The World Cup third-place play-off is the game nobody wants to play but it at least sums up England’s past month and their current position in world football as they look ahead to what comes next.
It is the game for the good but not good enough, and that is probably about right. It sounds a harsh assessment of a team that had made a country dream but it should not be. Those dreams should be regarded as success.
England ultimately fell short of the final but they achieved far more than most had ever imagined and along the way they re-engaged thousands, if not millions, of fans who had fallen out of love with their national team.