Steve Cooper’s England side will take on Spain this evening in the final of the European Under-17 Championship.
England Young Lions have been mightily impressive in Croatia, finishing top of a group that included the Netherlands, Ukraine and Norway and then beating the Republic of Ireland and Turkey in the quarter-finals and semis respectively.
The senior England side might not have won anything since 1966 but their youth teams regularly show promise. England emerged victorious at the 2010 and 2014 Under-17 Championships and last year, the Under-21 team won the Toulon Tournament.
It’s what makes England’s struggle at the senior ranks all that much harder to stomach.
No doubt Gareth Southgate will be keeping an eye on this evening’s final. Manchester City’s Jadon Sancho will have caught his attention, the youngster netting five goals in the tournament including a brace against Holland.
Cooper wouldn’t mind a repeat of the 2010 final, in which England beat Spain 2-1 thanks to goals from Andre Wisdom and Connor Wickham.
GiveMeSport has a look at the squad that played in Liechtenstein. Seven years on, you might not have even heard of some of the players…
Sam Johnstone
Then: Manchester United
Now: Manchester United (on loan at Aston Villa)
Bruno Pilatos
Then: Middlesbrough
Now: Ytterhogdals IK
Luke Garbutt
Then: Everton
Now: Everton
Conor Coady
Then: Liverpool
Now: Wolverhampton Wanderers
Nathaniel Chalobah
Then: Chelsea
Now: Chelsea
Andre Wisdom
Then: Liverpool
Now: Liverpool (on loan at Red Bull Salzburg)
Will Keane
Then: Manchester United
Now: Hull City
George Thorne
Then: West Bromwich Albion
Now: Derby County
Benik Afobe
Then: Arsenal
Now: Bournemouth
Saido Berahino
Then: West Bromwich Albion
Now: Stoke City
Robert Hall
Then: West Ham United
Now: Oxford United
Ben Gibson
Then: Middlesbrough
Now: Middlesbrough
Jack Butland
Then: Birmingham City
Now: Stoke City
Tom Thorpe
Then: Manchester United
Now: Rotherham United
Josh McEachran
Then: Chelsea
Now: Brentford
Ross Barkley
Then: Everton
Now: Everton
Connor Wickham
Then: Ipswich Town
Now: Crystal Palace
Luke Williams
Then: Middlesbrough
Now: Scunthorpe United
Class of 2010
Barkley, Butland and Berahino, Chalobah and Afobe are the most recognised names from the list, while Gibson was called up to the senior squad earlier in the year.
John Peacock was the coach at the time. Peacock, who still works for the FA, also nurtured Raheem Sterling and Danny Welbeck during his role.
England supporters will no doubt hope the class of 2017 produces a few more gems.