Gareth Southgate's side produced a determined fightback to defeat Croatia at Wembley on Sunday and swing from potential relegation to Group B of the UEFA Nations League to topping their group ahead of Spain and the Croats.
That means a place in the final four of the new tournament at the end of the current season.
More than that, however, it again shows the huge progress made by Southgate's young side as they had much the better of the game against their World Cup foes before falling behind to a second-half sucker punch.
Just when it seemed that the optimism of the past few weeks was evaporating Engand stuck to their attacking guns and produced not only a Jesse Lingard equaliser but a dramatic winner from captain Harry Kane.
It capped a 2018 for the national team that surpassed the hopes of anyone connected to or working with the group and Southgate said afterwards that being able to share experiences like Sunday's with England's supporters was the highlight of his year.
Both manager and players also paid tribute to the new format introduced by UEFA as it has ensured England's World Cup momentum has been both continued and challenged by the prospect of further matches with top-class opposition rather than low-key friendlies and routine qualification victories.
A place at Euro 2020 still has to be secured, by the traditional route in the first instance but with a fall-back of a guaranteed play-off spot should the unthinkable happen and this bright, energetic and improving squad of players fail to finish in the top two of their qualifying group.