document_title: England at the FIFA World Cup

question_text: when was the last time england got to the semi final of the world cup

question_tokens: when was the last time england got to the semi final of the world cup

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.

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]

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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]

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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)

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).


document_title: Play clock

question_text: when does the playclock start in the nfl

root

text: Play clock

text: This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. The specific problem is: No organization Please help improve this article if you can. (July 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

tag: table

text: A play clock, also called a delay-of-game timer,[1] is a countdown clock intended to speed up the pace of the game, and hopefully the scoring, in American football and Canadian football. The offensive team must put the ball in play by either snapping the ball during a scrimmage down or kicking the ball during a free kick down before the time expires, or else they will be assessed a 5-yard delay of game (American football) or time count (Canadian football; that code's "delay of game" is a different infraction) penalty. If a visible clock is not available or not functioning, game officials on the field will use a stopwatch or other similar device to enforce the rule.

tag: p

text: In all levels of Canadian football, the offensive team must run a play within 20 seconds of the referee whistling the play in; in amateur American football, teams have 25 seconds from the time the ball is declared ready for play. In the NFL, teams have 40 seconds timed from the end of the previous down. Before 2008, in college football, the play clock was 25 seconds after the ball was set, but the clock was not stopped for the ball to be set unless the previous play resulted in a stoppage of the clock. Now, the same intervals as the NFL are used, with minor differences for the final two minutes of each half.[2] Various professional leagues have used their own standards; the XFL, for instance, used a 35-second play clock to encourage faster play.

text: Also in the Canadian Football League, a time count is enforced differently at certain points of the game. If the time count occurs before the three-minute mark of a half, the penalty is five yards and the down is repeated. In the final three minutes, the penalty is a loss of down on first and second down or 10 yards, with the down repeated, on third down. If the referee deems a time count committed on third down in the last three minutes of a half to be deliberate, he also has the right to require the offensive team to put the ball in play legally within 20 seconds or else forfeit possession. (Time counts during convert attempts, during which the ball is live but the clock does not run, are 5-yard penalties with the down repeated at all times in the game.)[3]

text: In the strategy of clock management, a team can slow the pace of a game by taking the maximum amount of time allotted between plays. A team wishing to do so would wait to snap the ball until there is one second left on the play clock.

text: In many football games, the play clock is managed by the back judge who is positioned behind the defense and faces the quarterback. When the play clock counts down to 5 seconds remaining, some back judges will raise their arm over their head to warn the quarterback, and rotate their arm downward to their leg, counting down the final seconds. A penalty flag for delay is thrown afterward. The infraction typically results in a five-yard penalty.


question_text: who killed wellington in the curious incident of the dog in the nighttime

text: Plot

text: Christopher, a fifteen-year-old boy with an autism spectrum condition, lives with his father, who has told him that his mother, Judy, died two years ago. The boy discovers the dead body of the neighbour's dog, Wellington, speared by a garden fork. Mrs Shears, the dog's owner, calls the police, and Christopher comes under suspicion. When a policeman touches him, he hits the policeman, and is arrested, then released with a police caution. He decides to investigate the dog's death, despite his father's orders to stay out of other people's business. He is severely limited by his fears and difficulties when interpreting the world around him. Throughout his adventures, Christopher records his experiences in a book, which he calls a "murder mystery novel". During his investigation, Christopher meets people whom he has never before encountered, even though they live on the same street, including the elderly Mrs Alexander, who informs Christopher that his mother had an affair with Mr Shears and had been with him for a long time.

text: Christopher's father, Ed, discovers the book and confiscates it after a brief fight with the boy. While searching for the confiscated book, Christopher uncovers a trove of letters which his mother wrote to him, dated after her supposed death, which his father has also hidden. He is so shocked by his father lying about his mother's death that he is unable to move, curls up on the bed, vomits and groans for several hours until his father returns home. Ed realizes that Christopher has read the letters and cleans him up. He then confesses that he had indeed lied about Judy's death and also that it was he who killed Wellington, stating that it was a mistake resulting from his anger after a heated argument with Mrs Shears. Christopher, having lost all trust in his father and fearing that Ed might try to kill him since he had already killed the dog, decides to live with his mother and runs away. He remembers his mother's address from the letters and embarks on an adventurous trip to London, where his mother lives with Mr Shears.

