Gareth Southgate's trip to Madrid was rushed. A delayed flight out of Heathrow on Saturday and a quick return on Sunday morning to prepare for the Nations League which begins in a few days.
Short-term, a Champions League final with seven English starters and eight more on the bench wasn't ideal preparation for an international clash against Holland on Thursday.
But long-term, having so many Lions involved in the world's biggest club game is another significant step for English football 12 months after a groundbreaking World Cup semi-final.
Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson was one of 10 English players in Champions League final
Before last night, no English player had lifted the Champions League since 2012, a drought which exposed the lack of experience our players have gained at the highest level.
Yet the times are a changin'. Jurgen Klopp had no qualms giving the Liverpool captain's armband to Jordan Henderson and put his faith in 20-year-old local lad Trent Alexander-Arnold, possibly aware that no Liverpool team had ever won the European Cup without having a Scouser in the side.
Tottenham's Mauricio Pochettino was even more "patriotic", selecting Harry Kane, Harry Winks, Kieran Trippier, Danny Rose and Dele Alli to start.
Tottenham including five English players in their starting line-up, including midfielder Dele Alli
Five Englishmen, all of whom bar Winks went to the World Cup last summer.
Putting British political turmoil to one side, English football is at the heart of Europe like never before, and not just on the pitch. Seventy thousand "migrants" from London and Liverpool travelled by planes, trains and automobiles, many without match tickets, to give Madrid a distinctively St George's feel under a blazing hot sun.
Spain and Germany have provided both finalists in the past decade but this was England's turn, the first all-Premier League clash since the only other one, Manchester United-Chelsea in 2008.
Why the revival now? It's been a feature of Klopp and Pochettino's time that they believe homegrown players have the talent and match intelligence to work alongside the world's best like Mo Salah and Christian Eriksen.
Strangely, this final was the ultimate
