Beating France on Saturday would represent so much more than landing a place in the World Cup semi-final.
Seeing off Kylian Mbappe, Oliver Giroud and the stunning defending champions would get us past a generational barrier that so many superb players have failed to get us past. Obviously there’s a long way to go. But this is the major hurdle, both physically and psychological. I've never watched an England team beat a top nation at the knockout stage of a major tournament.
There are so many occasions where we’ve been optimistic and had our hearts broken. I’m thinking about Portugal in 2006, Germany in 2010, Brazil in 2002 and Croatia four years ago. We couldn’t even win a knockout game until Colombia in 2018. Granted we’ve done really well in Qatar and, the first 35 minutes against Senegal apart, we were very impressive against them.
But winning against France will convince our country and our players that we can do it against the very best. Mbappe is frightening. He has scored five of France’s nine goals so far, he is the leading scorer in the tournament and he is breaking records set by the legendary Pele.
As well as Giroud alongside him you have Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele. France are the favourites for the tournament. Many people as see them as perfectly capable of doing what only Brazil and Italy have done in retaining the world title. Beat France and England will fear no-one. Not only that, nobody will be able to have any more questions about Gareth Southgate.
For so long the questions have been there about his ability to affect the big games. They will end with a win on Saturday. He has already managed to forge such a fantastic spirit within the squad. I heard Aaron Ramsdale, James Maddison and Callum Wilson on the radio this week talking about how supportive they were of the team - even though they are not starting games.
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All of them explaining their roles in terms of making sure the first teamers felt enough pressure on their positions that they’d go out and produce their best. They were so supportive of the team. I can’t tell you how hard it is to make sure everyone within a squad is on the same page like that.
But that’s the environment Gareth has created. In some cases he has waited and defied the clamour from some quarters to pick one or two to make sure that they are mature enough mentally to understand what he is trying to do. That’s a big part of why I think they have a great chance.
As for the game itself, I’d think about going into it with five at the back but I think Gareth will stick with the four. He’s committed himself to playing free-flowing football and I don’t think you can change five games into a tournament.
We struggled to initially break teams down but once we’ve done that the quality has shone through and that’s what England fans want to see.
I’ve talked about the players that France have but don’t forget we have Harry Kane who can drop deep and allow Phil Foden and Bukayo Saka to get in behind. We have Jude Bellingham who can pick a pass from anywhere and we have Jordan Henderson who can arrive late in the box.
So I’m expecting a big performance on Saturday and a special game. I’m crossing my fingers that it will be a landmark one.
Qat-ching fire
These are the three players that have impressed me from the group and knockout stages who are still in the tournament.
Jude Bellingham
We know about his quality and in the last few internationals he really did nail down his starting spot. But until it was him or Kalvin Phillips. Now it’s him. He has been incredible. He’s 19, he plays with confidence, no fear and he has an end product I've not seen many times before. He really has taken his game and his price tag to another level.
Goncalo Ramos
I can't tell you the pressure he would have been under to come in and replace Cristiano Ronaldo. If it didn't go well, it would have been his fault and the manager's fault. So to not only play well, but score a hat-trick? Honestly, he's definitely catapulted himself onto the world stage.
Sofyan Amrabat
The way he dominated a Spain midfield of Gavi, Pedri or Busquets, he would have brought himself to the attention of some very big clubs. There are always players who do that at big tournaments; he is definitely one of them.
Watch out for the old guard
Given the explosive impact of Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham, Goncalo Ramos and Phil Foden - I can see why people would see this as the quarter-finals where the torch is handed over to the new generation.
But I reckon Lionel Messi, Neymar and Oliver Giroud will want to strike a blow for the old guard.
All of them have been terrific at this tournament so far. Messi, at 35, was unreal against Poland. Giroud, at 36, has made himself the all-time top scorer for France and Neymar at 30 has returned from injury to score against South Korea. He’ll want to show that he has another World Cup in him and I wouldn’t back against all of them producing something special this weekend.
It will be tough, this is the business end where the stakes are high and the margins are smaller. But it is also where the top players show that they can justify the hype. I can’t wait.
