England face Italy in the Euro 2020 final on Sunday. Here, the PA news agency looks at what the future could hold for the Three Lions.
What can this squad achieve?
England have a young core of players to give them a platform (Mike Egerton/PA)
Reaching the final means this side have come of age regardless of Sunday’s result.
What they have done is a success in itself and the core for the next few years is already set, with a clear path for a young and vibrant squad that has plenty of time to develop further.
The injured Mason Greenwood and Trent Alexander-Arnold were absent from Euro 2020 entirely while Jadon Sancho, Reece James, Marcus Rashford and Jude Bellingham were unused substitutes in the semi-final win over Denmark. The depth England now have is frightening.
Will Gareth Southgate get the credit he deserves?
England manager Gareth Southgate celebrates reaching the final with the fans. (Nick Potts/PA)
He is a manager who has got every decision right leading into Sunday’s final, calls which have consistently been questioned.
That goes with the territory as England manager but he has united a country during a fractured time, a seemingly impossible job.
Southgate has proved, time and again, he is prepared to make the hard decisions regardless of public opinion. While no manager is ever untouchable, the way the Three Lions boss was serenaded by Wembley on Wednesday shows he is winning hearts.
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Can England repeat the trick in Qatar?
England lost to Croatia in the World Cup semi-final in 2018 (Adam Davy/PA)
There are less than 18 months until the World Cup in the Middle East.
Victory on Sunday would put them firmly in the favourites category to lift the World Cup in 2022.
It will be a harder task, with the South American countries in the mix, but as Russia 2018 proved England have the staying power at the World Cup.
The development and nurturing of a young squad has not just happened overnight.
Southgate toured the country 10 years ago when he was the FA’s head of elite development with Nick Levett, then national development manager for youth and mini-soccer, as part of a grass roots review.
Seeds have been sown and the rewards have begun to show over the last few years, and Euro 2020 success will only see England blossom further.
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