England are in the last eight of the World Cup after a dramatic victory against Colombia in Moscow on Tuesday evening.
Leading through Harry Kane's penalty, England were pegged back in stoppage time by their South American opponents and then conceded the advantage in the penalty shootout when Jordan Henderson’s kick was saved.
But an amazing turnaround was capped by a great Jordan Pickford save and Eric Dier's winning penalty to set up a quarter-final tie against Sweden on Saturday afternoon.
Overall it was a deserved success for Gareth Southgate's side who controlled the game for 75-80 minutes without creating much in the way of clear-cut chances against a team who opted for niggling and provocation throughout the game until finally showing their qualities when searching for an equaliser.
They looked the more likely in the first period of extra-time but England found some reserves of strength to give it another go in the final 15 minutes.
We will never know, of course, whether winning a penalty shootout for the first ever time at a World Cup was as a result of the work the England backroom team have done with the players or any 'marginal gains' that have accrued.
It may be simply that it was our turn to win one and get the luck that you need but reaching the quarter-finals is something to be celebrated, whatever the opposition faced, and one that provides the headline achievement to back up the FA's overhaul of the whole England set-up over the past five years.