The existence of the national team as we know it is at stake in France.

It’s been ten years now since the 2006 World Cup quarter-final.

After a 0-0 draw with Portugal, England were defeated on penalties (how else!) and all our hopes and dreams for the ‘Golden Generation’ were destroyed by Cristiano Ronaldo and friends.

But this wasn’t just any old heartbreaking World Cup defeat. Something bigger died on that Saturday afternoon in Gelsenkirchen, the entire feeling the country had for the national team.

The spirit of a whole nation going to a major tournament looking to win it was lost.

The bond the fans had with the players was replaced by mutual suspicion.

For the fans, the feeling was that our over-pampered players would never deliver in the England jersey so what was the point in even getting excited?

For the players, the feeling that the fans would get on their back no matter how hard they tried, so best save their energy for their clubs, where they are appreciated.

Case in point was the last World Cup in Brazil. Eliminated bottom of the group, it should have been the ultimate humiliation for a proud footballing nation. But nobody was really upset.

The players weren’t haunted by it and the fans weren’t too disappointed because they never expected any kind of success.

The manager remained in place because nobody could really be bothered to call for his head. Not when far more expensive options with bigger reputations had been tried and failed just as spectacularly.

Six months ago everyone would have had the same feeling going into Euro 2016, and many still do.

But something has changed. There is a slight chink of light at the end of the tunnel provided by Leicester’s title win, and to a lesser extent the strong performance put in by Spurs.

For the first time there is a feeling that football can be different, because Leicester have proved it.

Maybe the England team doesn’t always have to be packed with the kind of players who score a few goals for Southampton, hand in a transfer request, move to Liverpool thinking they’re something special, and get totally outclassed on the biggest international stage.

It is absolutely crucial for the future of English football that the Leicester momentum is maintained into the summer.

For the first time in years, we should have players that are buzzing going into the tournament, desperate to play with the togetherness shown at their clubs.

And dare I say for the first time since 2006, we go into a tournament with a better team than we had at the previous tournament.

Our defence is dreadful, there is no way around it, but so it was at the 2014 World Cup. However the Spurs spine of Eric Dier, Dele Alli and Harry Kane look impressive, captain Wayne Rooney, whose international future looked like it could have died a death, has shown the flexibility to remould himself as a midfielder and then of course, Jamie Vardy still has to fit in somewhere.

All these are talented players looking to win things with their teams, not somebody else’s like the Southampton kids a couple of years ago, and that’s the spirit that could do the country proud in the Euros.

Crucially, with the exception of Rooney, the squad has no players who experienced the 2006 World Cup and everything miserable that came out of it

Nobody is saying yet that this team needs to win it, but a strong performance is required to restore the faith of the country in the national team. A semi-final would be fantastic, and a spirited defeat in the quarter-final should be the bare minimum expected. For the long-term future of the England team, a performance of that level is a must.

Looking at the bigger picture, the next three tournaments are a World Cup in Russia, a European Championship all around Europe and a World Cup in Qatar. Interest from this country in those tournaments in general will not be high.

If we go into them with a struggling team, people simply will not watch. And if that happens, it will be 2024 before there’s even the possibility of a tournament that attracts any interest. That would be way too late to save the national team as people my age knew it.

The days of English people being excited about an international tournament six months in advance are almost gone and you’d be hard pressed to find anyone who doesn’t resent having their club teams step aside for international break during the regular season. By 2024 club football will be stronger than ever and only a national team that can compete will safeguard the importance of the England team.

There can only be one of two possible futures. The fairytale Leicester-inspired future, or the future of irrelevance. Euro 2016 will decide which one England are destined for.