Just three years on from the penalty shootout devastation that shook the country at Euro 2020, England have a chance to bring success home yet again this Sunday as they take on Spain in another final.
It has been 58 years since England last tasted victory in a major international tournament, defeating bitter rivals West Germany 4-2 in the 1966 World Cup final on home soil.
Since then The Three Lions have experienced heartbreak on multiple occasions, with early exits and wasted golden generations at the forefront of English football folklore.
Despite the consistent negative discourse surrounding Gareth Southgate and his team, the 53-year-old has been the country's most successful coach since that faithful night at the Old Wembley Stadium where then-manager Sir Alf Ramsey led the team to the World Cup.
As the man who oversees the team's line-up and tactical approach, Southgate is often seen as culpable when the Three Lions face that familiar exit from a major tournament.
That being said, the former Aston Villa midfielder has overseen a period which sees him as the first men's manager to reach two European Championship finals back-to-back for England.
It seems likely that this match could be Southgate's last in charge and a win in Berlin would be the perfect round-off for his tenure.
This article takes a look at England's exits in major tournaments under Southgate and how the team can perhaps avoid making the same mistakes and finally bring football home in the final of Euro 2024.
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World Cup Semi-Final 2018 - England 1-2 Croatia
An unexpected run in Russia which ended with familiar heartbreak, the England national team was in a terrible place coming into this tournament.
The country had suffered Euro 2016 humiliation to underdogs Iceland in the Round of 16 under Roy Hodgson and failed to make it out of the group stages at the World Cup two years prior.
Hodgson's replacement Sam Allardyce had also been sacked after managing just one game for the Three Lions due to off the pitch controversy, leaving the FA embarrassed yet again.
All of this considered, the quality the English national team produces makes it easy to under-appreciate the miraculous job Gareth Southgate has done and Russia 2018 is the first example of this.
This tournament is full of memorable moments for England fans with Harry Kane scoring a hat-trick against Panama, Harry Maguire's header against Sweden in the Quarters and Kieran Trippier's free-kick against Croatia in the fifth minute.
It was a successful tournament for the country but conceding defeat to another underdog nation left a bittersweet taste in the mouth with Ivan Perisic killing England's hopes off in extra-time.
The performance on the day was poor by the standard Gareth Southgate had set, with only two attempts on target for the Three Lions and seven for Croatia.
The early goal working against England was a theme that was to be continued at the next tournament three years later.
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Euros Final 2020 - England 1-1 Italy (2-3 Penalties)
Perhaps the most frustrating loss under Southgate despite being in a final and down to chance on penalties, this loss struck the entire nation just three years ago.
On the back end of the COVID-19 pandemic, European championship success at a near full capacity Wembley just felt right to a nation that had lacked silverware for so many decades.
England were yet again on outstanding form coming into this, with dominating displays against Germany and Ukraine in the last 16 and quarters and just edging Denmark in the semi-finals, the only thing that stood in the way were the tournaments top performers Italy.
The game started excellently for Southgate's men with a half-volley in the first minute by left-back Luke Shaw putting the Three Lions ahead and going down as the fastest final goal in the tournaments history.
However, the early attacking start arguably came back to bite England who appeared more reserved and shaken by the moment when defending a lead throughout the entire game.
An Italy equaliser seemed inevitable throughout the entire game until it finally came through a scrappy finish by Leonardo Bonucci, a horrible way to concede after defending for 66 minutes prior.
With both teams level the game inevitably went to extra-time and England struggled to gain momentum due to Italy's notorious rough game as the match ended 1-1 and went to a penalty shootout.
The Three Lions ended up losing the tie 3-2 on penalties with misses from Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka.
This was a disappointing end to a great tournament for the country, overshadowed by the disgusting abuse of which the three penalty takers found themselves on the receiving end.
The controversy around Gareth Southgate for this match was the teams pragmatic approach to going ahead so early and the manager allowing a 19-year-old Saka take a high pressure penalty despite having experience in Jack Grealish and Raheem Sterling as options.
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World Cup Quarter-Final 2022 - England 1-2 France
Despite possibly being the highest expectations coming into a tournament for an England side under Gareth Southgate and the earliest exit overseen by the manager, this is the loss that feels the harshest to lay blame on the coach.
