OK, to start with some context and stats.

England have solely misplaced 4 World Cup qualifiers prior to now 30 years.

They’re presently unbeaten in these matches since 2009.

To match, in Europe solely Spain (one) and Germany (three) have misplaced fewer throughout that interval.

Including European Championships, since qualifying for Euro 2004 England have performed 108 qualifiers, successful 84 and dropping solely six. They’ve scored 292 targets and conceded simply 51.

That could be a points-per-game ratio of two.5. In different phrases, if it was a Premier League season over 38 video games, that will yield 95 factors, sufficient to win the title in all however three seasons.

So you’ll assume there could be plenty of good reminiscences – however qualifiers hardly ever produce uncooked pleasure. They’re often the means to an finish. In England’s case an unfulfilled battle to win the World Cup which has eluded the boys’s group since 1966.

England’s first worldwide at Villa Park for 20 years, a 2-0 win on Saturday, led to entrance of hundreds of empty seats as Andorra mounted a injury limitation train within the face of inevitable defeat.

There are outliers, equivalent to captain David Beckham’s sensational last-minute free-kick in opposition to Greece at Outdated Trafford in October 2001 that gave England a 2-2 draw and despatched them to the next summer season’s World Cup in Japan.

And in April 2003 when a shocking full debut from the 17-year-old Wayne Rooney helped England beat Turkey 2-0 in a Euro 2004 qualifier on the Stadium of Gentle in Sunderland.

One searing reminiscence is the ill-fated Euro 2008 qualifier in opposition to Croatia at Wembley in November 2007 when Steve McClaren’s England, needing solely a draw, misplaced 3-2 to a nation who had nothing to play for having already certified.

It was the night time McClaren disregarded goalkeeper Paul Robinson for Scott Carson, the substitute fumbling Niko Kranjcar’s early shot to present Croatia the lead.

This author, contributing to an early iteration of BBC Sport’s dwell textual content commentaries, supplied up these phrases when watching Carson heat up in a Wembley deluge earlier than kick-off.

“As he [Carson] seems dubiously on the penalty areas, he may be considering these are nightmare circumstances for any keeper.”

And certainly they had been.

The Wembley downpour additionally produced the defining picture of McClaren’s time as England supervisor as he sheltered underneath an umbrella, which means he’ll without end be identified in that individual context because the ‘Wally With The Brolly’ – and the label caught by way of a nationwide newspaper headline.