It's been 56 years since Bobby Moore walked up the famous steps of the former Wembley Stadium to receive the Jules Rimet Trophy from Queen Elizabeth II.
The pinnacle of English football is still etched in the minds of every fan on this shore – even if they haven't been born yet. After that, that series of failures broke the hearts of the believers of the Three Lions Legion, which made that moment even more nostalgic.
With all this false dawn – the list of players who could have helped England end the trophy drought is not dizzying.
Erling Haaland
Haaland has taken England by storm - seemingly finding the net for Manchester City with ease every week.
And he could have done it in an English shirt – the Premier League's newest superstar was born in Leeds thanks to his father representing the Peacocks. Haaland's love affair with West Yorkshire didn't end there.
Haaland admits his dream as a young man is to win England's top flight at Leeds United, where he has made several appearances around the club.
Gareth Bell
Bale has made it clear over the last decade that Wales have always been at the top of his football career.
However, Bell could have represented the Three Lions, whose grandmother was born in England. But as his agent revealed earlier this year, Bale never got a chance to play for his great rivals: "If he can go to the World Cup with Wales, I think it will be his supreme glory."
"From the first day I met him and his father, he told us how special Wales was. When we talk to him, he has the potential to play for England. He said, 'If you want to be my agent!' '。 ”
Simone Perrotta
There is a statue in Ashton that, outside Tameside Stadium, features Sir Jeff Hirst, Jimmy Amfield and Simone Perrotta: the town's three World Cup winners.
Perrotta is a midfielder who continues to play for Juventus and Roma, winning the World Cup with Italy in 2006. However, he was born and spent his early years in a small town east of Manchester.
Ashton Council had tried to invite Perrotta to the statue's opening ceremony, but they couldn't find a way to get in touch with the World Cup winner. As a result, Perrotta was blissfully unaware of the statue until a few years later - when his uncle told him.
Mikel Arteta
In the late 2000s, Mikel Arteta sought British citizenship by representing the Three Lions on the international stage after being repeatedly snubbed by Spain.
Both England and Mikel Arteta are working towards the conversion of Mikelta citizenship. But FIFA stopped the move when FIFA pointed out a vague rule that Arteta must have British citizenship when playing under-16 football for Spain.
The same rules prevented Carlo Cudicini from joining the England squad.
Jamal Musiara
Musiara was born in Germany to a Nigerian father and a German mother – but he spent most of his childhood in London.
Musiala has even progressed in the ranks of English teams, first Southampton and then Chelsea, with his talent under the attention of the FA. The youngster represented England in his youth career but was chosen for Germany when it came to senior teams.
Musiala has since moved to Germany with the club and is now a regular at Bayern Munich.
Luis Saha
After 13 years in England, Sven Goran Eriksen found Louis Saha and could switch to England.
Saha debated the proposal, but concluded: "If I choose to go on, I will never be able to play for France, and it doesn't feel right in my heart." And did not play well in England and had the possession to endure insults without appeal! ”
The Frenchman, who was eventually drafted into the team or known as Les Blues in 2004, went on to have a decent international career.