Another penalty shoot out, another ignominious defeat. The predictable end of another England World Cup campaign. It's easy to forget the unprecedented optimism with which the team and their fans went into the 2006 tournament. Across the country, national pride swept all before it.

Any cynicism about England’s chances was drowned out by a groundswell of hope and bullish confidence. Nearly a third of adults bought a flag to fly from their car or to drape from their house. For three weeks in June, the nation's faith lay on the shoulders of eleven men on a football field. 

Forty years of hurt were put to one side, shirts were donned, and glasses filled. With the best team for a generation, this year would be different...