England braced themselves for a reckoning with the past on Wednesday as they waited to find out their opponents in the Euro 2016 round of 16.
From Group F came the possibility of a reunion with Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal, their tournament foes of Euro 2004 and World Cup 2016, respectively.
Meeting Hungary would have meant unwanted reminisces of Nandor Hidegkuti, Ferenc Puskas and the prospect of another reputation-damaging clash to hark back to their classic mid-1950s meetings.
Austria would have been stretching it for significance, but history buffs would have appreciated the links to distant clashes involving tales of Matthias Sindelar and the "Lion of Vienna" Nat Lofthouse.