One of the more surprising stories of recent days has been the news that Wayne Rooney is poised to be named in the England squad for the upcoming friendly against the USA at Wembley, handing the Three Lions' record goalscorer the chance of a 120th cap and of a final farewell to England supporters.
Much of the reaction has been focused on whether making such a gesture devalues the awarding of England caps and how much of the decision was Gareth Southgate’s rather than the FA's.
Dropping Rooney from the squad was the first big call of Gareth Southgate’s England reign, the first sign that this was somebody prepared to do things differently.
Making the decision to hand him a sentimental farewell in some ways actually shows the strength of Southgate's position further down the line on the back of the World Cup, the victory in Spain and the introduction of a host of talented young players to the squad.
It must be assumed that the manager has had the final say on this decision although the news has led to the first adverse publicity that Southgate has faced in the past year, at a time when the national team's stock is high, and it will surely dominate the press conference when the squad is formally announced.
If it does 'devalue' the USA match, however, then that only highlights the difference that now exists between friendly games and those in the new Nations League competition.
Even if Rooney was not in the squad (and he remains someone playing at a decent level of football and who has been in good form for his club recently) then England would still have made a raft of substitutions in the second-half at Wembley, reducing the game to an exhibition in many ways.
It's an unusual situation for English football to find itself in, other countries having used this kind of send-off in the past, and a tough one to call as to whether it falls on the wrong side of the line on balancing football and sentimentality.