Shaking off a difficult build-up, England got the result they needed and the performance they wanted in their Nations League fixture away to Greece on Thursday evening.
The days leading up to the game had seen a number of call-offs from Lee Carsley's original squad, an eyebrow raised at the number of absentees by captain Harry Kane and then the pre-match news that Kane himself had been relegated to the substitutes bench.
But it is promotion that is on the cards now for England after a controlled display that largely silenced a raucous Athens atmosphere, Kane's replacement Ollie Watkins playing a big part in that with an early goal after fine work from Noni Madueke.
Chelsea winger Madueke was dangerous throughout the first-half while Jude Bellingham seemed to relish his role as the key man in an England team shorn of its other major stars.
Greece enjoyed short spells of pressure in both halves, Jordan Pickford making timely saves to keep the visitors in front before England not only sealed the game but leapt above Greece at the top of the table with two more goals.
Bellingham drove through the home defence and saw his shot rebound into the net off the goalkeeper before Curtis Jones' marked an assured debut with a flicked third.
Victory against Ireland on Sunday should seal England's return to the top tier of the Nations League and if Thomas Tuchel was watching he would have enjoyed what he saw from a young Three Lions side.