd place playoff, thanks to goals from Thomas Meunier and Eden Hazard, despite a Eric Dier shot being cleared off the line by Toby Alderweireld.[62]

text: The tournament would see England score nine goals from set-pieces – the most by a team in a single World Cup tournament since 1966.[63]

text: Records[edit]

text:
Year
Round
Position
GP
W
D*
L
GF
GA
GD

 1930
Not a FIFA member

 1934

 1938

 1950
Group stage
8th
3
1
0
2
2
2
0

 1954
Quarter-finals
7th
3
1
1
1
8
8
0

 1958
Group stage
11th
4
0
3
1
4
5
-1

 1962
Quarter-finals
8th
4
1
1
2
5
6
-1

 1966
Champions
1st
6
5
1
0
11
3
8

 1970
Quarter-finals
8th
4
2
0
2
4
4
0

 1974
Did not qualify

 1978

 1982
Second group stage
6th
5
3
2
0
6
1
5

 1986
Quarter-finals
8th
5
2
1
2
7
3
4

 1990
Semi finals
4th
7
3
3
1
8
6
2

 1994
Did not qualify

 1998
Round of 16
9th
4
2
1
1
7
4
3

  2002
Quarter-finals
6th
5
2
2
1
6
3
3

 2006
Quarter-finals
7th
5
3
2
0
6
2
4

 2010
Round of 16
13th
4
1
2
1
3
5
-2

 2014
Group stage
26th
3
0
1
2
2
4
-2

 2018
Semi-finals
4th
7
3
1
3
12
8
4

 2022
TBD

   2026

Total
15/21
1 title
69
29
21
19
91
64
27

text:
showEngland's World Cup record

First Match

 England 2–0 Chile  (25 June 1950; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)

Biggest Win

 England 6–1 Panama  (24 June 2018; Nizhny Novgorod, Russia)

Biggest Defeat

 England 1-4 Germany  (27 June 2010; Bloemfontein, South Africa)

Best Result

Champions at the 1966 World Cup

Worst Result

Group stage in 1950, 1958 and 2014

text: By match[edit]

text:
Year

Round

Against

Score

Scorers

 1950
Group 2
 Chile
2–0
Mortensen, Mannion

 United States
0–1

 Spain
0–1

 1954
Group 4
 Belgium
4–4 (aet)
Broadis (2), Lofthouse (2)

  Switzerland
2–0
Mullen, Wilshaw

Quarter-final
 Uruguay
2–4
Lofthouse, Finney

 1958
Group 4
 Soviet Union
2–2
Kevan, Finney

 Brazil
0–0

 Austria
2–2
Haynes, Kevan

Play-off
 Soviet Union
0–1

 1962
Group 4
 Hungary
1–2
Flowers

 Argentina
3–1
Flowers, Charlton, Greaves

 Bulgaria
0–0

Quarter-final
 Brazil
1–3
Hitchens

 1966
Group 1
 Uruguay
0–0

 Mexico
2–0
Charlton, Hunt

 France
2–0
Hunt (2)

Quarter-final
 Argentina
1–0
Hurst

Semi-final
 Portugal
2–1
Charlton (2)

Final
 West Germany
4–2 (aet)
Hurst (3), Peters

 1970
Group 3
 Romania
1–0
Hurst

 Brazil
0–1

 Czechoslovakia
1–0
Clarke

Quarter-final
 West Germany
2–3 (aet)
Mullery, Peters

 1982
Group 4
 France
3–1
Robson (2), Mariner

 Czechoslovakia
2–0
Francis, Barmoš (o.g.)

 Kuwait
1–0
Francis

Group B Round 2
 West Germany
0–0

 Spain
0–0

 1986
Group F
 Portugal
0–1

 Morocco
0–0

 Poland
3–0
Lineker (3)

Round of 16
 Paraguay
3–0
Lineker (2), Beardsley

Quarter-final
 Argentina
1–2
Lineker

 1990
Group F
 Republic of Ireland
1–1
Lineker

 Netherlands
0–0

 Egypt
1–0
Wright

Round of 16
 Belgium
1–0 (aet)
Platt

Quarter-final
 Cameroon
3–2 (aet)
Platt, Lineker (2)

