England had the youngest squad at Euro 2020. While disappointments in the past have signalled exoduses of leaders and pillars of English football, we could feasibly see Gareth Southgate's 23-man squad for Qatar 2022 consisting entirely of players who went to Euro 2020.
Kyle Walker is 31 but doesn't look close to slowing down yet; likewise, Kieran Trippier, a year younger, still has gas left in the tank. It's not like England have a shortage of right-backs, is it? Jordan Henderson is also 31 but hasn't played much at this tournament. Aside from that, much of the squad is approaching its peak.
2. Gareth Southgate will have learned valuable lessons from this
(Image credit: Getty)
Gareth Southgate isn't much of a tactician, the naysayers will say. A better manager would've beaten Italy with that set of players.
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And while that might be true, Southgate has outperformed any England boss for over half a century by making a final - Mike Bassett included - and instilled genuine hope with this side. He'd have learned lessons the hard way from this defeat and from the tournament as a whole, just as he has at other key moments in his career.
3. The generation coming through should be better than the one they're replacing
Jude Bellingham will be 26 by 2030. Just let that sink in.
The youth that England have coming through is insanely good. Bukayo Saka is 19, Jadon Sancho, Phil Foden and Reece James are 21, Declan Rice and Mason Mount are 22. But look beyond the obvious ones and it's bright everywhere. Ben White is 23: how good a defender could he become? Aaron Ramsdale is 23, too: he could mature into a fine goalkeeper.
Then there are youngsters that England have at home in Mason Greenwood, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Emile Smith Rowe and Ben Godfrey. The future is incredibly exciting.
4. The squad harmony could well improve from this
(Image credit: PA Images)
One of the biggest reasons for England going so far, according to the squad themselves, was the positive atmosphere within the camp.
This was something that the Golden Generation never really had - there were divisions back then that have since dissipated with the current England squad really good friends off the pitch. Now that they've gone through something as monumental as this, it's far to assume that they might even be stronger.
You'd assume, after all, that the bulk of this squad will be back for the World Cup next year. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, and all that.
5. The semi-final hurdle - and many others - have been broken
England achieved things this summer that they'd never done before. And not just in winning a first semi-final in forever.
The semi-final hurdle was huge but so was beating Germany. They managed to hold onto a lead against Denmark by passing the ball around: something very un-English. They managed to create chances in open play - well, more than the World Cup three years ago - and they kept clean sheets, which few expected them to.
Jordan Pickford saved two penalties in the shootout, too. They took it all the way. England teams always tell us how well they expect us to do but this time, it really felt like they broke down a lot of barriers and rewrote narratives. What's to stop them from doing that again in Qatar?
Mark White has been at on FourFourTwo since joining in January 2020, first as a staff writer before becoming content editor in 2023. An encyclopedia of football shirts and boots knowledge – both past and present – Mark has also represented FFT at both FA Cup and League Cup finals (though didn't receive a winners' medal on either occasion) and has written pieces for the mag ranging on subjects from Bobby Robson's season at Barcelona to Robinho's career. He has written cover features for the mag on Mikel Arteta and Martin Odegaard, and is assisted by his cat, Rosie, who has interned for the brand since lockdown.
