England are attempting to break a cycle of heartache and humiliation at major tournaments that has plunged the birthplace of football to its lowest ebb.
A loss to Iceland in the last 16 of the 2016 European Championship was perhaps the ultimate embarrassment. Or maybe that came when England endured their shortest World Cup campaign two years earlier - only in contention for eight days.
Before that, there were penalty shoot-out losses in 1990, 1996, 1998, 2004, 2006 and 2012. And before that, who could forget Diego Maradona's "Hand of God" goal that denied England in the World Cup semi-finals in 1986?
It's no surprise that the nation's expectations are low heading to Russia. England coach Gareth Southgate has long been tempering his team's prospects. Defender Kyle Walker even acknowledged it would be a "miracle" if England won football's biggest prize this year.
England won the 1966 World Cup, but have only reached the semi-finals of a tournament twice since then. What next for one of the underachievers of international football? Encouraging draws in recent friendlies against Brazil, Germany and Italy show England are heading in the right direction but they have been here before in the run-up to tournaments.
Here's a closer look at the England team:
Coach
Southgate was promoted from England's under-21 team to become coach of the senior side in September 2016, with the appointment widely viewed with skepticism because of his lack of managerial experience in top-level football.
However, opinions are changing on the former England defender who missed the decisive penalty in a shoot-out against Germany in the European Championship semi-finals in 1996. He has made brave selection decisions - dropping Wayne Rooney, for starters - and has implemented a bold approach that has seen the team adopt a three-man defence and play the ball out from the back as much as possible.
Goalkeepers
Long-time starter Joe Hart has lost his place after a tough two years on loan at Torino and West Ham from Manchester City, with Jordan Pickford and Jack Butland moving ahead in the pecking order.
Pickford, whose distribution is superior to Butland's, is expected to begin the World Cup as first choice. Hart should still be in the squad as third-choice goalkeeper, with Southgate valuing his experience gained playing for City and at international level since 2010.
Defenders
Kieran Trippier and Ashley Young - attacking full-backs with good delivery and energy - look to be England's starting wing-backs, so it is the centre-back combination that will be occupying Southgate's thoughts.
John Stones and Harry Maguire are favorites to start even though the former is fourth choice at Manchester City and has barely played in 2018, while the latter is inexperienced.
Kyle Walker, a pacey right-back, has impressed in recent friendlies as a right-sided centre-back and other options include Joe Gomez, James Tarkowski and Alfie Mawson.
Midfielders
England will play with either two or three central midfielders, depending if the team is deployed in a 3-5-2 or 3-4-3 formation, and they are likely to be functional, hard-working players.
It's a far cry from the days when they could call upon stars of the Premier League like Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Paul Scholes. Instead, Southgate will rely on selfless players such as Jordan Henderson, Eric Dier, Jake Livermore and the unheralded Lewis Cook, who will keep their shape and allow the wing-backs and forwards to offer a goal threat.
With Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain definitely out injured and Adam Lallana unlikely to prove his fitness, the injury-prone Jack Wilshere could again make the plane as a wildcard midfielder.
Forwards
The most straightforward department for Southgate: Harry Kane will start as the central striker, with Jamie Vardy and Marcus Rashford as back-ups.
Raheem Sterling will be the main support for Kane, along with either Jesse Lingard, Dele Alli or even 22-year-old Ruben Loftus-Cheek if Southgate opts for a 3-4-3 formation.
Group games
England, who are based just outside St Petersburg, open Group G against Tunisia in Volgograd on June 18. They then play Panama in Nizhny Novgorod on June 24 and finish against Belgium in Kaliningrad on June 28.