England's Euro 2024 campaign began with Jude Bellingham scoring a diving header and doing a 'wolf' celebration with Trent Alexander-Arnold, in homage to the role-playing game they have taken to at their base camp. Before long, though, the euphoric mood among the team was replaced by a bunker mentality, an 'us and them' situation following the draws against Denmark and Slovenia, as criticism, a lot of it justified although some crossing the line, rained down on the players and Gareth Southgate.
Had England crashed out against Slovakia in the last 16, as they very nearly did, then this campaign would have gone down as one of the biggest disappointments in the national team's tournament history, filed alongside the group-stage exits of Euro '88 and '92, and the more recent last-16 elimination by Iceland.
But a forceful long throw from Kyle Walker and a stupendous bicycle kick from Jude Bellingham saved England from the abyss and a new, far happier story is being written in its place. England are on their way to the European Championship final in Berlin in pursuit of a first trophy since 1966, fans are taking out loans to join them there, forking out thousands of pounds on flights or embarking on 20-hour road trips.
There is even talk of Gareth Southgate staying on, an unthinkable scenario just two weeks ago, when a handful of disgruntled fans were throwing beer cups at the manager. All is forgiven and there is a harmonious spirit as England prepare to take on Spain with immortality beckoning.