Every two years a major tournament comes around, and every two years the British press gets carried away.

The headlines ring out: 'Is this England's year?', 'Will Rooney guide us to glory?', 'Can we recreate '66, or even '96?'

There is always so much anticipation surrounding the Three Lions and more often than not, those tasked with the difficulty of bringing glory back home fail dismally.

In 2016, it is no different.

'This is the most exciting England squad in years', 'So many options in attack' and 'A great mix of experience and youth' are passed daily, once again setting those responsible for representing the great nation up for a fall.

In France, the stage is set for Roy Hodgson's Three Lions to finally deal with the unrelenting expectations.

But do they have the quality, mettle and desire to do so?

England
(The Three Lions)

HEAD COACH: Roy Hodgson

TRIBAL'S TOP 3:Wayne Rooney, Harry Kane, Joe Hart

WILDCARD: Marcus Rashford. The 18-year-old Manchester United striker was included in the squad having played just once at senior international level. Has the talent, speed and quality in front of goal to cope with the pressure, provided he gets the opportunities.

HISTORY: Third-place in Italy in 1968 was superseded by a semi-final finish at home in 1996. Quarter-finals upon their return in Poland/Ukraine after missing the 2008 tournament in Austria/Switzerland.

EURO OVERVIEW: England have been drawn in a group they are very capable of surviving, and quite possibly even winning.

Saturday's opener against Russia in Marseille is definitely winnable and if that happens to be the scenario, expect confidence to flow into the much-anticipated all-Britain clash with 'little brothers' Wales.

Slovakia follows after that, making a trio of wins a distinct possibility.

That could see them land a third-placed side, potentially Turkey, in the initial knockout phase before coming up against Italy in the quarters.

Falling short of a world-class performance, that's where the run may end for Hodgson's men who will certainly not possess the major tournament nous of the Azzurri.

Of course there are variables involved when attempting to forecast such a competition and England could throw the cat amongst the pigeons if they find their way through to the knockout stages, especially if inexperienced players like Dele Alli, Harry Kane, Eric Dier, Raheem Sterling, Ross Barkley and Rashford are up and going.

The defence is a major cause for concern because if one of the starting two centre-backs, Gary Cahill and Chris Smalling, happens to go down, there isn't much in the way of apt replacements to sit in front of star goalkeeper Joe Hart.

John Stones is exciting as a ball-playing defender but could be prone to errors on the tournament stage, and other than that, there are only right and left-sided full-backs to fill the void.

The midfield is strong but will be a balancing act for Hodgson as there are many options and formations available to him with the likes of James Milner, Adam Lallana and Jordan Henderson providing the substance while some of the aforementioned youngsters will have to come up with the creativity.

Where captain Wayne Rooney is played could be key as he seems to have taken to the passing midfielder role like a duck to water and is capable of providing mind-boggling balls to his wingers and strikers.

Harry Kane no doubt has the starting number 9 role at his mercy and will be ably backed up by the speed and adept finishing of Jamie Vardy and class and control of Daniel Sturridge, provided he remains fit.

All the components are there for a successful showing across the Channel but when entering a series of matches of such magnitude, England players historically perform well below par, hence we are capping the expectations in the final eight with a honourable, yet unlucky defeat to the Italians.

Let's hope, for Premier League fans and Britons alike, that Rooney and his merry men are able to shake things up and give English football the excitement it has been craving for decades.

Otherwise, we will have to wait until Russia 2018 to hear it all again.

TRIBAL'S FINAL SAY: Quarter-finalists