In leading England to the Euro Under-21 final, Lee Carsley has done something no Young Lions manager has achieved since all the way back in 2009.
After a perfect group stage record send Carsley's side into the knockout stages, victories over Portugal and Israel set up a meeting with Spain in the final. England have yet to concede a single goal in the tournament, though things won't be easy against the tournament's top scorers.
A number of squad members already have plenty of Premier League experience behind them, while some will hope to have the same in their future. It was a similar story in 2009, even if the Young Lions weren't able to seal the deal and win the title.
Back then, it was a similar story in the group stage with manager Stuart Pearce overseeing three unbeaten games. Sweden were seen off via a penalty shoot-out in the final, only for Germany to run riot in the final with a 4-0 victory.
A number of those German players, including goalscorer Mesut Ozil, would go on to win the World Cup in 2014. But what of England's starters? Here, Mirror Football takes a closer look.
Scott Loach
If current under-21 keeper James Trafford thinks this tournament is a path to senior international recognition, he need only look at Loach to understand that's not always the case. The Watford keeper played 14 times for the under-21s, but failed to make the step up.
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That's not to say he didn't have a solid career in the Football League. He played more than 150 times for the Hornets in the Championship before later dropping down to the National League.
Loach will begin the upcoming season in League One with Derby, having joined from Chesterfield in 2022. He has yet to make his league debut for the Rams, but this summer saw him agree to extend his Pride Park stay for a second year.
Martin Cranie
Versatile defender Cranie broke into Southampton's first team as a teenager, before returning to the Premier League with near-neighbours Portsmouth. By the summer of 2009, though, he was coming off a period back in the second tier with a loan spell at Charlton.
He scored his first goal at under-21 level in the semi-final, with England leading 3-0 before being pegged back and needing penalties. That was his only goal in England colours, across more than 30 games at age-group level.
In the club game, Cranie spent almost his entire career in England's second tier. The 36-year-old racked up 450 career appearances, most recently turning out for Luton in the 2020-21 season.
Micah Richards
Richards, like Cranie, burst onto the scene in his teens. The defender, who played at full-back and centre-back, was a regular for Mark Hughes' Manchester City in the season before England's run to the final.
Not only that, but he was already in double-figures for senior England caps before dropping back down in 2009. Only one of England's class of 2023, Emile Smith Rowe, already has senior honours.
Richards went on to win two Premier League titles with City, but injuries cut short his career. These days, he can regularly be seen in the punditry studio for a number of broadcasters.
Nedum Onuoha
A team-mate of Richards' at City, Onuoha had played 23 Premier League games in the season prior. The Manchester-raised defender won 20 under-21 caps, scoring twice - including in that Sweden semi.
Onuoha didn't ever win a senior England cap, but he did play more than 300 times in the top two divisions of English football. One of those matches came against his former club, as part of the QPR team who City famously beat to claim the Premier League title in 2012.
After leaving West London, the Nigerian-born star rounded off his career in Major League Soccer. He has since moved into punditry, while also occasionally finding himself on commentary duty.
Kieran Gibbs
The fourth member of England's back-line, Gibbs earned international honours after competing with the experienced Gael Clichy at Arsenal. Once Clichy left for Manchester City in 2011, the Hale End academy graduate stepped up.
Gibbs ended up playing 230 times for Arsenal and also won 10 senior England caps. Most of those came under Roy Hodgson, though he missed out on a spot in the 2014 World Cup squad.
After a spell with West Bromwich Albion, the left-back finished his career across the pond with Inter Miami. He took up an 'on air talent' role with the MLS side after retiring aged 33.
Fabrice Muamba
Another graduate of Arsenal's academy, Muamba left the club in 2007. After a year with Birmingham, he moved to Bolton and played every single Premier League game in the season before the 2009 tournament.
Sadly for the midfielder, his career was cut short by a cardiac arrest, but he made a remarkable recovery and he has moved into broadcasting and coaching since. He took up a youth coaching role with former club Bolton in 2022.
"The biggest thing you find is when you stop playing football, the problem is not having a routine," Muamba told Mirror Football in an exclusive interview in 2022. "Because you don't have a routine, all of a sudden it's 'I don't know what to do with myself', and I hope with him he can find a routine and that way he can slowly and surely find a better way to make the most of his life.
Lee Cattermole
All three of England's starting midfielders were seasoned Premier League performers by the time they took on a young German side captained by Sami Khedira. In Cattermole's case, that meant more than 100 top-flight games for Middlesbrough and Wigan.
The Teeside-born midfielder moved to Sunderland in August 2009, and ended up spending more than a decade with the Black Cats. He played more than 250 times for Sunderland, captaining the side and sticking around as they dropped down to the third tier.
Cattermole never made the step up to England's senior side. He did score three times for the under-21s, though, including the first of the 2009 tournament.
Mark Noble
Noble was England's under-21 captain in 2009, and would go on to fill the same role at West Ham. He had been just 17 when he played his first Hammers game, and was firmly a part of the first team under Gianfranco Zola at the age of 22.
There were many calls for the midfielder to earn senior recognition, but it never came. His 20 under-21 caps and he was part of the Euros squad in 2007 as well as 2009.
With the exception of a couple of loan spells away from East London, Noble was a one-club man. He played a whopping 550 games for West Ham before retiring in 2022.
James Milner
It might sound strange when you look at his performances with Liverpool, buy James Milner was once part of a front three. He was several years removed from a Leeds spell which saw him become a Premier League goalscorer at 16, and had completed his first permanent season at Aston Villa, returning in a £12m deal having previously impressed on loan.
The final against Germany was the last of a whopping 46 under-21 caps for Milner, who scored in a group stage victory over Spain. He played even more for the seniors, though, making the last of his 61 senior appearances at Euro 2016.
In the seven years since that last senior game, though, Milner has won countless trophies with Liverpool and racked up more than 300 appearances for the Reds. The former Manchester City man ended his eight-year Anfield stint this summer, but is staying in the Premier League with Brighton.
Adam Johnson
A product of the Middlesbrough academy, Johnson scored three goals for the under-21s. He also netted twice in 12 senior appearances, most of them during Euro 2012 qualifying.
The winger also had spells at Man City and Sunderland, but his career effectively ended in 2016 after he pleaded guilty to sexual activity with a child and child grooming. Johnson, who was on Sunderland's books at the time of his arrest, was found guilty on one further offence of sexual activity with a child and found not guilty on a second count of the same crime.
He was handed a six-year prison sentence in 2016, serving three years before his release on licence. Now 35, Johnson has not returned to professional football since leaving prison.
Theo Walcott
Walcott, like some of his team-mates for the Germany game, already had senior international experience at the time. While his surprise call-up for the 2006 World Cup didn't result in any minutes on the pitch, he made his debut in 2006 and his first start in 2008.
All 47 of the forward's senior England caps came during his 12 years with Arsenal. he scored eight goals for the Three Lions, including a hat-trick in the 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign, but didn't make it onto the plane for South Africa.
Walcott bounced around the Premier League after leaving Arsenal in 2018, spending time with Everton and Southampton. His second spell at Southampton ended after their relegation, and he has been linked with a move to Reading, where former Saint boss Ruben Selles has been appointed as manager.
