SO in the end, football didn’t come home this summer. Nevertheless, by reaching the World Cup semi-finals in Russia, England overachieved to such an extent that the nation rekindled its love affair with Gareth Southgate’s team.

Maintaining that renewed affection to the next European Championships in 2020 will be the biggest challenge facing Southgate and his players in the next two years.

Ordinarily, qualification for Euro 2020, which will be played in 13 different countries, would begin next month. However, in a major shake-up to the international calendar, UEFA have shelved the traditional qualifying process until next March in order to create the Nations League, a new competition designed to significantly reduce the number of international friendlies.

With teams having already been drawn into three-strong groups that reflect their world ranking, England will spend the autumn tackling home-and-away matches with Spain and Croatia.

The Spain home game comes first, on September 8, with the away game scheduled to take place in Seville in October. England travel to Croatia, their conquerors in the World Cup semi-final, on October 12 for a game that will be staged behind-closed-doors as a punishment for Croatian fans daubing a swastika onto the pitch in 2016, and will host the Croats at Wembley in November.

With places at Euro 2020 at stake, the Nations League acts as a kind of halfway house between friendlies and the more conventional qualifying programme, and by deciding to keep all the top-tier nations together, UEFA have provided England with an opportunity to test themselves against decent opposition in a semi-competitive setting. It will be interesting to see how Southgate’s team fare in the wake of their World Cup heroics.

Was this summer’s tournament proof that England are on the right track, with an exciting crop of youngsters primed to reach their peak at the next two major tournaments? Or was it simply a case of taking advantage of an extremely kind draw?

It was probably a bit of both, and while Southgate is realistic enough to know his side are not the finished article, he will have left Russia reflecting that he is on the right track. As a result, there will be no turning back in the next few months.

The core of the squad is now in place, although there are handful of players who featured in Russia who might find their time has gone.

Ashley Young was England’s first-choice left wing-back this summer, but having recently turned 33, the Manchester United defender could struggle to retain his place for next month’s Spain game.

Ryan Sessegnon is a Premier League player now, and Southgate will surely want to have a look at the Fulham youngster this autumn. Assuming the England boss sticks to his current system, Sessegnon looks tailor-made for the role on the left-hand side.

Gary Cahill will struggle to extend his international career beyond the end of the World Cup finals, and the same could be true of Jamie Vardy, who will be 32 at the turn of the year. That said, however, if Vardy starts the season with a bang with Leicester, Southgate could find it hard to usher him through the exit door.

Aside from Sessesgnon, who else might force their way into the squad? Adam Lallana has always been a Southgate favourite, and if the Liverpool midfielder can prove his fitness and hold down a regular first-team place, he will almost certainly be restored to the fold.

The likes of Tammy Abraham and Lewis Cook were involved with the squad last season, and are likely to be recalled if they perform creditably at club level.

This autumn’s matches will probably come too soon for the likes of Phil Foden and Rhian Brewster, but Southgate may call up 18-year-old Jadon Sancho if the winger continues to blaze a trail with Borussia Dortmund.

Ademola Lookman, who impressed with RB Leipzig while on loan from Everton last season, is another youngster who could be fast-tracked into the senior set-up if he can hold down a starting spot at club level.

Southgate’s primary ambition over the next 12 months will be to continue promoting youth, thereby cementing the pathway from England’s various youth teams to the senior side. The former Middlesbrough manager has placed great stock in the importance of St George’s Park, and this summer’s World Cup success will only have strengthened his resolve to keep reinforcing the importance of a ‘Club England’ ethos.

Success in the Nations League would be a bonus, but in 2020 football really will be coming home, with the semi-finals and final of the Euros being staged at Wembley. That is the next occasion when England will be judged.