England coach Gareth Southgate's last two tournament near misses were accompanied by criticism of his conservatism in selection but a relatively radical switch to bring in Marcus Rashford and Phil Foden paid off handsomely in Tuesday's 3-0 win over Wales.
Raheem Sterling and Southgate's beloved Bukayo Saka had appeared undroppable in the past couple of years but, in the wake of the shockingly toothless display against the United States, Southgate finally showed he could take decisive action.
Both forwards were benched and in came Rashford and, satisfying the public clamor at home, Foden.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.