England's
2-1 win over Slovakia at Wembley came exactly a year to the day since
the same opponents were beaten in Sam Allardyce's one game in charge of
the national team.
Allardyce - soon to be gone
after only 67 days as manager - spoke about a lucky coin he had been
given by a fan before the game as he basked in the afterglow of his lone
night of triumph.Fast forward 12 months and England, now under Gareth Southgate, need only victory against Slovenia at Wembley on 5 October to confirm a place at next summer's World Cup in Russia.
On this evidence, however, they will need more than a lucky coin to inspire them to any serious impact against the world game's superpowers.
So have England progressed since Allardyce's brief interlude in Trnava? And what major issues does Southgate have to resolve once qualification is assured, as now looks certain?
Have England made real progress?
In the context of World Cup qualification, the answer is 'certainly' - though there were anxious moments when Slovakia were ahead and England's fate was out of their own hands as they trailed for 34 minutes.Their recovery means one more win will take them to Russia and for all their faults, and there are plenty, it is hard to see how they can fashion defeat from certain victory.
Southgate fielded six members of Allardyce's starting line-up in Slovakia - victory then came courtesy of Adam Lallana's 95th-minute winner - but there is still little to excite or suggest huge strides are being made.
Marcus Rashford lifted England out of a morass of mediocrity. The impression lingers that this is a team that pulls through against limited opposition but has very obvious flaws that threaten to be exposed once they face elite opposition.
Progress through the group has been reasonably efficient but thoroughly unspectacular. For all that some of England's players flourish at club level, this is a colourless and largely joyless team.
England's motto could be "job done" - but it is not one that will carry them through if and when they reach the sharp end of the action in Russia.
Southgate's England lack sparkle, although Rashford hinted at an X-factor with his outstanding display, and this was another night of toil in the manner of the win against Malta, when the 4-0 scoreline embroidered a poor display via three goals in the last six minutes against exhausted minnows.
England have time to take more steps in the right direction over the coming months, but increasingly it appears what you see is what you will get with this squad in Russia.
It may seem a harsh verdict on the point of yet another qualification, but history has taught tough lessons about this England team. There is no difficulty in qualifying but facing top-class opposition, or not in the case of Iceland at Euro 2016, rarely ends well in a tournament environment.
Southgate must find a way of compensating for an absence of world-class players in his squad, a tough task for any manager let alone a comparative rookie at this rarefied level.
His side will now surely reach Russia - but it is delving into the realms of fantasy to suggest those such as Germany and Spain, among others, would spend too long worrying about their potential threat.
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