2024 will be remembered as the year that England's senior men reached their second major tournament final in three years, falling just short against Spain as they had done at Wembley in 2021 and bringing down the curtain on Gareth Southgate's time in charge of the national team.
In typically understated fashion, Southgate kept out of the spotlight as England's new era began, firstly when Lee Carsley was lauded as having taken the handbrake off a talented squad in their opening Nations League matches, and as Thomas Tuchel was chosen as the manager to take that final step and win silverware.
With talk of a knighthood in the upcoming honours list, Southgate was in relaxed mood as he chose his Desert Island Discs recently, providing plenty of stories for the press as he confirmed he had decided to step down regardless of the outcome of the Euros final and wasn't necessarily thinking of a return to the managerial hotseat as his next career move.
"When you're a coach and you've had one of the biggest jobs, how do you follow that up?" he said.
Southgate's trusted assistant Steve Holland, meanwhile, is set to test his own managerial credentials having been appointed as the head coach of J-League club Yokohama Marinos.