A golden generation is something that happens often in the world of soccer. By often, I mean that every five or so years a country’s collection of talent comes together in a perfect storm of events — talent on every level, a dynamic play-maker or two, and ages falling just perfectly into competition timelines, with seemingly everything going just right.
These generations typically coincide with new heights reached for a country or revisited as this collection is successful in major tournaments for a solid stretch of time. Think Spain winning three consecutive titles: two UEFA European Championships (2008 and 2012) and the 2010 FIFA World Cup.