A string of victories in a major youth tournament and they become England's next great hope.
The Under 20s have rightly been thrust into the beam of glory for reaching Sunday's World Cup final against Venezuela, the first time the national team will contest one since Bobby Moore lifted the trophy at Wembley in 1966.
'The future brightens,' former England striker Gary Lineker said of the feat last week. 'If more coaches, like [Tottenham manager Mauricio] Pochettino, are prepared to give them a chance, we'd soon be a major force.'
England are, it seems on the surface, so close to greatness,yet dig beneath it and Sportsmail's extensive research reveals they are laggingdesperately behind their major European rivals.