England’s World Cup campaign comes to an end this afternoon when they take on Belgium in the third-place play-off in St Petersburg. Gareth Southgate’s side have achieved more than most supporters thought possible by making the semi-finals, but were ultimately found wanting as they lost to Croatia. Chief Sports Writer Scott Wilson highlights some causes for long-term optimism, and some reasons why it might be wrong to get too carried away

HOPE FOR THE FUTURE

1 THE NATION HAS FALLEN BACK IN LOVE WITH THE ENGLAND TEAM

Forget the results in Russia, the England’s team biggest success over the last four weeks has been the rebuilding of the relationship between the players in the national team and the rest of the country.

For much of the last decade, the England team has been regarded as both an embarrassment and an irrelevance. Not anymore. From the packed fan parks up and down the country to the refrains of “Football’s Coming Home” that have been ringing out loud and clear, the nation has been desperate to express its support.

That will be important over the next few years, and is largely a result of the way in which Gareth Southgate and his players have gone out of their way to be approachable, humble and modest.

Whether it is their astute use of social media or the way in which they have spent up to half-an-hour applauding the travelling supporters at the end of each game, the England camp have won the country’s respect and love. Long may that relationship continue.

2 A YOUNG TEAM SHOULD ONLY GET BETTER

This was the youngest squad England has ever sent to a World Cup finals, and there is every reason to assume most of the players involved will still be around for the next Euros in 2020 and the next World Cup in Qatar in 2022.

Jordan Pickford will hope to start both tournaments, and the likes of Kieran Trippier, John Stones, Eric Dier, Dele Alli, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Jesse Lingard and Raheem Sterling should still be approaching their peak in four years’ time.

Harry Kane will still only be 28, and with four more years of working together under their belt, the current squad will hopefully be even better-honed when they return to the major tournament stage.

In 2010, a young German squad reached the World Cup semi-finals, suffering a narrow defeat to Spain. Four years later, they were crowned world champions after triumphing in Brazil. That also has to be England’s aim.

3 MORE YOUNG PLAYERS WILL BE COMING THROUGH

While the current squad should be even stronger in four years’ time, there is also a crop of English youngsters that will harbour realistic ambitions of being involved in Qatar.

England’s youth teams have achieved considerable success in the last few years, with the Under-21s winning three consecutive Toulon Tournaments and the Under-20s being crowned world champions. Hopefully, it will not be too long before some of the players involved in those teams make it onto the senior stage.

Ryan Sessegnon could be involved in this autumn’s Nations League programme, and the Fulham youngster looks ideally suited to the left wing-back role filled by Ashley Young in Russia.

Manchester City midfielder Phil Foden (21) is another hugely-exciting prospect who should be knocking on the door of the senior squad in the next couple of years, along with Mason Mount (23), Jadon Sancho (22) and Rhian Brewster (22).

4 GARETH SOUTHGATE WILL STILL BE IN CHARGE

After years of operating a revolving-door policy when it came to appointing the England manager, the Football Association have finally found someone who deserves the chance to build a long-term legacy.

Southgate has been fabulous since taking over from Sam Allardyce at the start of the last qualifying cycle, and his astute and incisive management has been a key factor in England’s success in Russia.

His man-management skills have been exemplary, he displayed tactical boldness in switching to a three-man defence and he has stuck by his principles in the most pressurised environment of all.

He has also been a true figurehead for football in this country, inspiring players and supporters alike and restoring some much-needed pride in the national team. Instead of the usual chaos that follows a major tournament, English football can look forward to some welcome stability in the next few years.

5 THE PENALTY HOODOO HAS FINALLY BEEN BANISHED

Don’t underestimate the importance of what happened against Colombia. For far too long now, England have gone into major tournaments with their horrendous penalty shoot-out record hanging like a noose around their neck.

By treating penalty shoot-outs as a test of skill and nerve rather than a lottery, Southgate has engineered a complete change of mind-set in the national psyche. Hopefully, his change of approach will have a long-lasting effect.

It would now be nonsensical for a future England manager to claim there was no use practising penalties because it was impossible to replicate the pressure-cooker environment of a competitive shoot-out. Southgate has proved that is nonsense.

Future England teams will also no longer be weighed down by the failures of the past. Having seen off Colombia, England will head into their next penalty shoot-out on a winning run. Psychologically, that has to count for something.

