Euro 2024 is upon us and the excitement is building across the country as England approach their first group game with Serbia on Sunday evening. The Three Lions are the pre-tournament favourites and they’ll be expected to go deep into the competition with the talented, young and hungry squad Gareth Southgate has at his disposal.
There is debate about Southgate’s starting XI for the opening game but whoever he picks will be expected to get the job done and get England off to a fast start in the tournament after going so close to European glory at Wembley Stadium three years ago.
But how is today’s line-up different to what was expected a decade ago. To find out, we downloaded FM14 and simulated to the present day to see how the game had England lining up at the tournament.
Of course, there are a few familiar faces involved and a large proportion of the XI below have picked up England caps over their careers. Only one member of FM14’s starting XI is involved in Southgate’s squad in real life, though. Here is how FM14 thought the England starting XI would look for their Euro 2024 opener: (As anyone who has played the game will expect, the squad did feature a number of re-gens - computer generated players created by the game to replace real life players who age out. We did not include these players in our starting XI and replaced them with the next best player in the squad in their position)

1. GK: Joe Hart
Hart was England's and Manchester City's number one in 2014 but his career took a turn when Pep Guardiola arrived at the Etihad Stadium. He had loan spells with Torino and West Ham United but lost his spot for the Three Lions with his last cap coming in 2017. Spells at Burnley and Tottenham followed before Hart, who retired last month, rounded off his career with three seasons with Celtic. | Getty Images

2. RB: Phil Jones
Jones was still only 31 when he announced plans to hang up his boots and go into coaching last year. Since then he has been working as a coach within Manchester United's academy. He spent 12 years at Old Trafford before his release in 2023 with his 27th and last England cap coming in 2018. | Manchester United via Getty Imag

3. LB: Luke Shaw
FM14 got this one spot on. Shaw is expected to miss England's Euro 2024 opener due to injury but once he returns to full fitness, he should line up at left-back for the Three Lions. | AFP via Getty Images

4. CB: Eric Dier
The 30-year-old is currently at Bayern Munich, having joined the club from Spurs last January and he may feel as though he still has something to offer England. Dier has 49 caps under his belt and has featured for the Three Lions at three tournaments. | Getty Images