Neither side were great in this game despite France being champions and England coming in on fire with comfortable 3-0 victories over Wales and Senegal and a 6-2 win over Iran.
The Three Lions appeared to just edge this tie with eight chances on target to France's five and a great reaction to going a goal down twice.
Aurelien Tchouameni put Les Bleus ahead early on and England skipper Harry Kane levelled the scoring with a signature penalty in the 54th minute.
France would be ahead yet again late on with Olivier Giroud's strike increasing the pressure with twelve minutes yet to play.
The memorable moment of the game was Harry Kane blazing a second penalty over the bar against then Tottenham teammate Hugo Lloris in goal, a miss which ultimately saw the writing on the wall for the Three Lions.
Despite an uncharacteristic free flowing performance from his side, this game still raised questions on Gareth Southgate's team and it's ability to defeat an opponent that could match or top their quality.
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How England can learn from the past
Be brave with substitutes
Although often utilised late on in the game, Gareth Southgate's use of the quality he has on the bench has been successful so far this summer.
Both Cole Palmer and Ollie Watkins linked up off the bench for the winner against the Netherlands in the semis and Ivan Toney came on to assist Harry Kane's winner against Slovakia.
However, a concern with big occasions like this is managers sticking by players deemed as undroppable, regardless of how they are playing, which makes sense. The best players provide the big moments in spite of a poor performance.
The issue is that players like Harry Kane have struggled with consistency this tournament and have sometimes been straight up in-affective in games with his replacements looking more lively.
Despite subbing his key players a few times at the Euros, a final is the be all and end all of the tournament, Southgate may choose to avoid risk and stick by his star men should England be chasing the game late on which may work against them.
Stick to the plan in spite of an early goal
An undoubtable issue for England under Southgate is the at times over-pragmatic approach to big games.
In all fairness, this approach has got the Three Lions this far before and it is no different this time around but the style always appears to lack the flow and cohesiveness to kill off the top teams.
Performances against Slovakia, Switzerland and Slovenia have frustrated the fans this month, with England only utilising the world-class talent at their disposal to 'bail them out' late on, so to speak.
As highlighted, the most heart wrenching losses for Southgate have come where his sides have scored an early goal and killed their own momentum by slowing the pace.
The Netherlands performance proves the Three Lions are at their best when being smart, quick and inventive in the final third and pockets of space awarded to them by the opposition.
Judging by the tournament thus far, Spain are the antithesis of Italy in 2021 and will also start the game off on the front foot looking to attack quickly and the extra space may benefit England.
Stick with what brought you to the dance
This phrase may seem contradictory given the last section however it is still important for Southgate to keep the same lineup for this game which has remained pretty much unchanged all month and allow the defence to remained settled.
The attack is almost certain to stay the same and Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi should keep his place after returning from suspension in midweek.
However, Kobbie Mainoo in midfield has proven he is good enough to be a vital part of the England midfield aged just 19.
The Manchester United star also has experience against Spain's star midfielder Rodri in finals, defeating the Manchester City man in May's FA Cup final.
A potentially beneficial change for Southgate could be bringing Luke Shaw into the left-back role ahead of an out of position Kieran Trippier, should the former be deemed fit enough to start.
Utilise the attacking threat
Spain have proven themselves more than capable of being a tough defensive unit against the top European sides.
However, England possess some of the worlds best attacking talent and despite a struggle to get quality flowing consistently going forwards, the Three Lions' moments of brilliance this summer prove the talent is a constant threat.
Bukayo Saka will be all too familiar with competing against Spain's Marc Cucurella in the Premier League with backup option Cole Palmer also playing with the left-back at Chelsea.
Cucurella has had an exceptional tournament thus far but with Saka gaining momentum, it could be a long evening for the Chelsea man.
Man City star Phil Foden also showed what he was made of when playing in central areas against the Netherlands and could find himself in more dangerous positions should Spain give him the space.
Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane are also vital and the biggest goal threats despite their poor form and the Three Lions will need to get them into the game against a tough defence which possesses experience in Dani Carvajal and Aymeric Laporte.
