For 20 minutes England fans saw the light and the din that had been going around a packed Wembley was replaced by the belief that maybe Gareth Southgate could still be 'The One' after all.
He didn't have to replace the Oracle or Master Yoda, Southgate just made things click in a way that had been missing for matches before hand. "Do or do not, there is no try" Mr Southgate. The pressure ramped up and it took until England had lost everything else to find the spark, belief and confidence that it couldn't get much worse.
The result itself was largely irrelevant, Kai Havertz's late equaliser was more of a smear on Nick Pope's World Cup dreams than it was the squad, and you can pinpoint the moment it all changed.
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In a substitution born from a lot of 'why not' thinking rather than too much tactical tweaking, Southgate stumbled upon a combination that may well have played itself into World Cup favour, and who says rivals can't work together. Gone are the days of bitterness across the international canteen with Rio Ferdinand and Wayne Rooney smirking at Frank Lampard and John Terry behind their Premier League medals.
England haven't been bothered by club allegiances for a while under Southgate, everyone comes under one entity, fans too, and it has helped because the catalyst for the best 20 minutes of football since maybe beating the German's one year ago at Euro 2020 was lit by a 21-year-old who plays in red and a 22-year-old devoutly a Blue.
It was the link-up of England Player of the Year Bukayo Saka and perhaps England's most in-form player, Reece James, that took the game from a miserable way to enter the World Cup to 'hang on, if we get this right then Declan Rice may have been right, maybe we will be good after all.'
In a way that only international football could under Southgate, it got worse before it got better, Havertz produced a stunning goal and it pushed England to express themselves. 'Give the ball to James' was Thomas Tuchel's final tactical advice for Chelsea, do the same for England, folks.
The wingback was given time to roam with Saka going outside and in, moving into space and they were connected. Twelve minutes later, with assists from both of them, England were ahead. The final goal doesn't matter much in the long run, but it might change Southgate's selection for Qatar, and fans think they've found a winning formula.
Here's how Twitter reacted to seeing James and Saka team up:
@SJohnsonSport: Noticeable how good England’s right flank was once Saka came on to combine with James. Would like to see more of that.
@ltarsenal: Saka and Reece James on the right hand side is a thing of beauty
@kieran21529888: Looked so much better when saka came on him and James looked dangerous on the right.
@STU1VENBERG: Saka and James is a dream RHS combo. Both can play inside and on the touchline, elite PnP and a top technical level. It’s a no brainer.
@afcjeffery: Saka and James combination on the RHS just created England’s first open play goal in the tournament, but a certain coach fancies playing the former at LWB
@SVCarbaholic: Saka x Reece James combo looked spicy man. Shame we’ll never get to see that at club level due to their allegiances to their respective clubs
@willreyner: Put Saka on the right next James so he’s not isolated and he bags an assist straight away. Surprise
@minm1nszn: Play a James x Saka RHS at the World Cup and we win it all
@AttantiManoj: Saka RW and Reece James RB will be the best combination for England on the right. Crazy overlap potential
@Anthonylexton: Saka gives James exactly what he misses with Foden. Saka draws attention and gives James space. They have to start together. Surely
@zakprg: James looks so much better with Saka
@gracemarlerx: World Cup all I need to see is Saka and James on the right
@LeshNkoana: If Arteta ever signs Reece James, Bukayo Saka will win the Ballon d'or
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