England were blessed with a talented group of players in the early 2000s – even if that was not really reflected in the Three Lions’ results in major tournaments.
The so-called Golden Generation did not make it beyond the quarter-finals at the 2002 and 2006 World Cups, nor at Euro 2004.
But despite disappointment at international level, many of those players made significant contributions to the success of their clubs in that era.
Here, a look at the best English footballers from the first decade of the 2000s…