ALL eyes will be on Harry Kane, Jack Grealish and Mason Mount this summer as England aim to win their first ever Euros.
Of course, many fans will remember how close the Three Lions got at Euro ’96 – only to lose in the semi-final to the Germans in a heartbreaking penalty shoot-out.
But plenty of our stars wouldn’t have been born when boss Gareth Southgate became the fall guy at Wembley that summer.
However, they would have definitely dreamed of going a few steps further than their current manager and leading their country to glory as they were growing up.
But what did they look like when they were kids? Join SunSport for a flick through the family albums….
HARRY KANE
Captain Kane will, probably, forever be haunted by this photo.
Dressed in an Arsenal kit, rivals to his beloved Tottenham, the England hotshot trained with the Gunners’ U8 team as a youngster before switching allegiances to Spurs.
Such was allegiance to the red side of North London, he even dyed his hair the same colour.
JACK GREALISH
England’s poster-boy for this year’s Euros, Grealish grew up in Birmingham.
And he’s always been as a cute as a button, wearing his boyhood Aston Villa shirt with pride as a five-year-old.
However, his hair wasn’t the flowing locks we’re used to seeing, and he preferred a more closed crop cut.
JORDAN PICKFORD
No1 Pickford was Sunderland through and through.
He climbed through the ranks of the youth team to eventually play for the club before signing for Everton in a £25million deal in 2017.
But before that he was just a fan of the Mackems – posing for a snap with former captain Kevin Ball.
RAHEEM STERLING
Before he became a superstar at Manchester City, and before that Liverpool, the London-born winger was another hopeful at QPR.
In 2010, he moved to the Reds from the Hoops for a fee of just £500,000.
At 15, we saw Sterling showing off his talent on Sky Sports show Soccer AM for their infamous Skill School segment.
MASON MOUNT
Cheeky kid Mount has been with Chelsea since he was six. And in 2019, he shared a brilliant video of himself in his pre-adolescent years whipping a free-kick into the top corner.
“I try to base my free-kick on Ronaldo, hit the ball by the valve, and it moves,” he says in the video.
“That’s all you do. Top corner – top bins.”
DECLAN RICE
Growing up through the Chelsea ranks alongside Mount was best-mate Declan Rice.
Now a West Ham star, the pair were said to be heartbroken when Rice was released in 2014.
Still, with Jordan Henderson still struggling for match-fitness Mount and Rice could be starring in England’s midfield in the opener against Croatia together.
MARCUS RASHFORD
Young Rashford would never have imagined he would have an MBE at 23, nevermind be a regular for Manchester United and England.
But for the former skinny kid growing up in Wythenshawe has achieved wonders already in his short career.
Will he add a Euros to his glittering CV?
PHIL FODEN
As he says, he’s been City since he can remember.
Phil Foden, 20, is coming off an excellent season with his club and will hope to transform that on the international stage.
And he hasn’t changed one bit from when he was a nipper.
KALVIN PHILLIPS
Leeds-born midfielder was told as a schoolboy to forget about football and concentrate on his studies.
Luckily, he didn’t listen to his teachers and has blossomed into the one of the country’s best defensive midfielders – nicknamed the ‘Yorkshire Pirlo’ by Leeds United fans.
And, it seems, he was a very happy kid – always smiling for the cameras.
JUDE BELLINGHAM
England’s potential wildcard, in truth Bellingham is still a kid – astonishingly he’s still only 17.
But the Borussia Dortmund star began his football journey at Birmingham City.
There, he was spotted by Trevor Francis as a star of the future during one youth game the former Blues star was watching.
Did the former Sheffield Wednesday manager also discover a future England Euros winner?
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
