Wembley has proven itself under the spotlight of the European Championships as the perfect venue for elite international football. Under difficult circumstances, the stadium has flourished hosting the semi-finals and the final of the Euros, proving that England and the Football Association understand what it takes to deliver a perfect spectacle both for those supporters inside the ground and all those watching television across Europe and the rest of the world.

The stadium itself is a lovely location to watch the game, whether you are a passionate fan who is going to bet on England v Denmark to back the Three Lions to the hilt to win the semi-final clash (they have odds of 3/4 to beat Denmark); or the casual supporter who enjoys the festivities of a tournament that comes around every couple of years. After a difficult start to life replacing the famous old Wembley, the updated stadium has come into his own, hosting the Champions League final on two occasions and now the Euros. It’s time to play centre stage for the World Cup should be soon at hand.

England were overlooked for the 2006 World Cup, which was the initial target date for the opening of the New Wembley, although it was pushed back to 2007. The Football Association launched another bid in 2018 and reached the final stage of voting only to lose out to Russia. The tournament in Russia was a fine spectacle at the time, and there is enough footballing infrastructure in place to ensure that none of the expenditure on the tournament was not . Of course it was the same story in 2006 when Germany beat out the FA for the honour of hosting football’s showpiece event.

However, it has not put the FA off hosting the event in the future, although incidents such as allowing Qatar to take the reins for the 2022 competition will continue to raise eyebrows. Although there has been much work done to ensure that the integrity of the World Cup is upheld, moving the competition to the winter months of the first time has not been a popular decision. There is also not the footballing infrastructure in place in Qatar to sustain their newly built stadia when the tournament ends.

As seen in South Africa and even Brazil, there has to be an air of sustainability to ensure these bidding countries are promoting the long-term goals of the game rather than the quick buzz of the tournament. It certainly isn’t the case across Europe, and especially England. The beauty of playing a major competition in England is that there are ready-made venues across the country with the state-of-the-art training facilities at hand for all competing parties.

In London alone between Wembley, the Emirates Stadium, London Stadium and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, there are four world-class venues that would be the envy of any country in the world, never mind city. Chelsea are also making strides in their bid to improve Stamford Bridge, while new Premier League team Brentford have another quality stadium at hand. It raises the question: could London become the first city to attempt to stage a major competition?

Manchester City and Manchester United along with Liverpool, Everton, Newcastle United, Sunderland and Aston Villa may not be keen on the idea and would certainly resist the notion. However, it might not be a crazy suggestion in the future, perhaps even for a smaller tournament. London would certainly be ready and willing to give it a try after the success of the Euros.