FANS gasped “this is surreal” after realising a CURSE was put on England by a famous Brazilian writer following their World Cup win in 1966.
The Three Lions stormed to their one and only major international triumph that year, beating West Germany 4-2 in a thriller at Wembley.
England have since fallen short of replicating that victory, reaching the World Cup semis in 2018 while also losing in consecutive Euros finals.
Gareth Southgate walked away from the dugout following Sunday’s heart-breaking defeat to Spain.
And fans are praying the FA are able to find a top replacement capable of getting the best from England’s incredible attacking talents.
However, it may make no difference who the Three Lions move for next.
That’s because fans have discovered that a curse was put on the national side in 1966.
It was placed on them by famous Brazilian writer Nelson Rodrigues, who was not happy that England won on home soil.
His beloved Brazil had won the previous two editions of the World Cup.
But they suffered a horror show in ’66, crashing out of the group stage after losing two of their three matches at Everton’s Goodison Park.
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Portugal, who finished top of the group, ended up facing England in the semis before losing 2-1.
And Rodrigues penned an incredible column in Brazilian newspaper O Globo afterwards, cursing England to never win another trophy while invoking horror writer Edgar Allan Poe.
The piece, which was published two days after the final on August 1, read: “I want to end this by saying…
“When, after last day’s match, the English captain raised in both hands the Jules Rimet, the Raven of Edgar Allan Poe declared to journalists: ‘Nevermore, nevermore!’
“And, as a matter of fact, as the other cups will be played in neutral fields, never more will England be able to impose their football without imagination, without art, without originality…”
Fans were certainly left astonished by Rodrigues’ curse, with one saying: “This is surreal reading.”
Another declared: “When it stands for almost 60 years, it’s a proper curse.”
One noted: “He’s got us bang to rights there.”
Another added: “The guy was used to seeing Pele, Garrincha and Jairzinho play, everything was unoriginal for him probably.”
