Golden Generation (English football)

Despite the talent of its players and their success at club level, the Golden Generation has been known as underachievers, being eliminated at the quarter-finals in three major tournaments and failing to qualify for UEFA Euro 2008.

[2] Reasons offered by pundits and players for the failure of the team have included arrogance,[3][4] tactical inflexibility,[5][6] the incapability of Lampard and Steven Gerrard to perform together in midfield,[5][6] and the lack of an assertive manager.

[13][14] Richard Williams of The Guardian called the last-16 elimination by Germany the "passing" of the Golden Generation that he believed had been born at the 1998 FIFA World Cup; many key players were retired from international football or past the age of 30.

[4] Emile Heskey, a veteran of the 2002 World Cup, reflected in 2020 that the "Golden Generation" tag was inaccurate at the time due to the better players of reigning champions France and eventual winners Brazil.

[6] The team was known for a wealth of central defenders including John Terry, Rio Ferdinand, Sol Campbell, Jamie Carragher, Ledley King and Jonathan Woodgate.

England at the 2006 FIFA World Cup . From left to right: Michael Owen , Peter Crouch , John Terry , Frank Lampard , Steven Gerrard , Gary Neville , Ashley Cole , Rio Ferdinand , Paul Robinson and David Beckham .