FIFA World Cup: Have England been Perennially unfortunate in the competition's history?

England's football team is one which undergoes intense scrutiny from its own media as well as fans before any major international tournament. Expectations have always been at a premium, though time and again, the team failed to justify them.

England's young squad put in a valiant display at this year's world cup and made it to the semi-finals before getting knocked out by an excellent Croatian performance. Even though they couldn't win it, they still earned plaudits from fans and media alike for their excellent performances.

But here we look back at some previous World Cup performances where more often than not, misfortune played a major part in deciding the fate of England:

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#5 World Cup 2010

Germany v England: 2010 FIFA World Cup - Round of Sixteen

England barely scraped through to the knockout rounds from an easy group, including USA, Algeria and Slovenia, in second position to set up a last-16 tie with Germany.

However, this image went on to haunt the English team in the aftermath of this tournament. Trailing 2-1, Lampard's fierce shot struck the crossbar, went in and bounced back as Neuer collected the ball pretending as if nothing happened. Somehow even the officials failed to spot the incident and the goal was denied.

Capitalizing on this let-off, the Germans went on to score 2 more goals as England were ruthlessly knocked out 4-1. However, the one good that came out of it was the introduction of Goal-line technology which has since prevented such incidents from taking place.

#4 World Cup 2006

Rooney gets a red card for a stamp on Ricardo Carvalho

The English team looked really strong on paper this time and once again expectations were sky high. England topped their group unbeaten, but unfortunately lost star striker Michael Owen to injury in the final group game against Sweden. They advanced to the Quarter finals with a win over Ecuador courtesy of a David Beckham free kick to set up a clash with Portugal.

In a dramatic incident, Rooney received a straight red card after the infamous stamp on Ricardo Carvalho, the protests for which were led by then-teammate Cristiano Ronaldo, who was later seen winking towards the bench after the incident. England still managed to hold on and took the game to penalties.

However, as in many previous tournaments, the penalty shootout turned out to be England's nemesis once again as Portugal triumphed to book a semi-final berth at their expense.

#3 World Cup 1998

World Cup 1998 Finals France. 30th June 1998. England 2 v Argentina 2 (Argentina win 4-3 on penalties).

After missing out on qualification to 1998 WC, the Three Lions were through to the knockout stages after wins against Tunisia and Colombia in the group stage, where they were due to meet Argentina in the Round of 16.

This was the match where Owen properly introduced himself at the World stage as he won a penalty, duly converted by Alan Shearer and then produced the goal of the tournament as he scored a brilliant solo goal to give his side a 2-1 lead. The lead didn't last much longer as Zavier Zanetti soon equalised.

Then came Beckham's biggest mistake of his international career, as he foolishly kicked Diego Simeone and was sent off for the offence. Despite one man down, England still managed to take the game to penalties but once again were left heartbroken after a 4-3 defeat in the shootout.

#2 World Cup 1986

Diego Maradona Hand of God Goal Argentina v England 1986

Despite a slow start, England were through to the last-16 inspired by a Gary Linekar hattrick against Poland. They dispatched Paraguay emphatically with Gary Linekar netting twice in a 3-0 win to face eventual winners Argentina in the Quarters.

This match is duly remembered for one of the most infamous sporting moments by one of the greatest players of all time. Diego Maradona opened the scoring for Argentina in most dramatic fashion as the little Argentine somehow headed(better to say handled) the ball into the net, getting the better of the England goalkeeper in an aerial challenge.

The England players, still stunned by the referee's decision were then left stunned by arguably one of the greatest goals of WC history as Maradona doubled the lead at the end of a brilliant solo run. Though Lineker pulled one back, it wasn't meant to be as Argentina advanced to the semis and ultimately won the world cup whereas England were left to rue what could have been.

#1 World Cup 1970

World Cup Quarter Final 1970

England came into this tournament as reigning champions but they seemed to have tough luck as they were drawn with the brilliant Brazilian team of that time. Though they lost to Brazil 1-0 in the group stage, they still qualified for the quarter-finals(remember, it was 1970) winning the rest of their two matches, where West Germany awaited.

The two halves of the game were totally contrasting. England raced into a two-goal lead before half-time with goals from Allan Murray and Martin Peters as they appeared set for a semi-final berth. Relaxed by the scoreline, manager Sir Alf Ramsey made the most disastrous mistake of his illustrious career as he decided to give rest to Sir Bobby Charlton and Peters.

The reinvigorated Germans, led by Franz Beckenbauer scored twice in the second half, taking the game to extra time when the match was decided by Gerd Muller as one of the most astonishing comebacks in WC history was completed. It's not over until it's over, right!