If Thomas Tuchel requires proof there are worse things to be than the Harry Kane team, he need only hear how underwhelming the future looked when an England second string bid farewell to the 2014 World Cup with a desperate 0-0 draw against Costa Rica in Belo Horizonte.
Those were dark times. England’s race was run after defeats in their first two group games in Brazil and the worry for the Football Association was that the humiliations no longer felt like a surprise.
