Euro 2016: England dare to dream thanks to out-of-the-blue youngsters

After Brazil 2014, Hodgson could not have envisaged going to France in such a positive mood

The emergence of Marcus Rashford could not have been predicted (Getty)

Two years ago, as England slid out of the World Cup in humiliation at the earliest possible moment, the prospect of July 10 2016, becoming a red letter day for Roy Hodgson and his players appeared as fanciful as Leicester City being crowned Premier League champions.

Back in 2014, Leicester had just secured promotion back to the top flight, but expectations at the King Power Stadium were purely of survival and consolidation. Nobody was getting carried away.

It was a similar story as England trudged back from Brazil, winless in a group containing Italy, Uruguay and Costa Rica, with France 2016 regarding as nothing more than a stepping stone towards some kind of World Cup redemption in Russia in 2018.

The landscape for Hodgson and England appeared bleak. Where were the players capable of replacing the likes of Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard, could a goalscorer be unearthed to alleviate the burden on Wayne Rooney?

Rewind to the start of the 2014-15 season and unknowns such as Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Jamie Vardy were simply aiming to build their club careers and secure first-football. In Manchester, Marcus Rashford was waiting for his GCSE results.

None of the above would have been on Hodgson’s radar, but much can change in two years in football and the impossible dreams of the summer of 2014 have now been given unexpected credibility by the emergence of the young talent who could yet give England genuine hope of success in France.

And if Leicester City can produce arguably the biggest upset in the history of English football by winning the Premier League, would it be ridiculous to suggest that, on July 10, England could bridge the gap to the Boys of 1966 by ending half a century of waiting to enjoy success at a major tournament once again?

England will not travel to France as favourites – Germany, Spain and the host nation will claim that distinction – but the emergence of the likes of Kane, Alli, Vardy and Rashford has changed the outlook from two years ago. Hope has replaced pessimism, with the 3-2 victory against the Germans in Berlin in March setting a high bar for Hodgson’s young team to match in France.

England’s Euro 2016 squad, with an average age of 25, is the youngest this country has sent to a major tournament since the 1958 World Cup, with the 30-year-old Wayne Rooney now the elder statesman. It is a group of players with energy, belief and youthful confidence and, crucially, one lacking the burden of failure that ultimately proved so debilitating for the so-called golden generation of Gerrard, Lampard and co.

You only get one chance to make a first impression and that is the opportunity which now lies in front of Kane, Vardy, Alli and Rashford in France.

They will not benefit from the element of surprise in Russia, but they can profit from that in France.

Jamie Vardy had a wonderful, if unexpected, season (Getty)

We have seen Rooney burst onto the scene at Euro 2004, Michael Owen rip world-class defences apart as an 18-year-old at France 98 and Paul Gascoigne emerge as a world star at Italia 90, so the chance is there for one of Hodgson’s young guns to do the same in Marseille, Lens, St Etienne and Paris this summer.

The Wembley defeat against Holland in April proved a reality check, and the struggle to defeat 10-man Portugal in the final warm-up game last week also acted as a warning against inflated expectations.

Hodgson must find a way to get the best out of Rooney and make the team work with the captain in it, he must also ensure that the defensive frailties are ironed out and hope that Jack Wilshere, Daniel Sturridge and Jordan Henderson stay fit.

But Hodgson will take his squad to France with a quiet confidence he could never have anticipated when he flew back from Rio de Janeiro in June 2014. The last two years have thrown up some unexpected gems and they have given England hope of a positive tournament for the first time since Euro 96.

It was so near yet so far 20 years ago. But with some good fortune along the way, who knows where England can end up this time around?