Frank Lampard believes England's "fearless" youngsters can make an impact at Euro 2016 and says Dele Alli "really stands out" among Roy Hodgson's new generation of players.
Hodgson's squad are the second youngest in France with an average age of 25.39 years and Tottenham Hotspur duo Alli, 20, and Harry Kane, 22, alongside Manchester United's Marcus Rashford, 18, are the among England's vibrant young players entering the tournament on the back of impressive Premier League seasons.
Former Chelsea star Lampard -- who amassed 104 international caps and five major tournaments during his international career -- is impressed by England's new generation.
"It's a different level of player that we're seeing emerge now -- more technically gifted, I would say, and more intelligent on the ball," the New York City FC midfielder told The Times.
"Dele Alli excites me a lot. He's a goal-scoring midfielder but he's a different type of player to me. I've been so impressed by the season he has had for Tottenham. For me, he's the one who really stands out. He's straight in there in the starting XI.
"I'm a big Harry Kane fan. If you have only one up front, then for me it's Harry Kane. He's a fantastic all-round centre-forward, probably the first we've had of that particular type since Alan Shearer.
"I really like Rashford. He's the kind of striker England have been looking for a while. I like his movement, his ability. In everything he does -- on and off the ball -- he's always looking to get beyond the opposition defence. Like a lot of them, he plays without fear."
Lampard sees comparisons between the current squad and the team, led by a teenage Wayne Rooney, that lost to Portugal on penalties in the quarterfinals of Euro 2004 -- but he believes Alli and co. should aim to go one better.
"Some people talk about the number of young players in this squad as if it's a bad thing, but on a personal note, I found my first tournament -- Euro 2004 -- was my best as an England player," he said.
"I had just come off the back of a really good season at Chelsea and I had just managed to squeeze into the squad late on. Quite a few other players were in a similar position going into that tournament, where it's all new and it's all fresh and there's no fear or apprehension whatsoever...we just felt we could take anyone on.
"I thought the fear thing was spoken about too much after [then-England manager] Fabio Capello mentioned it, but I think it probably did become a bit of an issue for England for a time, whereas I look at this squad now and there's a real fearlessness in it. Dele Alli -- I don't see any fear there.
"I keep hearing people saying quarter-finals will be OK for us, but I don't want to say that. I think we can make the semi-finals if things go for us. For a developing team, that would be great."
England enter Euro 2016 on the back of ten straight victories in qualifying -- the only nation to boast a 100 percent record -- but there was a time, after the failure at World Cup 2014, when Lampard and Hodgson feared for England's hopes of making the tournament.
Lampard revealed the England boss asked him and Steven Gerrard to prolong their international careers to help guide the new generation of players through qualification.
"I had a conversation with Roy -- and I know Stevie did as well -- where he wanted us to carry on," Lampard said.
"There was a game coming up in Switzerland, at the start of the qualifiers, and Roy wasn't sure quite how the transition would go with the younger players, so ideally he wanted some experience in there.
"I thought about it, I really did, but I was going to be joining New York City, I had just signed a short-term deal with Manchester City and international breaks were going to be my only real opportunity to see my family.
"It was difficult for me at the time, because I had always taken great pride in playing for my country. I had to decline, the same as Stevie, because it felt like I had had my time playing for England and it was time to let others come through, but I did worry about where those young players were going to come from, particularly in midfield."