Every international football tournament that comes around always sees England as one of the teams expected to mount a serious challenge. Over the years, there have been some excellent Three Lions teams loaded with ability and experience, yet they haven’t won anything since 1966. But it’s not to say they can’t find that winning formula in Germany this summer, only it could be their young stars that make it so.
England head into the upcoming tournament as one of the favourites to win the whole thing, if not the outright favourites to do so, according to Euro 2024 betting online, pundits, experts and fans alike. And you could say rightly so. They lost in the final at the last Euros on penalties, they did well at the previous World Cup, and Gareth Southgate has plenty of talent at his disposal. So, taking the next step and becoming an England team that wins tournaments seems to be a case of when and not if.
In previous eras, England’s chances have naturally come down to the ability level of players such as your Rio Ferdinands, David Beckhams, Paul Scholes’, Steven Gerrards and Wayne Rooneys of this footballing world. And again, you could say rightly so. In most cases, these were players who had been around a while, especially at the top level. They gave everyone a reason to believe, based on plenty of years worth of experience winning things at club level on their CVs, but the current England set-up, and a couple of stand-out players in particular, offer perhaps something different.
Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham, not discounting other excellent young players such as Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka, are two stand-out talents Southgate can and will call on. Aged twenty-three and twenty, respectively, they are also seen as two of the best midfielders in world football already and are nowhere near their peak. In Foden’s case, he’s already a five-time Premier League winner and a Champions League winner. Bellingham is on course to win La Liga with Real Madrid this season in his first campaign with Los Blancos since arriving in the summer.
Now, you could say their talent alone can be enough for England, combined with that of Saka, Declan Rice, Harry Kane et al. And it’s correct to say that. But Foden and Bellingham have something a bit more to offer, as proven domestically this season, that could get the Three Lions over the line in Germany, even when they come up against the stronger teams the tournament has to offer in the latter stages of the competition.
What we’ve seen many times this season is Foden and Bellingham be the difference for their clubs. The former recently bagged a tremendous hat trick against a tricky Aston Villa side, with the game tied at 1-1 before he sprang into life and kept his beloved Manchester City in the title race. The latter scored the goals that won Madrid points and put them in pole position to be La Liga champions once again. It’s what England have lacked, the difference makers, players who can conjure something up when required, and these two can do just that against anyone.
