Gareth Southgate's England players were enjoying themselves early on against Montenegro - but Raheem Sterling was forced to watch the fun from the Wembley Stadium stands.
Manchester City star Sterling was dropped by Southgate for Thursday night's Euro 2020 qualifier against Montenegro following a bust-up with Liverpool's Joe Gomez at England's St George's Park headquarters.
The pair clashed during Liverpool's 3-1 win over Man City at Anfield last Sunday, and tempers flared once again after Sterling and Gomez had joined up for international duty.
Southgate's decision to drop Sterling on Monday night has divided opinion - including, Standard Sport understands, among the England squad - but Sterling has made both public and private apologies and wants to move forward.
England raced into a five-goal first-half lead against Montenegro and, while they did not need Sterling's quality on the pitch, the forward may have rued missing out on the chance to bag a few more international goals as Harry Kane hit a hat-trick.
While Southgate feels it may have caused a temporary rift in his relationship with Sterling, he insists he is ready to restore one of his key men in the final qualifier in Prishtina on Sunday.
"Yes," Southgate replied when asked if he would be ready to turn to Sterling in Kosovo. "Without knowing what might happen in tomorrow's game and everything else, but I can see it."
Asked if he had any hesitation in making such a decision, he added: "None, none whatsoever.
"As I have said, we take the decision and drew a line under everything. We move forward now, the way he's trained has been exemplary, so that's it."
Additional reporting by PA.
