England might have conceded a late goal to prevent a badly-needed win, but you wouldn’t have guessed it from some of the reactions within Wembley afterwards. The players were embracing, and this wasn’t consolation. It was conviction, recognition of achievement, and a sense of coming together.
It was the same feeling they’d had in the team hotel just before this stirring 3-3 draw with Germany. There, the senior players organised the sort of meeting that may well come to be seen as a key moment, if England actually do fulfil their potential in Qatar.
