Although his appointment as England manager was on an 18-month contract, for Thomas Tuchel and the Football Association it was all about the 2025/26 season and the World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the USA that rounds it off.
It will have seemed a long seven months for Tuchel given he has taken charge of just three, low-key, competitive fixtures that were successfully navigated, only just in the case of minnows Andorra, and a friendly defeat against Senegal that may have been more informative than the other matches.
During those months Tuchel has seen a trio of his former clubs in Bayern Munich, PSG and Chelsea win the Bundesliga, Champions League and World Club Cup respectively but the lack of games and time on the training ground may just be outweighed by the thought that he is set to get a crack at biggest prize of all next summer.
Things start to speed up a little this autumn with five more qualifiers to negotiate in relatively quick succession, including the tough trip to Belgrade early next month that could go a long way towards England booking their place in North America, as well as a Wembley friendly with Wales.
Stay at the top of their qualifying group and Tuchel can start preparing in earnest for the tournament that he has been hired to win.
