Tuesday evening's 1-0 victory against Switzerland ended a run of three straight defeats for Gareth Southgate’s England and the nature of his side's second-half display in Leicester meant that the first international break of the new season ended positively for the Three Lions.
Even though England reached the semi-finals in Russia, regenerating interest in the national team in the process, the first set of international fixtures are always going to have something of an unsatisfying air about them, coming as they do just a few short weeks into the new season.
Nobody is in any kind of rhythm just yet with members of Southgate’s squad alternately either in need of a rest or desperate for more minutes on the pitch after featuring sporadically for their clubs.
In that context the Nations League clash with Spain perhaps came too soon although the value of having a competitive fixture in front of a big crowd (and with restrictions on substitutions) was shown retrospectively when contrasted with the low-key nature of the game against Switzerland.
A more settled pattern should emerge over the next few weeks which will allow the manager more opportunity, perhaps, to add a new face or two for the tough double-header of away games against Spain and a Croatia side smarting from their heavy defeat by the Spanish on Tuesday.
Although the prospect of 'relegation' from the top-tier of the Nations League means taking points from those games is important, this week has merely marked the beginning of preparations for Euro 2020.