As trite as it sounds, Gareth Southgate is already a winner.
Why? Because you can look at a flag of St George being flown and not be wary, for a start.
Let’s face it, there was a time when the flag had been appropriated by extremists.
Indeed, it remains an emblem for their discriminatory views.
You know exactly who I am talking about.
But Southgate and, more crucially, this squad of young men from such diverse backgrounds have made patriotism acceptable again.
They have reclaimed the flag.
It no longer stands for exclusion, it stands for inclusion.
And that is a triumph for Southgate and this squad, just as it is a triumph that international football has reasserted its pre-eminence in the game.
To borrow a phrase from a certain club, THIS - this, final - means more.
Way more.
So when the Premier League has to take a break a couple of weeks into the new season because England need to play a World Cup qualifier in Hungary and take on Andorra at Wembley, there should be no whining, no whingeing.
That Southgate has managed to create a wonderful spirit and bond amongst these players, despite having a limited amount of time to work with them during the club season, is remarkable.
How many millions will be watching tonight and then say international friendlies should be scrapped?
Tell that to these players. The days when going away on England duty was seen as a chore by some are long gone. If you have been amongst the journalists to visit St George’s Park over the past six weeks, that much is wonderfully obvious.
“What a group. One more game,” tweeted Ben Chilwell, who has not played a single minute and spent ten days in pure isolation in the relative isolation of the Hilton hotel at the FA’s Staffordshire outpost.
Conor Coady has also not kicked a competitive ball at Euro 2020 and has had to spend well over a month away from his young family.
On Friday, he told a reporter from Sky that it had been one of the best times of his footballing life.
Now, THAT is what it means to be part of Southgate’s squad.
That is what it means to represent your country.
Will England win the Euro 2020 final? Let us know your predictions in the comments below.
Southgate knows that it is now all about winning. It will be yet another year of hurt if England lose.
He has a fully fit squad of players available to him and, without exception, they all seem to be in very good form.
It is an old chestnut but it is fair to say Southgate and England, on home soil, are unlikely to have another chance quite like this one.
That is why his question to the players on the eve of the biggest match in over half a century of English football was a simple one. What colour medal do you want?
In the immediate aftermath of tonight’s game, there will only be either undiluted euphoria or unbridled desolation.
In the days to follow, there will be no consolation if it is the Italians who take the trophy home.
But after that, there should be.
Because Southgate, Raheem Sterling, Kalvin Phillips, Harry Kane and every single member of this England squad have made it feel good to be English, to be inclusive, to be diverse, to have values on and off the pitch.
They have made it feel good to be patriotic.
They have reclaimed the flag.
Good luck to them tonight.
Do you feel comfortable sporting the Saint George's Cross, do you think football can be inclusive? let us know in the comments section below.
