Euro 2024 glory was within touching distance for Gareth Southgate's England, who touched down in Germany for the latest edition of the continental championships and left utterly heartbroken.
Runners-up to Italy under the Wembley arch in 2021, the Three Lions were heralded as one of the tournament favourites, and even though some of their early performances failed to live up to the billing, another major tournament final was reached.
Not since conquering the globe at the 1966 World Cup have England's men's team come up trumps in a top-level competition, and the Three Lions were bidding to emulate their female colleagues, who won Euro 2022 at the home of English football.
At Euro 2024, however, England have well and truly flattered to deceive despite topping Group C without suffering a single defeat, only just edging out Serbia 1-0 in a game where they were not punished for sitting back after taking the lead.
It was a different story in their 1-1 draw with Denmark, though, and a goalless stalemate with Slovenia in their concluding affair triggered a furious response from the Three Lions faithful, who booed the team and threw cups in the direction of the under-fire Southgate.
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Nevertheless, five points from a possible nine was enough to earn a date with one of the best third-placed teams rather than Germany, who eliminated Group C runners-up Denmark, while the Three Lions prepared to tackle Slovakia.
Once again, the 1966 World Cup winners rode their luck and then some in Gelsenkirchen, but a dramatic late comeback ensured that they would be present in the quarter-finals of a major tournament for the fourth time on the spin.
What followed was another exercise in exorcising spot-kick demons, edging out Switzerland in a dramatic penalty-shootout following a 1-1 draw in their Dusseldorf quarter-final, putting them two games away from glory.
The Netherlands would provide England's sternest opposition yet at the Signal Iduna Park, but once again, the Three Lions' powers of recovery came to the fore, as Ollie Watkins's sensational 90th-minute winner made Southgate's men Euros finalists for the second tournament running.
However, despite threatening another of their captivating comebacks against Spain in the Berlin showpiece, England became the first team to lose back-to-back European finals, as La Roja triumphed 2-1 to etch their name onto the trophy for the fourth time.
Are England in action today?
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Now back on home soil following the Euros, England are not in action today and will not reconvene until September, when the UEFA Nations League begins.
How can I watch England? TV, streaming options
England's first game in League B Group 2 of the UEFA Nations League sees the Three Lions take on the Republic of Ireland on September 7 at 5pm, and the match is scheduled to be shown on ITV and STV, as well as ITVX and the STV Player.
How did England's squad perform at Euro 2024?
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Prominent names of Southgate's old guard - such as Harry Maguire, Raheem Sterling, Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish - were all left out of the England ranks for Euro 2024 for one reason or another, allowing new blood to come in and earn their Three Lions stars.
Harry Kane inevitably still led the line and took home a share of the Golden Boot with three goals to his name - level with five other players - but the consensus was that the Bayern Munich man was a disappointment overall, and he was overshadowed by Ollie Watkins's stunning semi-final winner against the Netherlands.
Just behind him, Bukayo Saka and Jude Bellingham conjured up some moments of magic, but Phil Foden failed to replicate his domestic form, while Declan Rice was also hit-and-miss throughout the tournament.
However, 19-year-old Kobbie Mainoo did not look out of place whatsoever at a senior European Championships - nor did Cole Palmer, Marc Guehi or Ezri Konsa - while Jordan Pickford came up with some of his customary heroics too.
Ben Knapton
