Football is more than just a game. It’s a collection of shared moments, memories that stay with you long after the final whistle. Across Everywhen, there’s no shortage of special World Cup memories – so, as the 2026 tournament gets underway, we wanted to share a few of them.
Grab a coffee, settle in, and take a trip down memory lane.
“My key World Cup memories include when Beckham scored that amazing free kick against Greece, which I think was actually a World Cup qualifier for 2002, but one that most people remember!
I also have really clear memories of my primary school hosting a breakfast club viewing party in 2002 for one of the England games. It was in Japan/Korea, so kick-off was around 7am, and England won…which, as you can imagine, was very exciting for everyone there.
Another one is when Rooney got sent off during the quarter-final in 2006 and Ronaldo winked at the Portugal bench, and they ended up going through. I remember Suarez biting someone in a match and getting away with it in the 2014 World Cup!
Also, when England won their first penalty shoot-out, I think it was against Colombia, who were a very physical side - I just remember the limbs everywhere celebrating that.”
Heather Howcroft - Brand Design Manager for Bravo Networks, Geo, Footman James and Risk Services
“My defining World Cup memory is from 2002, when for a brief but dangerous period I became convinced England might actually win it.
We were fairly unimpressive in the group, but made it through. Then Denmark in the last 16. A completely unexpected 3-0 win. Comfortable. Professional. At this point I started saying “if we get past Brazil… we'll win the whole thing!” but then the Brazil game came...
Michael Owen scored. We went 1-0 up. I genuinely believed. Not cautiously. Properly believed. Rivaldo equalised just before half time, which was annoying but survivable. Then Ronaldinho took a free kick from somewhere near Japan, meant to cross it, definitely didn’t mean to lob David Seaman, and still managed to end England’s World Cup. Red card later, confusion everywhere, 2-1 Brazil, home we go.
Brazil went on to win the tournament. England went back to doing England things (and still are). I learned, once again, that optimism is a mistake.
Still. Maybe this year.
Come on England.”
Dale Bunting Jones, Insight Manager, Everywhen
“England v Colombia, World Cup 2018, Round of 16. I was in Lisbon at the time, packed into the Time Out Market to watch the game. We sat next to a boisterous group of Colombian fans.
When Colombia scored in the final minute to force extra time, boy did they let us know about it. They dished out so much abuse. But then came the penalty shootout. England finally won one at a World Cup, and the turnaround was glorious.
To win that way, after that moment, and to see the expressions on the Colombians’ faces, was magic.”
Jack Smithson, Head of Digital Marketing and Trading, Everywhen
“Sticker albums half-filled and fiercely traded, jumpers for goalposts, and long kickabouts in the park pretending to be Bergkamp or Shearer, dreaming of scoring the winner – football was life!
World Cup 1998. England v Argentina. Michael Owen announcing himself to the world, tearing through the Argentina defence.
Then came Simeone. Then came Beckham. The kick, the reaction, the red card. One moment we were dreaming, the next we were hanging on.
But even with ten men, England fought. There was a stubbornness, a refusal to give in, and you clung to that hope as tightly as you could.
And then - penalties. That sinking feeling, even at 10 years old, that this never quite goes our way. The silence before each kick. The nerves. And then the inevitable heartbreak.
Football wasn’t just something you watched, it was something you felt.
And here we are again. Another summer, another tournament - and despite everything, that 10-year-old me is still there, watching with the same hope.”
Christopher Church – Communications Business Partner (pic of me and my twin bro! I’m the Newcastle shirt)
“World Cup 2002 - Myself and my now wife Tash were backpacking round the world. During the World Cup we spent most of the time in Ecuador, it was their first ever World Cup and, being a typical South American country, they liked a party. England were playing Argentina who Ecuador didn't really like either... We’d heard a bar in downtown Quito were staying open all night and offering free Bloody Marys for England fans who wanted to watch the match. Having practically no money, we thought this sounded like a great idea.
Kick off was 7am local time but we headed to the bar about 1am! We met a good handful of England fans and other backpackers and just had the best night ever. When the game started, we had local Ecuadorians coming in to shake us by the hand, when David Beckham put that penalty away the place went absolutely nuts.
After the game, we found ourselves walking down a main busy street draped in an England flag (don't know whose it was but it's still in my garage now) with cars beeping at us in celebration. It felt like we'd won the World Cup, let alone just getting out of the group! Needless to say, we missed our bus to our next destination, but it was worth it. Whenever I see that goal it brings a tear to my eye – such amazing memories.”
“It was the 15th June 2002 and the wife and I were in Singapore trying to find somewhere to watch England vs Denmark in a second-round match. We found a local bar which was packed to the rafters but managed to grab a good spot to watch the game.
When Rio Ferdinand headed England ahead in the 5th minute, we jumped and celebrated with great passion, only to quickly realise we were the only people in the pub celebrating the goal. The next few minutes there was an awkward silence until in the 22nd minute, Michael Owen doubled England’s lead.
Not wanting to upset anyone, our celebrations were muted, but to our surprise there was a massive eruption of noise and limbs going everywhere. We were very confused and couldn’t work out what was going on, and when Emile Heskey scored a third before half-time, we were more confused when no-one in the pub celebrated.
When buying the half-time beers, I asked what was happening and why only the second goal was celebrated. It turned out that the gambling rules were only just recently relaxed in Singapore and the most famous players in Singapore were David Beckham and Michael Owen…it turned out most of the pub had bets on Owen scoring and why there were wild celebrations. Luckily there were no more goals, so we had an uneventful second half.”
Ian Sadler – Learning and Development Director Everywhen
“Oh, where to start. I LOVE the World Cup. The wall chart has been up for weeks, and I could not be more devastated that I won’t be able to repeat my feat from 2022 and watch every single game in the entire tournament, but as much as I’m excited by the feast of football that Uzbekistan vs Colombia will bring, 3am is a stretch for me these days…
When I was asked to contribute to this, I couldn’t decide which of my memories of World Cups gone by to focus on, diabolical England performances? Magical moments? Daylight robberies? (I’m looking at you Jorge Larrionda, Lampard’s goal was so far over the line.)
I think though, my favourite memory in recent memory is in the semifinal of 2018. I’m in a rammed pub in Swindon (I know, I lead a glamorous life) standing room only. We’re only 5 minutes in, and Trippier is standing over a free kick. I turn to my pal and say the immortal words, ‘If this goes in, this place will explode’ and then, it did and, it did. What a moment. We won’t talk about the remaining 115 minutes, STOP SITTING BACK ENGLAND, ONE GOAL IS NOT ENOUGH.
Fun fact, the graphic designer who sat behind me at work had spent his entire day leading up to the game creating billboards that said ‘IT CAME HOME’ ready to be printed the following Monday if needed. Needless to say – he’d had a wasted Wednesday.
There’s also the time in 2010 I got so excited by England (checks notes) drawing 1-1 with the United States, I wore an England shirt to an actual nightclub. But we won’t dwell on that and although I found the photo is absolutely not being shared for use on Instagram. The photo I’ve chosen is me scoring in a penalty shootout, hopefully a sign of things to come over the next few weeks...”
Will Sugg – Digital Communications Manager
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