Having got the job done, in unbeaten but unspectacular style, England now begin the hard work of preparing for next summer’s World Cup.
10 November: World champions Germany come to Wembley for the first of what Gareth Southgate hopes will be a number of high-profile friendlies, designed to test his side much more than their qualifying group did.
Speaking to the official FA website, Southgate said: "The object of qualification is achieved, so it’s about how we go forward now and that process has already started.
"We want to learn a few things and we don’t want to waste an opportunity to do that."
14 November: Hard on the heels of the Germans come the Brazilians as the current favourites to lift the World Cup head to North London.
Brazil have banished some of the memories of their failure on home soil in 2014 with an impressive qualifying campaign in South America.
1 December: The draw for the finals themselves take place in the imposing surroundings of the Kremlin and the planning begins.
For Southgate that means planning for England’s three group stage opponents while the FA and supporters will begin dealing with the logistics of a competition scheduled to be played across vast distances.
19-27 March An international beak in the calendar should mean another pair of testing friendlies for England, possibly against Italy and Holland.
26 May Kiev hosts the final of the Champions League and the promising early signs from English teams in the competition could mean that some of Gareth Southgate’s squad are still involved in club matters before linking up with the national team.
14 June The World Cup kicks off in Moscow’s Luznikhi Stadium as hosts Russia play the opening match of the tournament.
15 July Can we dare to dream that England will still be in the competition as the eyes of the world are on the final of the 2018 World Cup?