Steve McClaren kicked off his reign as England boss in style with a confidence-boosting 5–0 win over Andorra—and that was just the warm-up, before they polished off North Macedonia with a 1–0 away victory in Euro qualifying! But just as the optimism bubbled, a familiar twist of fate struck: a crushing 3–2 loss to Croatia at Wembley meant England missed out on Euro 2008—cue the “Wally with a Brolly” legacy firmly planted. Still, they found joy in the new Wembley: debuting it with a 1–1 draw against Brazil, where John Terry snuck in the equaliser—official and all. Across the year, stalwarts like Lampard, Gerrard, Terry, and Robinson each featured in 10 matches, while the cheeky David Bentley got a call-up after a sparkling season—delivering a man-of-the-match-winning cross for the B-team, and earning himself a place in the senior squad for a friendly and qualifier.