Is it time for England to end their trophy drought at EURO 2024?

Since their 1966 World Cup victory, they have witnessed Germany, Italy, Spain, France, the Netherlands, and Portugal achieve success at the World Cup or EURO. Besides these "giants," former Yugoslavia, Denmark, and Greece also triumphed in Europe during the English's waiting period.

Is it the time for the Three Lions?

If Alf Ramsey, the coach who led England to the 1966 World Cup victory, were alive, he would probably be surprised and exclaim: What have we been doing wrong all this time? In reality, England didn't do much wrong. The luck of the penalty shootout wasn't on their side, and Bukayo Saka was the latest to need a shoulder to cry on after the EURO 2020 final.

In the EURO 96 semi-final against Germany, if Paul Gascoigne had touched the ball from Alan Shearer's pass when the game went into extra time with the score tied 1-1, England might have reached the final, only to lose on penalties. On other occasions, the Three Lions simply weren't strong enough or didn't live up to their potential.

And then the worst came at EURO 2016 when England lost to Iceland. Roy Hodgson's team lost to a team with a population equal to that of Coventry, and he announced his resignation just minutes after the match ended in Nice.

The next manager for England was Sam Allardyce, but he only managed one game. Then came Gareth Southgate, promoted from the U21 team. The upcoming EURO will be Southgate's fourth major tournament with England, culminating in reaching the EURO 2020 final, along with a semi-final defeat in the 2018 World Cup against Croatia and a narrow loss to France in the quarter-finals of the 2022 Qatar tournament.

In major tournaments, Southgate has a similar record to Alf Ramsey, but importantly, Ramsey helped England surpass their 1966 record. With their current squad depth, arguably the best of any team that will be in Germany next June, England are expected to win the title, although France, Portugal, Germany and Spain are also potential contenders.

When asked about England's chances of ending their trophy drought, Racing Post journalist Mark Langdon suggested that the lack of strong contenders and the current strength of Southgate's squad only reinforces the belief that this is the Three Lions' moment.

"He could play well and get eliminated, but I think this is a golden opportunity to make something happen. If you look around Europe, there aren't many teams performing exceptionally well – except for France and Portugal," he told RTÉ Sport.

"England faced France in the last World Cup, it was a 50-50 game, Harry Kane missed a penalty and England were the better team in the second half. Germany were the home team but they often concede too many goals and don't have anyone like Kane or Bellingham to score. Spain had Gavi injured and they are a team that relies on ball control but lacks attacking threat."

"Italy just qualified and didn't qualify for the World Cup. Portugal has a lot of talented players, but they should have started benching Cristiano Ronaldo. However, they didn't, and that could have been the reason for their failure. Croatia is past its peak, as is Belgium. So, England has many reasons to think this is a great opportunity for them."

Southgate is a weakness.

Speaking about the England squad, Langdon assessed: "It's a talented team that has been competing in major tournaments for a long time and is developing together. I don't see too many weaknesses, perhaps only in the centre-back position. Who will play alongside John Stones? England's goalscoring ability will be the best in the tournament with players like Bellingham, Kane, Foden, Grealish and Saka."

While Langdon believes England have the potential to go far in Germany, he doesn't particularly like Southgate's coaching style, citing the defeat in the EURO 2020 final and the coach's cautious approach after England took the lead as examples. "Southgate worries me because he's not a top coach. If he leaves the national team and takes a job in the Premier League, it won't be with a top club. I disagree with the idea that he's done better than other England managers except for Alf Ramsey because I think this team is of such high quality. Comparing Southgate to other managers who don't have such a talented squad is unfair," Langdon emphasized.