England once again head into a major tournament this summer as one of the bookies' favourites thanks to the amount of talent Gareth Southgate has at his disposal.
An appearance in the Euro 2020 final can only be bettered by victory this time round, however, placing plenty of pressure on the Three Lions' squads shoulders.
However, the sense of expectation has dulled in recent weeks after injury worries and selection debates, and a disappointing 1-0 defeat to Iceland at Wembley, have seen most England fans head into the tournament with less of the usual confidence of the last few years.
VIDEO: How England Plan To Win Euro 2024 - Tactical Preview
Euro 2024 - according to Football Manager
Football manager is widely known for the accuracy and eye for detail in each game, making it a popular tool when predicting major tournaments - in a rather tongue-in-cheek sort of way.
This is once again the case this summer thanks to BonusCodeBets who, in a bid to soothe the Euros fever, simulated the entire tournament with accurate and up to date squads.
Want to know how England got on? Of course you do.
Group stage
Southgate's men kicked off their campaign with a routine 2-0 win over Serbia with Marc Guehi and John Stones chosen as the hotly-debated centre back pairing.
Two consecutive three-goal hauls over Denmark and Slovenia saw the Three Lions qualify top their group with a perfect record conceding just one goal.
How England fans would love to be in that situation at the end of June...
Round of 16
Their flawless group stage performances set up a tough test against Ukraine in the first knockout round, with Premier League stars Oleksandr Zinchenko, Mykhailo Mudryk and Vitaliy Mykolenko looking to get one over on their domestic teammates.
England continued in the same 4-2-3-1 shape many expect Southgate to deploy in Germany this summer, with Trent alexander-Arnold trusted alongside Declan Rice in midfield, while Aaron Ramsdale replaced Jordan Pickford in goal.
Goals from Jude Bellingham and Bukayo Saka helped England to a nervy 2-1 win, setting up a repeat of the 2021 final against Italy in the next round.
Quarter finals
The 2012 and 2020 European Championships both saw England defeated by Italy on penalties, and they say things come around in threes...
Southgate's plan to stop the cold streak was to move Guehi into an unfamiliar left back position, with Lewis Dunk slotting in at centre-back.
Harry Kane opened the scoring for England as they looked well on track to give up the ghost of tournaments past, before Declan Rice confirmed another 2-1 victory, perhaps rather fortunately according to the stats sheet.
Semi finals
The England squad must've felt like they were continually bumping into ex-girlfriends in Germany as they squared off against France in the penultimate round of the tournament.
France, just like Italy the year prior, dumped England out of the 2022 World Cup in equally heartbreaking fashion after Harry Kane ballooned his penalty late on.
The Bayern Munich man repeated his feat this time round after the sides were forced to a penalty shootout, missing the first of England's penalties.
Thankfully for the Three Lions, misses from Olivier Giroud, Jules Kounde and Dayot Upamecano saw them progress to the final after a 7-6 penalty shootout victory.
Is this it coming home?
The Final
England have made their second successive European Championship final! 48 years of hurt surely now are forgotten!
Spain were all that stood in their way of glory, a Spain side who, on paper, were a shadow of the team which dominated the world a decade ago. Surely this was England's year, surely they had the quality to see off the Spaniard...?
Spain 3-1 England.
Defeat again for England, this time without the need for penalties as Spain inflicted their first defeat inside 90 minutes in a European Championship match since 2016.
With Lewis Dunk and Ezri Konsa trusted at centre-back behind a midfield pairing of Adam Wharton and Kobbie Mainoo(!) it's hard to justify exactly what was going through Southgate's head before the biggest game of his managerial career.
2026 is our year, right...?
More Euro 2024 stories
We have a guide on how to get Euro 2024 tickets if you're still looking to go to the tournament. We have the run-down on Euro 2024 stadiums, with info on host cities, capacities, and everything you need to know.
We have a list of the Euro 2024 favourites, with best odds on nations to win European Championship in Germany, while these are the best Euros games ever and these are the best pundits ever. With England set to be one of the favourites, meanwhile, we've analysed what the pathway to the final could look like for the Three Lions.
Get a free live stream to watch Euro 2024 from anywhere in the world ahead of the summer's big tournament