WHY IT WOULD BE WRONG TO GET TOO CARRIED AWAY

1 LACK OF A BALL-PLAYING MIDFIELDER

There were a number of factors behind England’s semi-final defeat on Wednesday, but perhaps the most significant was the way in which Luka Modric was able to completely dictate the play for the majority of the second half.

With his side in danger of going under, Modric took control of the situation by getting on the ball at the heart of midfield and thrusting his Croatian team-mates onto the front foot with a series of deft touches and slide-rule passes.

England simply do not have that type of player. Jordan Henderson and Eric Dier can perform a defensive role, while Raheem Sterling, Jesse Lingard and Dele Alli buzz around in attack, but while the best international teams tend to have a playmaker, England are currently devoid of options in that department.

Some will claim Jack Wilshere could have made a difference, but the newly-signed West Ham midfielder rang out of lives on the international stage a long time ago. Perhaps Phil Foden will develop quickly enough to perform the role at the next World Cup? Until then, Southgate will continue to have to make do and mend.

2 WE MIGHT NEVER GET A BETTER RUN TO A FINAL

An especially harsh assessment of England’s World Cup campaign would conclude that they exited as soon as they came up against anyone half-decent. That’s probably a bit unfair, but there’s also a kernel of truth to the argument.

England needed a last-minute winner to beat a fairly average Tunisian side, then thrashed Panama, easily the worst team on display in Russia. The Belgium group game was a dead rubber, then England couldn’t get past Colombia over 120 minutes.

Sweden was probably the most complete performance, and the Swedes have achieved some notable results over the last couple of years. However, it would still be stretching it to suggest they are a truly top-class international side.

By landing in the ‘weak’ half of the draw, England had a golden opportunity to make their first major final since 1966. It could be quite a while before a similar chance comes round again.

3 IT IS STILL HARD FOR YOUNG ENGLISH PLAYERS TO GET A GAME

While there might be plenty of excitement about the youngsters in England’s various age-group teams, it still remains to be seen whether they are able to get the kind of senior experience they need before they can realistically be considered for a senior cap.

Even within the current squad, Marcus Rashford spent most of last season kicking his heels with Manchester United and Ruben Loftus-Cheek had to go on loan to Crystal Palace because he had little or no chance of playing senior football with Chelsea.

Tammy Abraham was in contention for a squad place before he was also loaned out from Stamford Bridge, so while Phil Foden (Manchester City), Rhian Brewster (Liverpool) and Mason Mount (Chelsea) might be talented prospects, is there really much chance of them getting a chance with their current employers over the next couple of years?

Increasingly, English youngsters are starting to look abroad in an attempt to secure regular first-team football in a top division. That trend is to be applauded, but it will not help Southgate’s cause if the top half of the Premier League remains a closed shop.

4 A QATARI WORLD CUP WILL PRESENT PROBLEMS

In two years’ time, the semi-finals and final of the European Championship will be played at Wembley. If England qualify, there is also a chance they will be able to play some of their group games at the national stadium, so Euro 2020 looks an inviting opportunity.

The next World Cup, two years later, however, is a completely different proposition. It will be played in sky-high temperatures in Qatar, with conditions likely to prove especially challenging for anyone used to playing in a European climate.

It will also be staged in the winter, which will cause problems for English players going straight into the tournament off the back of a gruelling two or three months of Premier League competition.

Other countries are already talking about giving their players a complete break in the month or so leading up to the next World Cup – it is fanciful to imagine Premier League clubs agreeing to that, even if the FA was to propose it.

5 AN OVER-RELIANCE ON HARRY KANE IN ATTACK

Barring a remarkable turn of events over the last couple of days, Harry Kane will finish the World Cup with the Golden Boot. Yes, three of his six goals were penalties and another deflected in off his boot, but he can justifiably claim to be one of the leading strikers in world football.

He will continue to be a hugely important player for England in the next four years, but there has to be a risk that there will be too great a reliance on Kane. At the moment, if he fails to fire, it is hard to see where too many goals are going to come from.

Rashford’s development has been stunted at Manchester United, while Jamie Vardy will be 33 at the time of the next Euros and 35 by the time the next World Cup comes around. His international career is surely at an end.

Brewster is a promising attacking prospect, but will he be ready to feature at the Euros in two years’ time? It is probably unlikely, so England will have to hope Kane retains his fitness and form in the next couple of seasons.