England will end their agony and win a major tournament — according to ex-Denmark and Arsenal star John Jensen.
Jensen was part of football’s biggest fairytale 25 years ago when the Danish ‘no-hopers’ gatecrashed Euro 1992 after initially failing to qualify and ended up lifting the trophy.
Fellow football minnows Greece also won a title at Euro 2004 while the under-achieving English have come up short since the 1966 World Cup win.
The Three Lions have seen hopes dashed for half a century, but Jensen insists all of football expects Gareth Southgate’s men to come good – maybe even in Russia next summer.
However he did spell out the conditions that must be met for England, who face Scotland in a Group F World Cup qualifier on Saturday, to finally start punching their weight.
Jensen, a guest at the 25th anniversary celebrations in Copenhagen when Denmark take on Germany again on Tuesday, said: “It isn’t wrong for England to have those high expectations.
“If you look at the players they have, playing in the best league in the world in my view, it is reasonable for fans to think they can lift a major trophy.
“Of course every one that goes by without winning it, now the expectation will be less and less. Maybe one day the expectations will be really low, and that’s when they will win it.
“Of course it would be less of a surprise if England do it, than when we won the Euros.
“Everyone in football knows that one day England are going to win a big tournament. That might even come in Russia at the World Cup, or another time. But it is going to happen one day in the future, we all believe that they will win a World Cup or a European Championship.
“That is different to us, where no one - probably including us - expects ever to win a title again.
“There are things you need to do it, so many things. For England they have to have their best players available and selected, the best XI with no injuries.
“That is important, as well as the right manager. That might be Gareth Southgate, you don’t know yet but give him a chance and you will find out. And you need to have players playing at a very high intensity. That can be harder after 50 tough matches in a season in England.
“Playing in a World Cup or a Euros after that, it is maybe harder to arrive in the right mindset, at 100 per cent. They say they are fresh enough, but I’m not sure they are. I do think the Premier League season is the hardest, because more games are competitive.”
Jensen, though, has defended England’s mega-rich players from accusations that they do not care enough about the national team.
He added: “I am sure it isn’t a pride thing. My experience is that English players are every bit as proud of being English and playing for their country.
“There is an amazing spirit for their country, similar to that in Denmark, but with more players to pick from.”