England's progression to a first ever major tournament final on foreign soil at Euro 2024 is the fruit of a decade of work on a player development programme that has turned perennial underachievers into serial contenders. Ending a 58-year wait to win a major trophy at senior men's international level is the final hurdle left to clear for Gareth Southgate's men in Sunday's final against Spain after serial success at youth level and in the women's game. Just months after the Three Lions had crashed out of 2014 World Cup with one game to spare of the group stage, Southgate –- then in his role as under-21 boss –- appeared alongside the English Football Association's technical director Dan Ashworth.