​Ten years ago, the notion that England could become serial contenders in major tournaments would have sounded absurd. After all, the Three Lions had just crashed out in the last 16 at Euro 2016, eliminated by Iceland. That disappointment followed a miserable World Cup in Brazil, where England finished bottom of their group and left with a solitary point from a 0-0 draw against Costa Rica. Fast forward to today, and spearheaded by the brilliance of Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane, England are firmly in the conversation as potential champions not just for this year but for every year. Since Euro 2016, England have reached at least the semi-finals in four out of five tournaments, a run of form that is unprecedented and only rivaled by Argentina and France, who have World Cup and Copa América titles to their names.
After England’s tight 2-1 extra-time victory over Norway on Saturday, a semifinal showdown with Argentina—and a first ever meeting with Lionel Messi—awaits in the next round. Even if England fall short again, this is now a team built to compete rather than stumble into fleeting moments of success. Kane and Bellingham have contributed 11 of England’s 13 World Cup goals, underscoring a squad that has evolved into something formidable.
The Three Lions, a song written by David Baddiel, Frank Skinner, and the Lightning Seeds for Euro 96, has often been mocked outside England for sounding arrogant. Yet the anthem captured the spirit of supporting this England side, reflecting not only the moment but also the chapters that preceded and followed it: “England’s gonna throw it away, gonna blow it away,” a narrative of hope that sometimes outpaced lived experience. The idea that English fans expected nothing but failure hardly matches the historical record.
After England reached the Euro 68 semi-finals, losing 1-0 to Yugoslavia, they wouldn’t reach the last four again until the 1990 World Cup. That was a 22-year wait, during which they failed to qualify for two World Cups and three European Championships. Then, after Euro 96, another 22-year gap before a semi-final. Those decades were dotted with exits that seemed to reinforce the Three Lions’ fate. The red card for David Beckham against Argentina in the last 16 at France 1998, or Wayne Rooney’s sending off against Portugal in the 2006 quarter-finals, are remembered as painful markers of what could have been. England also failed to reach Euro 2008, and in the 68 years before Russia 2018, the country had only one final and three semi-finals, two of which came when they were hosts. The so-called “golden generation” never crossed the quarter-final barrier in major tournaments.
Now, that narrative has shifted dramatically. We are witnessing an extended period of excellence that no England side has approached before. For a young fan today, many have grown up with the expectation of deep runs in major championships, the type of success that once felt unattainable. The landscape of English football has changed: the national team no longer exists in a vacuum but is part of a broader ecosystem of players, coaches, and confidence that collectively sustains sustained competitiveness on the world stage.