One of the most abiding memories of the World Cup semi-final in Moscow involved Harry Maguire.
At the end of the 2-1 defeat by Croatia, the Manchester United defender — a Leicester player back then — seemed reluctant to leave the field.
Maguire had only played 11 times for his country. He had come a long way in a short time and was not the only one who didn’t want the journey around Russia to end.
That month did a lot for Maguire, as it did for Gareth Southgate’s England. But looking back, Maguire sees things differently.
Now he sees not just the romance and excitement of it all but also the things England did wrong, mistakes he does not expect to be repeated against Denmark at Wembley on Wednesday night.
Harry Maguire spoke to the media on Monday ahead of England's crunch semi-final clash
The defender is in high spirits after returning to full fitness and scoring against Ukraine
‘I think we are in a much better place,’ said Maguire on Monday. ‘We’ll probably have a little bit more belief going into the Denmark game. We hadn’t been to a semi-final in so long so the belief wasn’t there.
‘Could we have been a little braver in the second half against Croatia? Could we be a little more composed and take the ball when we were leading instead of sitting back and soaking up the pressure?
‘Is that something we could have done better? We have looked at that over the period that’s followed and we are in a better place now. The belief is there this time.’
Maguire understands what that World Cup experience did for English football.
Equally, he understands how this time it is different. The expectation levels have been higher for Euro 2020, something the players have handled on all but the night they drew with Scotland.
England are now back at home, too, and that makes a difference. Maguire said on Monday that the players could hear the rendition of Sweet Caroline that ripped round Wembley before the last-16 win over Germany as they were preparing for the game.
Maguire had made just 11 appearances for England as the team were beaten by Croatia in 2018
Gareth Southgate's England have come a long way since 2018 and are favourites for the Euros
Support and excitement ahead of Wednesday’s semi-final will be at a level unknown since Euro 96 and Maguire is sure England are ready to use that as fuel.
