Alas, it did not come home.

After managing to stutter to the final in Germany, stuttering to the European Championships and a first major international win for England since 1966 was a bridge too far.

For most, the end of Euro 2024 now sees full attention, hope, and expectation turn to their clubs.

For Reading supporters, it means their distraction from their beloved club is now gone and all focus must turn back to the Royals, still currently in the grips of owner Dai Yongge.

With League One action returning in four weeks, there is still time for the optimism to come flooding back should the transfer of ownership take place in the timeframe in which it is expected to.

Take a look below at the international tournaments during the modern (Madejski Stadium era) to see how Reading and England fans could bounce back in the immediate season following a summer of heartache.

World Cup 2022- 22nd Championship (2022/23)

A historic first, the 2022 World Cup hosted in Qatar took place over November and December, with the Royals having a fortnight off midway through the season. Sat 12th in the Championship at the time of the break commencing, very few expected the campaign in May to end with relegation. However, four wins in 25 matches and an ill-timed points deduction conspired to relegate the club to the third tier for the first time in over 20 years.

Euro 2021- 21st Championship (2021/22)

England’s first major tournament final since 1966, the country was on a high as Covid-19 restrictions disappeared and crowds were allowed back in the stadiums again. Veljko Paunovic, who had taken the Royals to seventh in the season before, started okay but his position was untenable long before his exit in February. Ultimately, the team had just about enough to remain in the Championship under Paul Ince despite another points deduction.

World Cup 2018- 20th Championship

Gareth Southgate’s first tournament in charge, the Three Lions made a first major tournament semi-final appearance since 1996, ultimately losing out to Croatia. The Royals returned under Paul Clement and were subjected to a thoroughly miserable campaign. Plodding along in the bottom five of the division from matchday one through to matchday 46, Jose Gomes’ loan-inspired revival had made the final few months slightly more bearable, stuttering to a 20th-place finish.

Euro 2016- 3rd Championship

The nadir for the national team, infamously England were dumped out of Euro 2016 by Iceland after scraping through a group with Russia, Slovenia and Wales. However, the Jaap Stam revolution in 2016/17 ensured club football kept supporters entertained with a third-place finish and just two home defeats in the whole season. It was to end in heartache though, with Huddersfield Town triumphing on penalties in the play-off final.

World Cup 2014- 19th Championship

Another embarrassing exit under Roy Hodgson, this time they failed to even exit the group stage after defeats to Italy and Uruguay, earning the only point of the week against Costa Rica. Nigel Adkins’ youthful side showed what they were capable of in flashes, but ultimately the current Tranmere Rovers boss departed after a 6-1 hammering at Birmingham City. Steve Clarke took the club to a historic and memorable run to the FA Cup semi-final, but league form still only brought another bottom-six finish.

Euro 2012- 19th Premier League

Reading supporters would have been full of optimism in the summer of 2012 after the Royals roared into the Premier League under Brian McDermott. Suffering four defeats in the first part of 2012, it took just seven top-flight games in 2012/13 to match that. Italy triumphed on penalties in the quarter-final of Euro 2012, while Adkins and Reading were relegated back to the Championship at the end of the following season.

World Cup 2010- 5th Championship

The campaign before the 2010 South Africa World Cup was a tale of two halves, with Brendan Rodgers unable to follow in Steve Coppell’s giant footsteps before Brian McDermott arrived and took the club into the top 10 and an FA Cup quarter-final. Fabio Capello’s only major tournament saw a heavy 4-1 Germany defeat in the Round of 16. Upon the return to club football, McDermott built on an impressive start and took the club into the play-off final and a first appearance at the new Wembley, as well as a successive FA Cup quarter-final appearance. England fans are only accustomed to disappointment, and so are Royals fans when it comes to play-off finals, this time Swansea City the victor.

Euro 2008 DNQ- 4th in Championship

England, managed by ‘the Wally with the Brolly’ failed to qualify for the 2008 European Championships, sending shockwaves through English football. For Reading, fresh from relegation to the Championship, an immediate return looked nailed on based on their early season form. A hideous run after Christmas consigned Coppell to the play-offs and Burnley ended any hopes of a bounce-back with a semi-final victory.

World Cup 2006- 8th Premier League

2006, what a summer to be alive. England, in all their ‘Golden Generation’ pomp, suffered penalty shootout heartache at the World Cup in Germany. But, for Royals fans, it was one full of joy and celebration. After more than a century in the lower tiers, Steve Coppell and his side romped to the Championship title with a record number of points. The journey didn’t end there, finishing the 2006/07 in a club-record high of eighth place in the Premier League.

Euro 2004- 7th Championship

With another major tournament appearance for the ‘Golden Generation’ and another penalty shootout exit, Reading were looking to build on a credible ninth-place finish in Coppell’s first full season in charge during 2004/05. Still with a chance of qualifying for the playoffs by the final day, a 3-1 defeat at promoted Wigan Athletic left the club in seventh place. In hindsight, Reading supporters would not be left disappointed for long.

World Cup 2002- 4th Championship

Sven Goran-Eriksen’s first tournament, out in South Korea and Japan, saw a star-studded Brazil knock England out en route to another World Cup win. Upon return, Alan Pardew’s newly promoted team took to the second tier like a duck to water and kept the feel-good factor going after final-day promotion at the end of 2001/02. Wolverhampton Wanderers- with future Reading coaches Alex Rae and Paul Ince lining up in midfield- beat the Royals in the semi-final and went on to earn promotion at the expense of Sheffield United.

Euro 2000- 3rd League One

England legend Kevin Keegan oversaw Euro 2000, but the side flattered to deceive in a group stage exit. Meanwhile, 11th and 10th in what is now called League One was not the level Sir John Madejski had hoped to be breaking his new stadium in with, but the season immediately following Euro 2000 was much more like it. Finishing third and dramatically squeezing past Wigan Athletic in the play-off semi-final, Walsall awaited Pardew and Co. in Cardiff. Vastly superior off the field, with blue and white dominating the Millennium Stadium, the Saddlers did the business on the field to consign Reading to another third-tier campaign- but only for an extra 12 months.

World Cup 1998- 11th League One

Reading fans couldn’t have gone into the 1998 World Cup in much more of a bad mood after saying goodbye to the beloved Elm Park with a bottom-place finish in the second tier, meaning the brand-new Madejski Stadium will start life as a lower league ground. David Beckham, Argentina, and a penalty shootout exit hardly made up for the struggles of 1997/98, but 1998/99 should have dawned a new era for the club in new surroundings. Reading won 10 league games in their new home and just about managed to finish in the top half.

World Cup 1966- 4th League One

For a point of comparison to the only time England have proved successful at a major tournament, the third-tier Royals (Biscuitmen) jumped from eighth in 1965/66 to fourth in 1966/67 but still were unable to escape the division until relegation to Division Four in 1970. It would take until 1986/87 for the club to escape the lower leagues, and even that was only all too brief.