England captain Harry Kane believes that the Three Lions' squad for Euro 2024 may be the "best" that his nation have ever had.
It has now been 58 painful years since England's men's team last came up trumps at a major tournament, although Gareth Southgate's men have experienced a couple of near misses in their attempts to emulate the 1966 World Cup heroes.
Either side of finishing as Euro 2020 runners-up and being knocked out of the 2022 World Cup in the quarter-finals, the Three Lions have witnessed the women's team conquer Europe in 2022, before losing last year's World Cup final to Spain.
Nearly 12 months down the line, Southgate's squad are seen as one of the favourites to lift the Henri Delaunay trophy aloft at Euro 2024, even if only one of their last five matches has ended in victory.
The Three Lions travelled to Germany on the back of a humiliating 1-0 loss to Iceland in a Wembley friendly, eight years on from being knocked out by the same nation at Euro 2016, regarded as one of the biggest embarrassments in the team's history.
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Kane talks up "fearless" England youngsters
However, Southgate was missing a few big-hitters from his starting XI on that day - including Champions League winner Jude Bellingham and Arsenal star Bukayo Saka - while Kane enters the Euros on the back of breaking multiple records in his debut Bayern Munich campaign.
With an average age of 26.1 years, England's Euro 2024 squad is the third-youngest of all 24 nations at the championships, only behind Turkey (25.8) and the Czech Republic (25.5).
Speaking to the official UEFA website ahead of Sunday's Euro 2024 Group C opener with Serbia, Kane waxed lyrical about the young talent in England's ranks and claimed that the current Three Lions squad may be their best in history.
"I think this squad is one of the best, if not the best, we've had, going on form and the domestic seasons a lot of us have had. We have incredible young talent coming through who are fearless and just want to get on the ball and play," Kane said.
"I hope that the guys can lean on me and ask me questions, and if I can help them get through anything, then great. But we have such a good togetherness, we're always talking or having dinner together and there's always conversations being had, so that helps us."
Kane reveals Thomas Muller message amid "incredible" reception
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Kane's stopover in England for their warm-up period was a brief one, as the 30-year-old is now back at his adopted home in Germany on the back of scoring a whopping 44 goals in his first 45 matches in a Bayern jersey.
England could be on a collision course to meet Germany in the knockout rounds, and Kane revealed a message from Bayern teammate Thomas Muller about the Three Lions' team hotel, as well as talking up the "incredible" reception he and his teammates have enjoyed.
"Tommy left me a little note, because they [Germany] were here just a couple of weeks ago. He texted me saying the golf course is great but the weather has not been so good. It looks fantastic, the hotel is incredible, and to be in Germany is a bit of a home from home," Kane added.
"The reception I've had since I've been at Bayern has been incredible, and ever since I've been in the hotel I've had some of the staff come up and say hello. I'm not saying they want England to win, but I think they have a little soft spot for us now I'm here, and that's fantastic."
Kane will lead England out as captain for Sunday's tie with Serbia, where he will break as many as three national team records at the Veltins-Arena.
Ben Knapton
