Rio Ferdinand was shaking his head, partly in disbelief but also with a wry smile on his face. A scene was being related to him. Manchester City had just beaten Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in September.
Post match, Mason Mount has bumped into Jack Grealish and Phil Foden and taken the chance to catch up, no doubt chatting about of the summer that was Euro 2020.
The three stood around talking animatedly for five minutes, when Ben Chilwell joined them and was greeted warmly. The quartet kept talking into the evening, looking like any group of mates planning a Saturday night out, just with slightly-more expensive designer washbags than the average pub team.
England manager Gareth Southgate has revealed the X-factor that can help his side succeed
Now imagine Ferdinand having a pleasant post-match chat with Jamie Carragher and Steve Gerrard after Manchester United had lost to Liverpool back in 2006?
Maybe Gary Neville saunters along, eager to join the cheery get-together of England teammates, warmly embracing Carragher and Gerrard? 'No!' says Ferdinand smirking. 'It wouldn't have happened. (But) these guys have a great culture that they've built over years.'
And there, encapsulated in that moment, is the key reason to be hopeful about England, the nub of why Southgate is a fine coach of the national team.
Greatness or not will be judged in Qatar next year, though for some time he likely to be regarded as the best England manager other than Sir Alf Ramsey. (A low bar, perhaps).
The culture Ferdinand speaks about is what Southgate has brought to English football and this is why a nation can be expectant on Monday night when the team completes the formality of beating San Marino and qualifying for Qatar 2022.
'We've always had good players,' said Southgate in the aftermath of the 5-0 first-half crushing of Albania on Friday night. 'I'm not convinced that our players are better than the team in 2004 or 2006 and that sort of period,' he continued, referencing Ferdinand's golden generation.
Indeed, those that argue Southgate has unique riches as his disposal should weigh that statement soberly having considered that Ashley Cole, Sol Campbell, John Terry, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Paul Scholes, David Beckham, Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney played with Ferdinand.
England's Euro '96 side made it the semi-finals of the European Championship on home soil
Ferdinand played with team-mates including David Beckham (left) and Michael Owen who along with the defender were part of a star studded squad in 2006
'I'm not certain we're better than '96 or '98 when I played,' Southgate went on. Indeed.
David Seaman, Stuart Pearce, Tony Adams, Paul Ince, Paul Gascoigne, Alan Shearer, Teddy Sheringham, Steve McManaman. It is decidedly not the case that Southgate's generation are the first group of extremely talented English footballers since 1966.
'But this group have got a lot of potential and have really blended well as a team,' Southgate added. 'They have formed a very strong bond and the way they have worked for each other has produced some really good performances and exceptional results.'
That is the difference. You can argue that perhaps this squad have more depth than before. Sven Goran Eriksson's golden generation, which would have been thrilled to achieve the results Southgate's team has, did fall away somewhat after the first eleven.
However, this team has ready-made equivalent replacements in every positions other for Harry Kane and possibly Jordan Pickford, though Aaron Ramsdale is making a strong case that even the goalkeeper's loss wouldn't be fatal.
Players from rival clubs like Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham get on well
England players celebrate Harry Maguire's goal against Albania on Friday night
The key reason for trusting Southgate is that England were once a collection of talented individuals thrown together on the pitch. This generation are a genuine team, forged in the crucible of Southgate's England experiences.
Maybe it was the camping trip on Woodbury Common back in 2017 that started all this, though barely any of those who survived the overnight bivouacking with the Royal Marines back then are part of the squad now.
So perhaps it is the shared experience of winning a first penalty shoot-out since 1996 against Colombia on a balmy night in Moscow, or beating Germany in knock-out football for the first time in 55 years and making the nation's first final since 1966.
However he did it, Southgate has discovered the equivalent of English football's alchemy. We don't know if will create gold but he at least seems to have
