Warming up: The Italy squad in training session at Marshal Juzef Pilsudski Stadium in Krakow

The England manager might also be pleased to hear that John Terry would be happy enough to take one, despite what happened in Moscow in 2008. ‘John will step up to the plate,’ said a close friend and, in fairness to Terry, he missed against Manchester United only because he slipped.

There is something else England appear to have developed in the short time Hodgson has been in charge. As it was put to Hodgson, a useful combination of ‘courage, fortitude and discipline’.

‘Whatever level you are playing at, if you don’t possess a lot of the qualities you are talking about you are not going to go very far,’ he said. ‘In this group we wouldn’t have had any chance at all.

‘What you hope, of course, is that you will also be more effective on the  counter-attack than we perhaps were against Ukraine.

‘But I think, in that respect, we were somewhat hampered by the fact that we knew the Sweden score; we knew that a draw would be enough to win us the group. Even if it happens  subconsciously, it does put the brakes on you a bit.’

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