In the penultimate feature of our series looking back at the greatest players ever to wear the famous Three Lions, we remember Duncan Edwards.
Despite winning only 18 international caps, Duncan Edwards had already left an indelible mark on English football when his life was tragically cut short by the Munich Air disaster of 1958 - he was just 21 years of age.
Having captained England schoolboys and the Under-23 side, Edwards was seen as the natural successor to Billy Wright as skipper of the Three Lions, with his enormous physique and technique on the ball combining to make a fearsome prospect.
Walter Winterbottom, the England manager of the day, was well aware of the scale of the loss:
"Duncan was a great footballer and he had the promise of being the greatest of his day," he said. "It was in the character and spirit of Duncan Edwards that I saw the true revival of British football"
Born in Dudley, Worcestershire, Manchester United signed him as a schoolboy from under the nose of Wolves and he soon stood out in the youth team.
He won three successive FA Youth Cups with Manchester United and became the youngest ever professional to appear in the First Division when facing Cardiff City at Old Trafford on 4 April 1953, at the tender age of 16 and 185 days.
Two years later he became the youngest to play for England in the 20th Century when he was given his first cap in April 1955, at the age of 18 years and eight months - incidentally a debut marked by beating Scotland at Wembley 7-2.
Edwards' blistering shot was an eye catching facet of his game, with German fans certainly impressed. Having played in England's 3-1 win in Germany, fans in West Berlin were calling for 'Boom Boom' when United landed in West Berlin a few months later.
An integral member of Manchester United's "Busby Babes" he won Championship winners medals in 1956 and 1957 and also scored in United's remarkable 5-4 First Division win at Arsenal.
Tragically it was his last game on English soil before the team flew out to Belgrade for their fateful European Cup quarter-final against Red Star.
In his book 'United, Matt and Me', legendary United trainer Jimmy Murphy recalled the prodigious talent of Duncan Edwards.
"If I shut my eyes I can see him now. Those pants hitched up, the wild leaps of boyish enthusiasm as he came running out of the tunnel, the tremendous power of his tackle - always fair but fearsome - the immense power on the ball. He played wing-half, centre-half, centre-forward and inside-forward with consummate ease.
"When I hear Mohammed Ali proclaim 'I am the greatest' I have to smile. You see, the greatest of them all was an English footballer named Duncan Edwards."
England Legends
David Beckham
Michael Owen
Billy Wright
Nat Lofthouse
Peter Shilton
Alan Shearer
Ray Wilkins
Geoff Hurst
Jimmy Greaves
David Platt
Gary Lineker
John Barnes
Bobby Charlton
Tom Finney