England have come a long way since their humiliating last-16 defeat to Iceland at the 2016 European Championship, which turned out to be Roy Hodgson's last game in charge. Via Sam Allardyce's ill-fated one-game tenure, Gareth Southgate inherited a divided squad completely zapped of confidence, and many felt he had an impossible job on his hands.
But Southgate has since made a whole nation believe again. He's brought a unity to the England dressing room that had been lacking for decades, and turned them into a formidable major tournament team.
A thrilling run to the 2018 World Cup semi-finals was followed up by a runners-up finish at the Euros three years later, with Italy only edging out England at Wembley after a penalty shootout. Southgate's men went on to suffer a quarter-final defeat against France at the Qatar World Cup, after dominating for large periods, with a fateful Harry Kane penalty miss proving to be the decisive moment of the game.
England are now being billed as favourites for the Euro 2024 in Germany, which is a reflection of how far they have come. But for all the good work he's done over the past eight years, Southgate will be remembered as nothing more than a nearly man if the Three Lions fail to bring home the trophy, and rightly so; it would represent a colossal waste of the most talented group of players the country has ever seen.