The opposition may not have been much to write home about, yet as the old saying goes: 'You can only beat what is put in front of you.'

To England's credit, they did just that while qualifying for next summer's European Championships, winning all 10 of the encounters, scoring 31 goals and conceding just three in the process.

Yet, what - if anything - does that mean for England's chances at the tournament?

France (twice), Czech Republic, Germany and Spain have all previously taken 100% winning records into the Euros, with varying degrees of success. Here, Sports Mole has assessed how each of them fared.

France (1992)

Having failed to qualify for either Euro 1988 or the 1990 World Cup, the French, under the guidance of Michel Platini, swaggered through a qualifying group that contained Spain and the Czechs. Nine of their 20 goals came courtesy of Jean-Pierre Papin, who at the time was arguably European football's most clincial striker. For good measure, their squad also contained the likes of Eric Cantona, Laurent Blanc and Basile Boli.

Yet, as soon as they arrived in Sweden, the freedom and flair that they had shown in qualifying deserted them. Papin found the net twice, but having gained a credible draw with the hosts first of all, a goalless draw with Graham Taylor's England was followed by a 2-1 defeat at the hands of eventual champions Denmark. It meant a third-placed finish and an early exit for Les Bleus.

Czech Republic (2000)

After they had unexpectedly reached the final of Euro 96, where they were defeated by Germany and Oliver Bierhoff's fortunate golden goal, the Czechs failed to qualify for the next World Cup. But, they recovered during the qualification process for Euro 2000, winning all 10 of their encounters.

With the likes of Pavel Nedved, Karel Poborsky, Patrik Berger and a young Tomas Rosicky in their ranks, Jozef Chovanec's men were tipped to make a big impression at the tournament. However, the luck of the draw went against them, having been put in Group D alongside side co-hosts France, Netherlands and Denmark. Narrow defeats were suffered against the first two of those nations, although they at least bowed out with a 2-0 win against the Danes thanks to a Vladimir Smicer brace.

France (2004)

Having won the World Cup on home soil in 1998 and then the Euros two years later, France were sent crashing back down to earth with a huge bump at the 2002 World Cup. But, to their credit, there was somewhat of a recovery during the qualification period for Euro 2004. Eight wins from as many matches eased Jacques Santini's charges through, thanks mainly to Thierry Henry, David Trezeguet and Sylvain Wiltord, who helped themselves to six goals each.

A dramatic late win over England, plus four points collected from games against Croatia and Switzerland, sent France into the quarter-finals, where they would meet Greece. The French were big favourites, but a 65th-minute header from Angelos Charisteas sent the Greeks into the last four and on their way to causing one of the biggest upsets in the competition's history.

Germany (2012)

German football was revolutionised during the late 1990s and early 2000s, the fruits of which started to truly bare during qualification for Euro 2012. Thirty-four goals were scored during their 10 victories, including six-goal hauls against both Azerbaijan and Austria. They also had the second-leading goalscorer across all the qualification groups - Miroslav Klose, who found the net nine times.

Die Mannschaft were dealt a tough group, but victories over Holland, Portugal and Denmark sent them into the quarter-finals in confident mood. A 4-2 win over Greece in the last eight had pundits tipping Germany as potential champions, but their campaign was ended next time out courtesy of two goals from Italy's Mario Balotelli.

Spain (2012)

While Germany were beating all that was put before them, World and European champions Spain were matching them stride for stride. David Villa was their main marksmen in qualifying, scoring seven goals. Aside from that, the remainder of Spain's 19 goals were shared around the team, with the likes of Fernando Torres, Juan Mata, Alvaro Negredo and Xavi all getting their names on the scoresheet more than once.

As defending champions, Spain were the favourites to win through again in Poland and Ukraine. They certainly lived up to that tag, claiming seven points from nine in the group stages, before going on to reach the final thanks to wins over France and Portugal, the latter of which came on penalties. They saved the best until last, though, as they scored four unanswered goals against the Italians to ensure that La Roja had won the last three major tournaments in a row.