Semi-final
 West Germany
1–1 (aet)[f]
Lineker

Third-place play-off
 Italy
1–2
Platt

 1998
Group G
 Tunisia
2–0
Shearer, Scholes

 Romania
1–2
Owen

 Colombia
2–0
Anderton, Beckham

Round of 16
 Argentina
2–2 (aet)[f]
Shearer, Owen

  2002
Group F
 Sweden
1–1
Campbell

 Argentina
1–0
Beckham

 Nigeria
0–0

Round of 16
 Denmark
3–0
Ferdinand, Owen, Heskey

Quarter-final
 Brazil
1–2
Owen

 2006
Group B
 Paraguay
1–0
Gamarra (o.g.)

 Trinidad and Tobago
2–0
Crouch, Gerrard

 Sweden
2–2
Cole, Gerrard

Round of 16
 Ecuador
1–0
Beckham

Quarter-final
 Portugal
0–0 (aet)[f]

 2010
Group C
 United States
1–1
Gerrard

 Algeria
0–0

 Slovenia
1–0
Defoe

Round of 16
 Germany
1–4
Upson

 2014
Group D
 Italy
1–2
Sturridge

 Uruguay
1–2
Rooney

 Costa Rica
0–0

 2018
Group G
 Tunisia
2–1
Kane (2)

 Panama
6–1
Stones (2), Kane (3), Lingard

 Belgium
0–1

Round of 16
 Colombia
1–1 (aet)[g]
Kane

Quarter-final
 Sweden
2–0
Maguire, Alli

Semi-final
 Croatia
1–2 (aet)
Trippier

Third-place play-off
 Belgium
0–2

text: By opponent[edit]

text:
Country

Played

Won

Drawn

Lost

GF

GA

GD

 Argentina
5
3
1
1
8
5
+3

 Germany
5
1
2
2
8
10
-2

 Brazil
4
0
1
3
2
6
-4

 Sweden
3
1
2
0
5
3
+2

 Belgium
4
1
1
2
5
7
-2

 Portugal
3
1
1
1
2
2
0

 Uruguay
3
0
1
2
3
6
-3

 France
2
2
0
0
5
1
+4

 Paraguay
2
2
0
0
4
0
+4

 Tunisia
2
2
0
0
4
1
+3

 Czechoslovakia
2
2
0
0
3
0
+3

 Colombia
2
1
1
0
3
1
+2

 Romania
2
1
0
1
2
2
0

 Soviet Union
2
0
1
1
2
3
-1

 United States
2
0
1
1
1
2
-1

 Spain
2
0
1
1
0
1
-1

 Italy
2
0
0
2
2
4
-2

 Panama
1
1
0
0
6
1
+5

 Poland
1
1
0
0
3
0
+3

 Denmark
1
1
0
0
3
0
+3

 Chile
1
1
0
0
2
0
+2

  Switzerland
1
1
0
0
2
0
+2

 Mexico
1
1
0
0
2
0
+2

 Trinidad and Tobago
1
1
0
0
2
0
+2

 Cameroon
1
1
0
0
3
2
+1

 Kuwait
1
1
0
0
1
0
+1

 Egypt
1
1
0
0
1
0
+1

 Ecuador
1
1
0
0
1
0
+1

 Slovenia
1
1
0
0
0
0
+1

 Austria
1
0
1
0
2
2
0

 Republic of Ireland
1
0
1
0
1
1
0

 Bulgaria
1
0
1
0
0
0
0

 Morocco
1
0
1
0
0
0
0

 Netherlands
1
0
1
0
0
0
0

 Nigeria
1
0
1
0
0
0
0

 Algeria
1
0
1
0
0
0
0

 Costa Rica
1
0
1
0
0
0
0

 Hungary
1
0
0
1
1
2
-1

 Croatia
1
0
0
1
1
2
-1

text: Last update: 14 July 2018

text: Players' honours[edit]

text: List of England players with the most appearances at World Cups[edit]

text:
No.

Name

Matches

World Cups

1
Peter Shilton
17
1982, 1986, 1990

2

Terry Butcher
14
1982, 1986, 1990

Bobby Charlton
14
1958, 1962, 1966, 1970

Ashley Cole
14
2002, 2006, 2010

Bobby Moore
14
1962, 1966, 1970

6
David Beckham
13
1998, 2002, 2006

7

Steven Gerrard
12
2006, 2010, 2014

Gary Lineker
12
1986, 1990

Michael Owen
12
1998, 2002, 2006

10
Chris Waddle
11
1986, 1990

text: List of England top goalscorers at World Cups[edit]

text:
No.

