England's place in the Rugby League World Cup semi-finals now depends on Tonga beating Samoa by more than 46 points.
Their 34-12 victory over Papua New Guinea in Wollongong fell well short of the required margin, despite England leading 22-0 after 21 minutes.
Matty Ashton, AJ Brimson, Dom Young and Harry Smith scored during that opening burst, but England managed only a Hugo Savala penalty before half-time.
PNG's Dudley Dotoi and Gairo Voro then scored, while late tries from Morgan Knowles and Mikey Lewis made England's final score more respectable.
Brian McDermott's side made 20 errors, prompting viewers to call the performance "embarrassing" and "dreadful".
Former Melbourne Storm fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen said on Seven's broadcast: "The belief from the Papua New Guinea side is so evident. It's nearly like England feel like they've lost," and added, "I know they need to win by a big margin but they seem like they've given up."
Captain George Williams said, "It was good the first 20 then the wheels kind of fell off, too many errors," before crediting PNG's fight and acknowledging England's dependence on Tonga.
James Graham called the display "frustrating" and said: "I just can't see Tonga winning by that many points (46+) unfortunately."
Commentator Andrew Voss blamed "errors, ill discipline, penalties and set restarts" for a "painful" performance.