England kick off their World Cup campaign in Brazil on Saturday night and, for once, they will not be crushed by the weight of expectation.
Not a lot is expected from Roy Hodgson's young lions, due mainly to the fact they are playing in challenging conditions in South America, coupled with a succession of disappointing past tournaments.
But after Hodgson took the bold step of including exciting young players like Ross Barkley, Luke Shaw and Raheem Sterling in his squad, there is a renewed sense that England could spring a surprise or two.
Whenever England have failed on the big stage before, there has always followed a period of introspection as answers are sought for the reasons why they seem unable to match their international counterparts.
For the past decade, English football has been trying to get its house in order in terms of youth development and, while the debate still rages about the number of overseas players restricting opportunities for emerging English talent in the Premier League, Barkley and Co seem to be the early shoots of those labours.
The introduction of the Elite Player Performance Plan is attempting to take that development even further, and Leicester City have embraced it more than most.
Academy director Jon Rudkin believes the development system for young players in England is now one of the best in Europe.
"Youth development in this country is on the right lines, absolutely," he said.
"If everyone had the chance to go across to Europe and see what is happening, and then reflect on what is actually happening in England, if you look at the infrastructures, the programmes and the investment, I would say we were one of the leading countries across Europe.
"These young players who you see now emerging into first teams probably started with a club at eight years of age.
"It is only the very start of academy cycles but hopefully it will continue with a stream of young players."
Rudkin believes the inclusion of the likes of Barkley and Shaw in the England set-up, coupled with England Under-17s' victory at the European Championships recently, demonstrates English football is starting to reap its rewards.
"Going forward, the definitions of home-grown talent is worth looking into," he said.
"EU rules permits the freedom of movement of young footballers anyway, so that is the challenge for a young English footballer, to meet that demand.
"We are better in our preparation that we can be better in our approach and technical elements.
"The positive news recently is that England again won the Under-17 European Championships.
"That says we are not too far away.
"Hopefully that can be emulated again next season."
As for this World Cup, whatever happens, Rudkin believes the young Lions will return better players for the experience.
"The World Cup is the greatest tournament out there," he said.
"There are a number of less-experienced young players in the squad and I am sure they will be ready for that challenge and go as far as they can in the competition. It will be a difficult task.
"Just the sheer fact they are playing in South America makes it a challenge, so you would say the favourites will be South American countries.
"But it will be a great experience which will benefit those players in the future."
![Inside football: Rob Tanner looks at England's young Lions in Brazil]( "Inside football: Rob Tanner looks at England's young Lions in Brazil")
