The Future

To conclude my recent articles about England, I will look into life for England after the European Championships. England come off the back of another disappointing major tournament, having crashed out to eventual runner ups Italy in the quarter final stage, courtesy of an agonising defeat on penalties. It is evident that we are a long way behind the modern day footballing giants; such as Spain and Germany, both of which are leaps and bounds ahead of England in terms of quality. But there is reason to be cheerful, with a bright new generation of young stars sure to emerge and sparkle on a national stage in the not too distant future. I will analyse and pick out the young stars who I think will break through and light up the national team in the lead up to Brazil 2014.

Phil Jones

Phil Jones is heavily tipped to become an England captain in
the future

He has been on the fringes of the national team, but has been deployed as a utility man in the games when he has been given the nod. It may be unclear where his best position may be, but I believe he will be best used as a centre back. Having impressed regularly for Manchester United, he has showed maturity way beyond his years. Despite only being 20 years of age, he's shown the correct traits needed to develop into a top centre back, and I really think he can more then fulfil the quality of Rio Ferdinand in the heart of the England defence. 

Chris Smalling
Smalling was at Maidstone just 4 years ago, before taking two massive steps towered stardom with Fulham, and then Manchester United. United will consider themselves extremely lucky to have both Phil Jones and Chris Smalling on their books, both of which I think have massive potential to develop into world class centre backs. With John Terry and Rio Ferdinand both reaching the end of their playing days, I'm sure Jones and Smalling can create an equally solid partnership in the future.

Raheem Sterling

Liverpool 's 17 year old wonderkid, Raheem Sterling

I nearly had the privilege of playing Raheem when he was at QPR, but sadly he left for Liverpool merely 6 months before. Nevertheless, from what I have seen, he is an incredible talent. At 17 you need to be special to break into any first team, and I believe he has the potential to do so this season for both Liverpool and England. He's quick, he's 2 footed, and he is a good final product; all of which are the characteristics of a top class winger. The wing is also a position that desperately needs to be resolved for England, and I believe Sterling has what it takes to solve this problem.

Tom Cleverley
Cleverley was pivotal in keeping Wigan afloat in the 2010-2011 season, and now he is plying his trade with Manchester United. In the absence of Paul Scholes for the first half of the season, Cleverley excelled in the first team, using his creativity to great effect and was rewarded with praise from all across the nation. He would've made his debut for the 3 lions if it weren't for an untimely injury, but he is sure to make his international bow sometime in the coming season.  However, with United importing stars such as Shinji Kagawa from abroad, it will be interesting to see if he continues his rapid development towards stardom.

Kyle Walker
Walker really set the Premier League alight last season, using his pace and energy down the right to shine in both an attacking and defensive front. He had a successful loan spell at Aston Villa 2 years ago, but he had an even better season last year, and was rewarded with the Barclays Premier League young player of the year for his efforts. He would've also made the England team for the world cup, had it not been for a toe injury which cruelly ruled him out of participating in his first major tournament. But there will be many more opportunities for this young talented right back, who has alerted massive clubs from all across the world, most notably Real Madrid and Barcelona.

The Ox is a promising talent for both Arsenal and England

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

At only 18 years of age, Oxlade-Chamberlain is an incredible talent. He shows maturity way beyond his age, having featured heavily for Arsenal last season both domestically and in Europe.  We saw glimpses of the talent that this young maestro has in the European Championships, but believe me; this guy has a lot more in his locker. Quick, strong and highly technical, 'The Ox' has the potential to not only be an integral part of the England team, but also one of the most feared attacking players in the world. 

The next challenge that lay ahead for this new generation of England stars is qualification for the World Cup 2014 in Brazil. England have been given a fairly easy group, with Montenegro, Ukraine, Poland, Moldova and San Marino standing in their way for a place in the World Cup finals. With senior players not getting younger, I will expect some of the players listed above to become key figures in the England team during qualifying. With the failure of the golden generation, it is time for the golden generation to step aside and be replaced by a new batch of youngsters. With such promising young talent working their way up through their clubs youth systems, hopefully England can finally emerge into the world force that they have been promising to be for a considerable length of time.