Name

Goals

World Cups

1
Gary Lineker
10
1986 (6) and 1990 (4)

2
Harry Kane
6
2018

3
Geoff Hurst
5
1966 (4) and 1970 (1)

4

Bobby Charlton
4
1962 (1) and 1966 (3)

Michael Owen
4
1998 (2) and 2002 (2)

6

Nat Lofthouse
3
1954

Roger Hunt
3
1966

David Platt
3
1990

David Beckham
3
1998, 2002 and 2006

Steven Gerrard
3
2006 (2) and 2010

11
Nine players
2

text: Current as of 3 July 2018 after the match against Colombia

text: List of England goals by tournament[edit]

text:
World Cup

Goalscorer(s)

1950

Wilf Mannion, Stan Mortensen

1954

Nat Lofthouse (3), Ivor Broadis (2), Tom Finney, Jimmy Mullen, Dennis Wilshaw

1958

Derek Kevan (2), Tom Finney, Johnny Haynes

1962

Ron Flowers (2), Bobby Charlton, Jimmy Greaves, Gerry Hitchens

1966

Geoff Hurst (4), Roger Hunt (3), Bobby Charlton (3), Martin Peters

1970

Allan Clarke, Geoff Hurst, Alan Mullery, Martin Peters

1982

Trevor Francis (2), Bryan Robson (2), Paul Mariner, Own Goal

1986

Gary Lineker (6), Peter Beardsley

1990

Gary Lineker (4), David Platt (3), Mark Wright

1998

Michael Owen (2), Alan Shearer (2), Darren Anderton, David Beckham, Paul Scholes

2002

Michael Owen (2), David Beckham, Sol Campbell, Rio Ferdinand, Emile Heskey

2006

Steven Gerrard (2), David Beckham, Joe Cole, Peter Crouch, Own Goal

2010

Jermain Defoe, Steven Gerrard, Matthew Upson

2014

Wayne Rooney, Daniel Sturridge

2018

Harry Kane (6), John Stones (2), Jesse Lingard, Harry Maguire, Dele Alli, Kieran Trippier

text: List of England players playing abroad at a World Cup[edit]

text: Historically, very few English World Cup squad members were playing for a club in a foreign league at the time of their selection to the national squad.[64]

text:
Year

Number (Country)

Players (Apps)

1950–1958

0

1962

1 (Italy)

Gerry Hitchens (2)

1966–1970

0

1982

1 (West Germany)

Tony Woodcock (2)

1986

2 (Italy)

Mark Hateley (3), Ray Wilkins

1990

5 (4 in Scotland, 1 in France)

Terry Butcher (5), Trevor Steven (3), Gary Stevens (2), Chris Woods (0); Chris Waddle (7)

1998

0

2002

1 (Germany)

Owen Hargreaves (2)

2006

2 (1 Spain, 1 Germany)

David Beckham (5); Owen Hargreaves (4)

2010

0

2014

1 (Scotland)

Fraser Forster (0)

2018

0

text: Team awards and records[edit]

text: Team Awards

text:
World Champions 1966
FIFA Fair Play Trophy 1990
FIFA Fair Play Trophy 1998 (shared)

tag: ul

text: Individual Awards

text:
Golden Ball 1966: Bobby Charlton
Silver Ball 1966: Bobby Moore
Golden Boot 1986: Gary Lineker
Golden Boot 2018: Harry Kane
Bronze Boot 1966: Geoff Hurst
Golden Glove 1966: Gordon Banks
Best Young Player Award 1998: Michael Owen

text: Team Records

text:
Most penalty shoot-outs lost: 3 (shared with Italy and Spain)
Biggest World Cup victory: 6-1 vs Panama, 2018 Group Stage [65]

text: Individual Records

text:
Only hattrick in a final: Geoff Hurst (1966 v West Germany)
Oldest captain: Peter Shilton (age 40 years and 292 days, 1990 v Italy)
Most clean sheets: Peter Shilton (10, 1982-1990) (shared with Fabien Barthez)

text: Refereeing[edit]

text: Four FIFA World Cup finals were officiated by English referees, more than by any other football association. The first Englishman to officiate a final, George Reader, is also the oldest World Cup referee to date, as he was 53 years and 236 days old at the 1950 decisive match between Uruguay and Brazil. The other final referees are William Ling (1954), Jack Taylor (1974) and Howard Webb (2010).

text: Arthur Ellis, who was a linesman at the 1950 final, is part of an elite group of referees who has been called up for three consecutive World Cups (1950–1958).