Only two survivors from England squad that set dreadful, unwanted 36-year record
As England prepare to take on North Macedonia, early qualification for major tournaments feels like the norm, but it has not always been quite so straightforward.
A decade ago, Roy Hodgson's team scraped over the line, drawing four of their 10 qualifiers and only securing top spot in their World Cup qualifying group on the final matchday. Any chance of building on that in the subsequent friendlies against Chile and Germany, however, was a short-lived dream.
Chile claimed a 2-0 win at Wembley, with Alexis Sanchez - a few months before his summer 2014 move to Arsenal scoring both. Next came Germany, England's conquerors at the 2010 World Cup, with Arsenal's Per Mertesacker bagging the only goal of the game.
It was the first time England had suffered back-to-back Wembley defeats in 36 years, with Wales and Scotland claiming Home Championship victories in 1977. Hodgson, however, didn't want the result to put a dampener on a year he still considered "great" because it had brought World Cup qualification.
"We’ve used these two very tough friendly matches to look at a lot of players," the manager said. "I’m not prepared to accept for one minute that that’s going to take the shine off what has been a very good year and a year in which we have achieved our goal and we’ve got an awful lot to look forward to.
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"A lot of players are going to fiercely try and contest their place in the squad and I am looking forward to that," he added. Indeed, a number of those who featured at the 2014 World Cup were used either sparingly or not at all in that double-header.
But what of those who did feature? Here, Mirror Football looks back at that starting XI and subs against Germany, with only two survivors in Gareth Southgate's latest squad.
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Kyle Walker is the only starter from that Germany game to still be in the picture (Getty Images)
Joe Hart is now very much a former England international (Getty Images)Goalkeeper and defence
One of the England players who did emerge from the Germany game with credit is goalkeeper Joe Hart. The then-Manchester City stopper cemented his place as Hodgson's number one with his performance, according to reports at the time, and would be England's keeper not just for the World Cup but also for the European Championships in 2016.
In the years since, though, things have fallen off for Hart. Now playing his club football at Celtic, the 36-year-old hasn't made an appearance for his country in six years.
In front off him, Kyle Walker is the only starter from that 2013 game to remain part of the England set-up, though he's not the only member of the back four who's still playing. A renaissance at Roma hasn't been enough to earn Chris Smalling an international recall, while Smalling's centre-back partner Phil Jagielka and left-back Ashley Cole have both now retired.
Midfield
Per Mertesacker scored Germany's winner at Wembley (AFP/Getty Images)Hodgson opted for a midfield set-up which some might argue was lacking in width. Steven Gerrard, Tom Cleverley and Adam Lallana have all occupied central roles for chunks of their career, but it was the first two doing so against a German midfield comprising brothers Sven and Lars Bender with Toni Kroos just in front.
Gerrard has been retired for a number of years, and is now managing in the Saudi Pro League, while 34-year-old former Manchester United man Cleverley called it quits over the summer after an injury-hit final year at Watford. Lallana is still a Premier League mainstay, playing seven times in the league for Brighton this season, but his last international outing came in March 2018.
Out wide, Andros Townsend started on the opposite flank to Lallana after scoring on his England debut the previous month. It was the fourth of an eventual 13 senior caps for the wide man, then at Spurs and now at Luton, with the 13th coming in 2016.
Attack
The Germany game came during Liverpool's impressive title challenge under Brendan Rodgers, and Daniel Sturridge led the line for England during what would be his best ever goalscoring season at club level. Just behind him was Wayne Rooney, operating in a withdrawn role while scoring goals in a tough season for David Moyes' Manchester United.
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Neither men has been seen on a Premier League pitch in a number of years. Rooney is now in management, having taken over at Birmingham City earlier this season, while 34-year-old Sturridge - who has yet to officially announce an end to his playing career - is an increasingly common presence in the Sky Sports studio.
Subs
Jordan Henderson was a second half sub for England (Getty Images)The second survivor - though for how long remains to be seen - is Jordan Henderson. A member of Hodgson's Euro 2012 squad, he was still in the picture more than a year later and came on as a 56th minute sub for Gerrard - the man who now serves as his club manager.
Only one of the other four subs used by the manager is still playing. That's Ross Barkley, now a team-mate of Townsend at Kenilworth Road but four years removed from the last of his 33 senior international caps.
The remaining trio are a mixed bag. Jack Wilshere is coaching in Arsenal's academy, Kieran Gibbs is working in media after a spell Stateside, and Rickie Lambert is now working with Wigan's academy, six years on from his own retirement.
On the same day that England's seniors lost, their under-21 side were busy putting nine unanswered goals past San Marino. While John Stones and Raheem Sterling are far from out of the picture after being involved that day, if you're wondering who survived from that squad to make the cut for North Macedonia, the answer is just one man: manager Gareth Southgate himself.
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