According to his goalkeeping coaches at Manchester City, it is his reactions that set Joe Hart apart. Sounds obvious, but there is science in there, too.

Under pressure, it takes him less time than his contemporaries to get his arms up to save a shot. An example of it in this tournament would be his save from Alou Diarra’s header against France. Had Hart been in goal for the Republic of Ireland, they say, Mario Balotelli might not have scored.

‘I can remember Mario watching him in training,’ says Manchester City coach David Platt. ‘He was rattling away in Italian about how good he was, how quick his hands were. Everybody notices it.’

The fast show: Joe Hart makes a sensational stop to deny France's Alou Diarra

In the build-up to England’s match with Italy in Kiev on Sunday, Hart and Balotelli have already been in touch. ‘We’re a goalkeeper and a striker, so usually when we speak it’s stuff you couldn’t print,’ said Hart. ‘Just rubbish arguments in training, really. He’s rubbish, I’m rubbish, stuff like that. But that’s training. Nothing’s won or lost.

‘Now this means something. When we spoke, there was a lot of respect for the game and each other. When he wants to be he’s a cool, normal guy. Unless you know Mario, you definitely don’t know him.’

Balotelli will no doubt be giving his Italy colleagues the lowdown on Hart, but there is one player who will require no briefing. Gigi Buffon, Italy’s goalkeeper, singled out Hart in an interview two years ago.

‘Joe Hart is a great goalkeeper,’ he said. ‘I don’t see any reason why, in five years when Iker Casillas of Spain and I are old men, he can’t be the best in the world. I have watched a lot of him and he really does have all the qualities. I am sure he will be England’s goalkeeper for the next decade and, if Manchester City put the quality of defender in front of him that he deserves, they can be very successful.’

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