Three years ago Mason Mount, Phil Foden and Ryan Sessegnon travelled to Russia on a sponsor's junket to watch England face Tunisia and do some sightseeing. Looking back at the pictures now, on the eve of his tournament debut, the Chelsea midfielder is struck by how young they all looked.
The trio watched the nervy 2-1 win in Volgograd from the stands, with Harry Kane's 91st-minute penalty kickstarting their run to the last four, and then took in some of Moscow's landmarks before returning home.
Yet the standout moment for Mount may have been bumping into his idol Cesc Fabregas at the BBC's temporary studio in Moscow, where the Spain World Cup winner imparted some wisdom to a star-struck 19-year-old coming off the back of a season on loan at Vitesse.
"I look back at the pictures now and we all look so young," Mount said yesterday. "I remember we were walking around the [BBC] set and we did a little interview with Shearer and Lineker, I think it was, and we actually stumbled across Fabregas, Cesc, and we had a little chat.
"He actually remembered me from training at Chelsea and, yeah, we know he's an absolute legend with what he's done in the sport. For us to have a little chat with him and Lineker and Shearer as well, it was special to be around those people and learn little bits from them. It was a special trip and we all very enjoyed it."
Fast forward to now and Mount will seek to emulate two other former Chelsea players by following up Champions League success with a European Championship. Juan Mata and Fernando Torres completed that rare double in 2012 and Mount is cautiously optimistic about the de facto hosts' chances in the next month.
"It’s a very rare occurrence that, but obviously I remember that Spain team and how dominant they were at that time," he said. "We can always look forward and hope that this could happen.
"Obviously knowing the history, we've never won a Euros before so, for us, we're a team that's very hungry to want to do that. We want to create history that no-one has ever done before and I feel like with this group, with this young group, we can definitely do that and we know what we can do.
"We know the level of players we have in this group and how together we are, and how hungry we are to create history, so we've just got to go and perform on the pitch now."
Mount has been speaking a lot in recent months, a go to figure for club and country on as well as off the pitch, but there is still an evident gratefulness that comes across when he is asked to describe his ascent to one of the world's top young players alongside a number of childhood friends.
Not that he is a young man for deep reflection.
"Yes, you do [have to pinch yourself]," he added. "Especially me, I don’t give myself time to look back. I always try to stay in the here and now and look forwards to not get stuck in the moment.
"I always try to enjoy it but the journey we have been on is unbelievable and where we are right now, we are all so excited and looking forward to what’s coming up. For us to come through together and be here now is special and it is something that we do talk about now and again."
