England's 'golden generation' are remembered by many as a group of serial underachievers at international level, but why did they fail to live up to the hype? For years, It was - and still is - a case of what could have been.
Given the incredible talent at their disposal, especially considering their success at club level, this particular side from the mid 00's featuring the likes of Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and John Terry should have at least reached a World Cup final.
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They were tipped to bring it home on numerous occasions, especially at the 2004 European Championships in Portugal, where Sven-Goran Eriksson fielded a team full of star names in the group stages of the competition and beyond.
For example, this line-up to face Switzerland in Coimbra, Portugal that year would have beaten any team in the world on their day, especially with an in-form Wayne Rooney banging in the goals on a regular basis. But it was never meant to be.
Seven years on from that tournament, where hosts Portugal eventually knocked England out at the quarter-final stage after a wink from Ronaldo and a dramatic penalty shoot-out - many are still talking about how The Three Lions didn't win a trophy with the Golden Generation.
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In fact, Paul Scholes, who was deployed on the left wing by Eriksson on a number of occasions [much to the annoyance of many] was trending on Twitter earlier because of the fierce debate. What went wrong? Should they have won a trophy?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
Featured Image Credit: BBC/PATopics: Frank Lampard, Paul Scholes, John Terry, International, Football, England, Steven Gerrard
