England have probably been the most frustrating international football team in the world since the turn of the millennium, whether you're a die-hard or not. In among a slew of fruitless quarter-final appearances, the Three Lions have suffered the embarrassment of failing to qualify for Euro 2008, an early exit at the hands of little-fancied Iceland at Euro 2016 and they were beaten to a place in the knockout stages of the 2014 World Cup by Costa Rica. Considering the players England have had at their disposal for the past couple of decades, it's an underwhelming return to say the least. The squads have been littered with Champions League winners and vital components to Premier League conquering sides, but, the pressure of wearing the Three Lions has appeared to weigh down England's stars. Still, after another near-perfect qualifying campaign, Gareth Southgate has led England to the World Cup in Russia and despite falling to 13th in the FIFA World Rankings and failing to make a World Cup semi-final in 28 years, England's elite are seventh favourites to win the whole thing.*

England’s World Cup squad

Goalkeepers: Butland, Pickford, Pope Defenders: Walker, Stones, Maguire, Rose, Alexander-Arnold, Young, Cahill, Jones, Trippier Midfielders: Henderson, Dier, Alli, Lingard, Sterling, Loftus-Cheek, Delph Forwards: Kane, Vardy, Rashford, Welbeck

How did they qualify?

England booked their place at Euro 2016 with an extraordinary 10 wins from 10 games, but their humbling exit to Iceland proved that qualification form isn't a direct indicator of tournament success. This time around, the Three Lions once again excelled on their journey to a major tournament with an unbeaten record of eight wins and two draws, finishing eight points clear of Slovakia and Scotland. Sam Allardyce got the ball rolling for England with a 1-0 win in Slovakia, but the since fired former-Everton boss was forced to resign just 67 days into his reign after a Daily Telegraph sting. While Allardyce left his post as the only England manager in history with a 100% win rate, Under-21s manager Gareth Southgate was forced to pick up the pieces. A frustrating 0-0 stalemate away to Slovenia and an injury-time equaliser against Scotland to draw 2-2 were the only blemishes on an otherwise professional, albeit mundane, job in qualification. England only conceded three goals in qualifying - only Spain can say the same - and they managed to score 18 times in their 10 games. From the European group winners, only Iceland scored less with 16. Germany and Belgium managed 43! Harry Kane led the line with five goals and after outscoring Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in 2017 with 56 goals in 52 games, he needs to do more.