text: After a long and event-filled journey, evading policemen and feeling ill from the overwhelmingly large amount of information and stimuli from the trains and crowds around him, he finally finds his way to his mother and Mr Shears's home, and waits outside until they arrive. Judy is delighted that Christopher has come to her; she is upset that Ed told Christopher that she was dead. Mr Shears does not want Christopher living with them and never did. Very soon after arriving, Christopher wants to return to Swindon in order to take his mathematics A-level. His mother leaves Mr Shears, their relationship having broken down because of their conflict about Christopher and Mr Shears's rejection of Christopher. Judy then moves into a rented room in Swindon. After an argument with Ed, she agrees to let Ed meet Christopher for daily brief visits. Christopher remains terrified of his father and makes repeated attempts to prevent him from talking. He hopes Ed will be imprisoned for killing Wellington, although his mother explains that for this to happen, Mrs Shears would have to press charges.

text: The story ends with Ed getting Christopher a Golden Retriever puppy, whom Christopher gets to name, and promising that he will rebuild trust with Christopher slowly, "no matter how long it takes". Christopher asserts that he will take further A-level exams and attend university. He completes his mathematics A-level with top grades despite having eaten and slept very little. Earlier in the story he talks about wanting to become an astronaut, but at the end he declares that his goal is to become a scientist. The book ends with Christopher optimistic about his future, having solved the mystery of the murdered dog, gone to London on his own, found his mother, written a book about his adventures, and achieved an A in his A-level maths exam.

text: Characters

text: Themes

text: Social disability

text: In a June 2003 interview with NPR's Terry Gross on her program Fresh Air, Haddon said about Christopher, "If he were diagnosed, he would be diagnosed as having Asperger's syndrome, which is a form of autism. I suppose you'd call it high-function autism in that he can function on, you know, a day-to-day basis, in a kind of rudimentary way. But he has a serious difficulty with life in that he really doesn't empathize with other human beings. He can't read their faces. He can't put himself in their shoes. And he can't understand anything more than the literal meaning of whatever's said to him, although I'm very careful in the book not to actually use the word 'Asperger's' or 'autism.' ... Because I don't want him to be labelled, and because, as with most people who have a disability, I don't think it's necessarily the most important thing about him... And as a good friend of mine said after reading the book, a friend who is himself a mathematician, it's not a novel about a boy who has Asperger's syndrome; it's a novel about a young mathematician who has some strange behavioural problems. And I think that's right."[6]

text: Haddon added, in the conversation with Terry Gross, "I have to say honestly that I did more research about the London Underground and the inside of Swindon Railway Station, where some of the novel takes place, than I did about Asperger's syndrome. I gave him kind of nine or 10 rules that he would live his life by, and then I didn't read any more about Asperger's because I think there is no typical person who has Asperger's syndrome, and they're as large and diverse a group of people as any other group in society. And the important thing is that I did a lot of imagining, that I did a lot of putting myself into his shoes in trying to make him come alive as a human being rather than getting him right, whatever that might mean."

text: Haddon states on his website that, although he had read "a handful of newspaper and magazine articles about, or by, people with Asperger's and autism" in preparation for writing the book, he knows "very little" about Asperger's syndrome and that Christopher Boone is inspired by two different people. According to Haddon, none of these people can be labelled as having a disability. Haddon added that he "slightly regret[s]" that the term Asperger's syndrome appeared on the cover of his novel.[5] In 2010, in an interview with The Independent, he was described as "now thoroughly irritated that the word Asperger's appeared on subsequent editions of the novel, because now everyone imagines that he is an expert and he keeps getting phone calls asking him to appear at lectures."[7]

text: In a critical essay on the novel, Vivienne Muller quotes some praise by experts on disability theory: "In its presentation of Christopher's everyday experiences of the society in which he lives, the narrative offers a rich canvas of experiences for an ethnographic study of this particular cognitive condition, and one which places a positive spin on the syndrome. The reader in this instance acts as ethnographer, invited to see what Mark Osteen claims is a 'quality in autistic lives that is valuable in and of itself' (cited in [S.] Adams 2005, p.1). Along similar lines, [Alex] McClimens writes that Haddon's novel is 'an ethnographic delight' and that 'Haddon's achievement is to have written a novel that turns on the central character's difference without making that difference a stigmatising characteristic' (2005, p.24)." Muller adds that the novel "works with a strong sense of the disabled speaking subject, drawing readers into Christopher's cognitive/corporeal space through an incremental layering of his perspectives and reactions... The narrative also bristles with diagrams, maps, drawings, stories, texts that inform Christopher's lexicon for mapping meaning in a world of bewildering signs and sounds." She also admires such elements as "the digressive stream-of-connectedness-and-disconnectedness way in which Christopher writes and thinks; the obsessive focus on minutiae; his musings about why animals behave the way they do; his quasi philosophizing on death and life and the afterlife; his ambition to be an astronaut..."[8]

