World Cup 2018: Have England improved since the 2014 World Cup?
England manager Gareth Southgate painted a brutally honest picture of his current squad - and arguably their chances at next summer's World Cup - when he cast doubt on whether he possessed "big players".
Southgate has secured qualification for Russia but England's progress has been unspectacular and they will not travel accompanied by great expectations.
England's last brush with tournament football was that harrowing night in Nice in June last year when they lost 2-1 to Iceland in the last 16 of Euro 2016 and manager Roy Hodgson effectively resigned on the spot.
It followed a dismal World Cup in Brazil in 2014, when England did not make it out of the group stage following defeats by Italy and Uruguay and were reduced to the embarrassment of playing out a dead rubber against Costa Rica in their final game.
So, with Southgate putting his squad's quality into context, and looking back at previous selections, are England in any better shape to make an impact in Russia than they were in Brazil and France?
England's goalkeepers at the past two tournaments
World Cup 2014 Euro 2016
Fraser Forster (Celtic) Tom Heaton (Burnley)
Ben Foster (West Brom) Fraser Forster (Southampton)
Joe Hart (Manchester City) Joe Hart (Manchester City)
England's goalkeepers for the 2018 World Cup almost pick themselves - and it is a stronger hand than Hodgson had to play with in the past two major tournaments.
Southgate appears to have settled on Joe Hart as his first choice but the memories of his edgy, hyped-up displays in the 2014 World Cup and his crucial errors for goals conceded against Wales and Iceland at Euro 2016 mean this is a debate that will continue.
England are in a better place to deal with this problem now because back-up and competition is better than it has been for years with 24-year-old Jack Butland excelling at Stoke City and Jordan Pickford, 23, shining after his £30m move to Everton.
Hart needs to maintain his form to fight off this pair, with Burnley's Tom Heaton also in the shake-up for a squad place, but he will be under the microscope once the World Cup starts to see how he copes with the pressure.
Verdict: England's overall quality is stronger but Southgate looks set to keep faith with a keeper whose flaws were exposed in Brazil and France. Will it prove a mistake?
Defenders
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England's defenders at the past two tournaments
World Cup 2014 Euro 2016
Leighton Baines (Everton) Ryan Bertrand (Southampton)
Gary Cahill (Chelsea) Gary Cahill (Chelsea)
Phil Jagielka (Everton) Nathaniel Clyne (Liverpool)
Glen Johnson (Liverpool) Danny Rose (Tottenham)
Phil Jones (Manchester United) Chris Smalling (Manchester United)
Luke Shaw (Southampton) John Stones (Everton)
Chris Smalling (Manchester United) Kyle Walker (Tottenham)
England's options in the defensive areas for next year look stronger than they did in previous tournaments - but that does not mean Southgate's backline will give off an air of confidence.
The full-backs are almost interchangeable with Kyle Walker established at right-back and Ryan Bertrand now the regular left-back. Liverpool's Nathaniel Clyne and Danny Rose at Tottenham provide similar alternatives but are struggling with injury.
A back four of Leighton Baines, Gary Cahill, Phil Jagielka and Glen Johnson was ageing and cruelly exposed in Brazil and Southgate will surely be casting eyes in the direction of Manchester in the hope a solid central-defensive partnership emerges.
Phil Jones' career had threatened to stall after early comparisons with Duncan Edwards but he has flourished under Jose Mourinho at Manchester United. John Stones, who also suffered a dip after his £47.5m move from Everton to Manchester City, is again starting to look like the defender who was once regarded as the future but then disappeared almost undetected from the England team.
Jones and Stones, at their best and if their renaissance continues, offer a good blend in central defence and an upgrade on the Cahill/Chris Smalling partnership in France - but Southgate may still want the Chelsea's captain's experience, even though he has struggled at major tournaments.
He will probably want his pairing to come from those three, with Smalling still in contention, because the likes of Leicester City's Harry Maguire and Everton's Michael Keane offer promise, but will have nothing in the way of experience at the sharp end of a major tournament when the action starts in Russia.