He was appointed manager of the England football team on 8 August 1982. He managed England in two FIFA World Cups, 1986 and 1990. In both tournaments, England were narrowly beaten by the eventual winners; Argentina in the quarterfinals of '86 and West Germany in the
semifinals of '90. He remained the only England manager other than Sir
Alf Ramsey to have taken the team to the semifinals of the World Cup until
Gareth Southgate did it again in 2018. Robson's contract as England manager was not renewed by the Football Association before the 1990 World Cup.