text: In a survey of children's books which "teach about emotional life," Laura Jana wrote, "On the one hand, this is a story of how an undeniably quirky teenage boy clings to order, deals with a family crisis, and tries to make sense of the world as he sees it. But it also provides profound insight into a disorder—autism—that leaves those who have it struggling to perceive even the most basic of human emotions. In so doing, The Curious Incident leaves its readers with a greater appreciation of their own ability to feel, express, and interpret emotions. This mainstream literary success made its way to the top of the New York Times bestseller list for fiction at the same time it was being touted by experts in Asperger's syndrome and autism-spectrum disorder as an unrivaled fictional depiction of the inner workings of an autistic teenage boy."[9]

text: Metaphor

text: Christopher often comments on his inability to appreciate some metaphors and similes. He gives as an example a quote that he found in "a proper novel": "I am veined with iron, with silver and with streaks of common mud. I cannot contract into the firm fist which those clench who do not depend on stimulus." Haddon told Terry Gross, "Funnily enough, it's actually a quote from Virginia Woolf. It's Virginia Woolf on an off day, in the middle, I think, of The Waves. An author whom I love actually, but who sometimes got a little too carried away."[6]

text: Reception

text: Awards

text: The book was joint winner of the 2004 Boeke Prize, won the 2003 Whitbread Book of the Year award and sold more than two million copies.[7] Haddon also was one of the winners of the 2004 Alex Awards, which "honor the 10 top adult books with appeal for adolescents."[10]

text: As well as winning the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, Haddon earned the Book Trust teenage fiction award.[4][11] The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time was also long-listed for the Man Booker Prize, and "many observers were surprised that it did not advance to the shortlist." John Carey, chairman of the Booker panel of judges, told The Guardian, "We have several clashes of opinion among the judges but I found Haddon's book about a boy with Asperger's syndrome breathtaking."[11]

text: Critical reaction

text: A survey in Great Britain, conducted by the BBC's literacy campaign for World Book Day, found Curious Incident to be among "the top five happy endings, as voted on by readers" in novels (the others were Pride and Prejudice, To Kill a Mockingbird, Jane Eyre and Rebecca, the last of which Curious outranked).[12]

text: School Library Journal praised it as a "rich and poignant novel."[13]  The San Jose Mercury News said, "Haddon does something audacious here, and he does it superbly. He shows us the way consciousness orders the world, even when the world doesn't want to be ordered," adding that "the great achievement of this novel is that it transcends its obvious cleverness. It's more than an exercise in narrative ingenuity. Filled with humor and pain, it verges on profundity in its examination of those things—customs, habits, language, symbols, daily routines, etc.—that simultaneously unite and separate human beings."[14]  A reviewer for The Christian Century described it as "an absorbing, plausible book": "The reader becomes absorbed not only in the mystery of a murdered dog and a missing mom, but also in the mysterious world of an autistic child."[15]

text: A reviewer for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution wrote that the story is "a touching evolution, one that Haddon scripts with tenderness and care... a unique window into the mind of a boy who thinks a little differently, but like many kids his age, doesn't quite know how to feel."[16] Professor Roger Soder called it "visceral" and a "delightful story," declaring, "All of us in our Spokane Book Club are special education professionals and so have considerable experience with kids with this disability, and we found the story believable."[17]

