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Having been labeled as "The Golden Generation" of English football, only to eventually falter at UEFA EURO 2004 and the FIFA World Cup Germany 2006, South Africa 2010 may very well be the last chance for some of the best-known faces in the world game to win on such a magnificent stage.

However, England's appointment of head coach Fabio Capello appears to have reinvigorated the Three Lions' squad, many of whom are looking to prove a point following less-than-average performances in their most important matches under previous coaches, Sven-Goran Eriksson and Steve McClaren. With the World Cup tournament scheduled to be played during the South African winter, the conditions should suit England's players and style well, so they will need to come up with a better excuse than that should striker Wayne Rooney and his mates fall short on the world stage once again.

After dealing with the disappointment of not qualifying for the UEFA EURO 2008, England rebounded impressively to qualify for South Africa; chalking up no fewer than nine wins in their ten Group 6 games, scoring a European Zone high of 34 goals along the way, and suffering their sole defeat at the hands of the Ukrainians, but only after having already qualified for South Africa 2010. This 1-0 loss in October 2009 ended a streak of ten straight FIFA World Cup qualification victories, which the Three Lions had begun with a 1-0 win over Austria in Manchester, in October 2005.

Leading the way, in both goals and dedication, was Manchester United's Rooney, who accepted the primary burden as England's attacking threat having found the back of the opponents' net a total of nine times in an equal amount of matches. Additional significant contributions were provided by the mid-field tandem of Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard, who accounted for four and three goals of their own respectively. Forward Peter Crouch made the most of his limited appearances by netting four goals in as many appearances, while his Tottenham teammate, Jermain Defoe, showed off his own finishing talents with three goals in only 135 minutes of play the entire tournament.