England’s exit from UEFA Euro 2012 at the quarter-final stage has been met with a curious mix of disappointment, despair and resignation, leaving national team supporters at something of a crossroads. It should be clear to everybody by now that English football, if it continues along its current trajectory, is incapable of producing a national team that will reach the last four of major tournaments regularly. Worse still, the progress made by other nations presents a far more concerning prospect: by standing still, England could easily go backwards.

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