text: Medical professionals' reviews

text: Alex McClimens, whom Muller quoted above, also wrote, "This magnificent essay in communication is compulsory reading for anyone with the slightest interest in autistic spectrum disorders. This book is also required reading for those who simply enjoy a fascinating story... we are offered a first person narrative to match anything by contemporary writers. Mark Haddon has created a true literary character and his handling of the teenage Asperger's heroic adventure is brilliantly crafted. He uses the literal mind-set of his hero to mask the true direction of the plot."[18] Reviewer Paul Moorehead calls the book "a fairly ripping adventure story" and writes, "It's also quite a feat of writing. The actual use of language is somewhat austere—an unavoidable consequence of having a boy with autism as a narrator—but it has its own beauty, and it works. So persuasive and so effective is the construction of Christopher, not only is he a character you're rooting for, he's also the character in the story you understand the best. It's startling how believably and comfortably this story puts you into what you might have thought were likely to be some pretty alien shoes."[19]

text: Reviewer David Ellis, naming Curious Incident an "ambitious and innovative novel," wrote that Haddon "manages to avoid the opposing pitfalls of either offending people with autism and their families or turning Christopher into an object of pity. Instead of becoming the focus of the plot, the autism enhances it. The unemotional descriptions amplify many moments of observational comedy, and misfortunes are made extremely poignantly." He concludes that Christopher's story is "far more enjoyable and likely to stay with you for far longer than any medical textbook."[20]

text: Texas community reactions

text: The novel was selected as a recommended book for the 2006 Galveston Reads program, a literacy encouragement program in Galveston County, Texas. Kimball Brizendine, the Mayor of Friendswood, issued a proclamation declaring "Galveston County Reads Day" and encouraging "all citizens, teens to seniors" to read the novel. Five days later, he retracted the statement, declaring that it was "not [his] intention to endorse this readership [sic] for our younger readers." The journal American Libraries reported, "City Council member Chris Peden went a step further, asserting to the January 28 Galveston County Daily News that while he hadn't read Curious Incident in its entirety, he had noted that the 'F word' appeared on page four and that 'later in the book, the [lead character] says there is no God and there is no life after death. Clearly, these are not ideas we should promote to kids'."[21]

text: In August, 2007, some parents in Bryan, Texas, "were appalled to see what their kids were reading" and protested the inclusion of the book in high school libraries, with one parent claiming that Curious Incident and another book (Catalyst by Laurie Halse Anderson) were "unsuitable for not just some but all high school students."[22]

text: Adaptations

text: Stage

text: A stage adaptation, by Simon Stephens and directed by Marianne Elliott,[23] premiered at the National Theatre on 2 August 2012.[24] It starred Luke Treadaway as Christopher, Nicola Walker as his mother Judy, Paul Ritter as his father Ed, Una Stubbs as Mrs Alexander and Niamh Cusack as Siobhan.[25] The production, which ran until late October 2012, was broadcast live to cinemas worldwide on 6 September 2012 through the National Theatre Live programme.[26]

text: The show transferred to the Apollo Theatre in Shaftesbury Avenue, London, from March 2013. On 19 December 2013, during a performance of The Curious Incident at the Apollo, parts of the ceiling fell down injuring around 80 of the over 700 patrons inside.[27]  The production re-opened at the Gielgud Theatre on 24 June 2014.[28] The new West End cast was led by Sion Daniel Young as Christopher Boone, with Rebecca Lacey as Siobhan, Nicolas Tennant as Ed, Mary Stockley as Judy, Jacqueline Clarke as Mrs Alexander, Indra Ové as Mrs Shears, Stephen Beckett as Roger Shears, Matthew Trevannion as Mr Thompson, Pearl Mackie as No. 40/Punk Girl, Sean McKenzie as Reverend Peters and Kaffe Keating plays alternate Christopher. They were joined by Mark Rawlings, Penelope McGhie, Naomi Said and Simon Victor.[29]

text: An adaptation and translation into Spanish by María Renée Prudencio played at the Teatro de los Insurgentes in Mexico City in June 2014. The character of Christopher was played by Luis Gerardo Méndez and by Alfonso Dosal on alternate days. An Israeli adaptation (translation into Hebrew by Daniel Efrat) has been staged at the Beit Lessin Theater in Tel Aviv since March 2014, starring Nadav Netz as Christopher. Netz won the Best Actor category at the 2015 Israeli Theater Awards for the role.[30]

text: Film

text: The film rights for the novel were optioned by Brad Grey and Brad Pitt for Warner Brothers.[31][32] In 2011 Steve Kloves was attached to write and direct the project, but as of 2018 it has not yet been produced.[33][34]