The raw emotion of having failed to clear the final hurdle (or semi-final hurdle) against Croatia will take a while for England to shake off but the sense of momentum that they generated during their month in Russia has transformed perceptions of the national team around the country.
England's progress in Russia shouldn't be seen as a one-off given the success of the age group teams at a number of levels over the past couple of years and the smoother fluidity between the various teams should mean that Gareth Southgate will be able to keep refreshing his squad over the next two years from the ranks of the Under 21's and hopefully maintain some of the sense of freedom that marked displays at the World Cup.
An upward spiral will hopefully result in a strengthened FA and an easier sell for England's post-World Cup matches and the virtuous circle should then be completed by the introduction of the European Nations League which means more competitive matches and more public interest.
The Nations League will be followed by qualifiers for Euro 2020 before the tournament itself with its experimental format of matches staged across the continent.
UEFA will sell the concept as bringing tournament football to all corners of their kingdom and TV viewers won't notice too much change, perhaps, but for travelling supporters it takes away the chance to experience the feeling of being in a host country over a period of time and perhaps taking in four of five different matches in different cities.
For England however there is the carrot of both the semi-finals and final being played on home soil at Wembley and the chance to turn the promise of Russia 2018 into something even more tangible.