Having been to a World Cup with England, Peter Crouch knows first hand how disappointing the Three Lions' major international tournament campaigns can be. So imaging his surprise when he saw that England's u17s had reached the World Cup final.
The Young Lions saw off Brazil 3-1 thanks to a Rhian Brewster hat-trick and will now meet Spain in Saturday's final. The success of the U17s comes hot on the heels of the U20 team lifting their own World Cup in June, after defeating Venezuela 1-0 in the final.
However, with England's senior team not having reached a major final since Geoff Hurst lashed home that hat-trick against Germany at Wembley in 1966, it feels unusual to see any England team thriving on the international scene.
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And it's a new level of success that's apparently lost on Peter Crouch, who didn't take too kindly to the Young Lions breaking with over 50 years of sacred, underachieving tradition.
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Crouch and co reached the quarter-finals of the 2006 tournament in Germany, before crashing out to Portugal on penalties, following Wayne Rooney's red card and Cristiano Ronaldo's infamous wink.
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Since then, England failed to qualify for Euro 2008, reached the last 16 of the 2010 World Cup before being mauled 4-1 by Germany, were dumped out on penalties (again) by Italy at Euro 2012 in the quarter-finals, failed to make it past the group stage of the 2014 World Cup and then got turned over by Iceland in the last 16 of last year's European Championships.
Funnily enough, I don't foresee Gareth Southgate's men matching the sensational achievements of England's U20 and U17 teams, next summer in Russia.
So rest easy, Peter, because normal service will likely be resumed in eight months time.
Featured Image Credit: PATopics: Football News, Peter Crouch, Football, England, World Cup
