As soon as the World Cup draw was completed in Washington DC last December, the date went into the diary, circled in bold by every England fan that hoped to travel, and millions more who knew they would not.
Sunday 5 July, Mexico City.
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If everything went to plan and Thomas Tuchel's team topped Group L and won their last-32 tie, they would be going to the Azteca Stadium for the last 16.
There was another element in play. If Mexico won their group and advanced in the last 32, they would provide the opposition.
England to play a critical knockout tie against one of the host nations in their back yard.
It is a back yard where Mexico boast a fearsome record, where they feel close to invincible, owing in part to it being about 2,240 metres above sea level.
The altitude can spin the heads of opposing players, burn their lungs. It does not affect Mexico.
Then there is the atmosphere created by the 80,824 fanatics that pack it out.
Not until you have experienced a World Cup game involving Mexico at the Azteca.
For England, it is now gloriously real, the ultimate bucket-list fixture set up when they beat the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on Wednesday in Atlanta – the day after Mexico had swept past Ecuador on a thunderous night at the Azteca, when the party throbbed until the next morning.
