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"Our country has been through difficult experiences in terms of unity. Sport — football in particular — has the power to help that. It is a special feeling." - Gareth Southgate

On 27th June 2016, English football was clouded with the ash of an Icelandic boom. As eleven players collapsed onto the pitch in Nice, fury raced its way from Lands End to John O'Groats. In its wake, the rage left shards of victimised pint glasses in puddles of beer-drenched tears. Football wasn't coming home, England were. The nation's disconnect with the squad had never been worse.

Fast forward 145 days, and words of disconnect continue to pollute the country's papers. Teresa May's frail Brexit proposal has left the country hanging from a tightrope, with her own teammates scything away at the rope one resignation at a time. With the country in need of a hero, English football’s candidature is no more than low-hanging fruit for satire. Right?

Flip to the back pages and fall into a utopian parallel. On Sunday afternoon, England beat Croatia to qualify for the UEFA Nations League finals in Portugal next June. The national stadium finally became a cauldron of passion, representing a euphoric microcosm that banished the fear and uncertainty of the outside world. 

The victory at Wembley topped off an incredible year of transformation for the national team, who became arguably the first people ever to stick to the concept of 'new year, new me'. Kittens became lions, and it becamse, dare i say it, ‘cool’ to support England again.

The 2018 World Cup will never be forgotten. After years of over-hype, missed penalties and 0-0s against Algeria, the expectations heading into the tournament had never been lower for England. We were led into battle by a mild-mannered bloke in an M&S waistcoat and a striker with a speech impediment. Sure, we had some good players, but nothing to compare to the powerhouses of Brazil, Germany and Spain. We weren't ready to mix it with the big boys.

Five matches and five minutes later, Kieran Trippier stood over a free-kick in the World Cup semi-final. As people still squeezed into battery pubs and bought pitchers of their lucky nectar, nobody was truly set for the moment that was about to come. As the whistle blew, the Burnley-born full-back whipped a beauty into the top corner, sending the nation into collective orgasm. 

In that moment, among the clouds of beer that hung above millions of English fans, the memories of the past month were forever imprinted upon a generation. From Harry Kane'

s last minute winner against Tunisia to Jordan Pickford's penalty saves against Colombia. Harry Maguire's bullet header versus Sweden to Eric Dier's banishing the shoot-out curse. Gareth Southgate's fist-pump.

The disappointment of the side's eventual World Cup exit needs not be revisited, but the beauty of England's story is that it was only just the start. This was not the tip of the flame, but the ignition of the match. In the side that heroically defeated Spain in Betis last month, there were ten players in the matchday squad that watched the World Cup from home - all of which are 24 years old and under. 

We are entering an exciting period of English football, at a time when the nation needs it most. Only in football could an 18-year-old inject such hope into a wide demographic of people. It's exactly what Jadon Sancho's story is doing as we speak, with Reiss Nelson, Phil Foden and Calum Hudson-Odoi waiting in the wings. 

Borussia Monchengladbach technical director Max Eberl claimed: "We follow every English national game - Under-16, Under-17 and so on - and we know every top player in England. They develop great players. That age group [born in] 2000 in England, you could take every player. It’s unbelievable". We're approaching a pot of gold, with riches of talent ready to be selected when the time is right.

Combine the new blood of Sancho and Joe Gomez with the world-class talent of Kane and Raheem Sterling, the relatability of Maguire and Pickford, and the characters of Kyle Walker, Jesse Lingard and John Stones (to name a few) and you have the perfect storm for a national team that can inspire support. And whilst political leaders freeze themselves off from the country, Southgate continues to lead with 54,790,000 mates right behind him. 

Divisive ideology is enjoying an unwelcome period of success around the world and throughout our country, yet it is essential to come together and support this group of players. In a time where 'being English' is clouded in doubt, shame, and trepidation, there is incredible value in getting behind something to make us feel proud, and Southgate and co. certainly do that. In fact, if you're nice enough, they might just bring something home.