England at the FIFA World Cup 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
2010 FIFA World Cup Final conceding only one goal. In the knockout stage, they beat World Cup debutants Slovakia, five-time champions Brazil and two-time champions Uruguay. The Netherlands reached the Final in a 25-match unbeaten streak since September 2008. In Group H, Spain recovered from a loss to Switzerland in their opening game to beat Honduras and then Chile, finishing top of the group ahead of Chile on goal difference. In the knockout stage, they then beat their Iberian neighbours Portugal, quarter-final debutants Paraguay and three-time World Cup winners Germany. The semi-final was a repeat of the match up for the UEFA Euro 2008 Final,