These are unprecedented times for England - enjoy them

Ten years ago the suggestion that England could become serial contenders in major tournaments would have sounded laughable.

After all, the Three Lions had just been knocked out in the last 16 at Euro 2016 by Iceland.

That came on the back of a dismal World Cup in Brazil where England finished bottom of their group, signing off with a 0-0 draw against Costa Rica for their only point in the tournament.

Spearheaded by the brilliance of Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane, England now firmly belong in the conversation as potential champions.

Not just this year, but every year.

Since Euro 2016, England have reached at least the semi-finals in four out of five tournaments. We are in unprecedented times.

It is a record only surpassed by Argentina and France, as they have World Cup and Copa America titles to show for it.

After England's nail-biting 2-1 extra-time victory over Norway on Saturday, Argentina - and a first meeting with Lionel Messi - await in the final four.

Even if England fall short once again, this is now a team built to compete rather than enjoy a brief dalliance with success.

A remarkable era for England's football teams

Three Lions, the song written by David Baddiel, Frank Skinner and the Lightning Seeds for Euro '96, has long been derided outside of England for its supposed arrogance.

Yet it encapsulated what supporting this England team was about. Not just at the time, but what came before and the 20 years that followed, too.

"England's gonna throw it away, gonna blow it away," - a tale of hope over lived experience.

The idea that England fans expected success is hardly backed up by history.

After England reached the semi-finals of Euro '68, losing 1-0 to Yugoslavia, they didn't make it to the last four of another tournament until the 1990 World Cup. A wait of 22 years, during which time they failed to make it to two World Cups and three European Championships.

Then after Euro '96, England had to wait another 22 years to reach a semi-final. A period littered with tournament exits which only backed up the sentiment within Three Lions.

Take the red card for David Beckham against Argentina in the last 16 at France 98, or for Wayne Rooney versus Portugal in the 2006 quarter-finals. England lost both games.

Or David Seaman grasping at thin air as Ronaldinho's free-kick found its way into the back of the net in the quarter-final loss to Brazil in 2002.

Even the failure to even make it to Euro 2008.

In the 68 years before Russia 2018, England had only ever reached one final and three semi-finals. And two of those were as hosts.

England's 'golden generation' could not get beyond the quarter-finals.

Now everything is different. An extended period of excellence no England team has come close to.

A teenaged England fan today pretty much knows nothing other than deep runs into tournaments.

Two finals and two semi-finals in the space of eight years.

Gareth Southgate took England to successive finals of the Euros, losing to Italy on penalties in 2021 and 2-1 to Spain in 2024.

Thomas Tuchel is now tasked with taking the next step.

It is a remarkable era for England's football teams, with the Lionesses winning back-to-back European Championships and being runners-up at the 2023 Women's World Cup.

And with a home men's Euros in two years, you would not bet against it continuing.

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England's production line keeps on running

The transformation is incredible, but it is not by accident.

In 2013, shortly after taking over as chairman of the Football Association, Greg Dyke was fiercely critical of the structure of English football.

"The problem is serious, very serious," Dyke said about an "alarming" lack of homegrown talent.

Dyke set the England team two targets: reach the semis of Euro 2020 and win the World Cup in 2022.

Many scoffed at the mere suggestion, external of such success, but he was not too far out.

Dyke knew that two key building blocks were already in place.

In 2011, the £340m elite player performance plan (EPPP) was voted through by EFL clubs. It funded an overhaul of elite academies and restructured the system.

Then came St George's Park.

It took the Football Association 11 years to build it after purchasing the land in 2001.

Plans were approved, then mothballed, and then resurrected.