On July 11, 2021 the treatment of Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho from racists among their own England fans shamed this country after the Euros.
Seventeen months on Saka has shown just how much he has benefited from the support of Gareth Southgate, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta and the majority of the Three Lions fanbase.
How fitting that he and Rashford - along with another two Black players in Raheem Sterling and Jude Bellingham - would score in England’s very next game in a major tournament to get our World Cup campaign off to such an explosive start. Supporters across the land put tribal loyalties to one side last year to wrap a collective arm around Saka, Rashford and Sancho.
The abuse they endured - for missing European Championship Final penalties against Italy - was an ugly mirror reflection of a side to a section of England supporters that some would have you believe was a thing of the past.
It sparked a much-needed period of introspection that the country needed at the time, much less English football. It was to their credit that none of the England players shied away from speaking about their treatment. Most of them have since grown as men as well as players.
Sancho’s dip in form is down to his move from Dortmund and the chaos at Manchester United. But there is nothing wrong with his belief.
None of them will be carried away by this. Last year’s abuse was a chastening reminder that they may always remain a missed penalty away from joy and optimism melting into hate and vitriol.
Yet all of them represent England 2022. A rich mix of cultural confidence and quality, led by a manager in Southgate who has set a new standard in running the national team.
His successor will have to have the awareness and the words to stand by his men in times of adversity as Southgate did last year in that shocking period after the Euros.
Even before then when the risible Boris Johnson and his then-Home Secretary defended the right of critics to boo England players taking the knee in the fight against racial injustice.
No doubt Rishi Sunak will jump on the bandwagon after this stunning win over Iran but the England players - all of them - have seen it all before and will be focused on their jobs. They've made their own statement in this match. Now they are ready to write a new chapter in England’s football history.
