Lee Carsley's first game as the interim head coach of the England senior team ended in a comfortable 2-0 against the Republic of Ireland in Dublin on Saturday.
Carsley was reminded on the morning of the match of how the England job can be about more than results on the pitch, as newspaper headlines made much of his declaration that he would not sing the national anthem, but, more importantly, his selection calls all proved successful.
He handed starts to Jack Grealish and Harry Maguire after they missed out on the Euros in the summer, also naming Anthony Gordon in his first XI after the Newcastle man had barely featured during the tournament.
Trent Alexander-Arnold began the game in the right-back position and his searching through ball set Gordon away for the opportunity that eventually resulted in England's opening goal, Declan Rice pouncing on a loose ball in the penalty area to sweep home.
Rice, who had previously represented Ireland, didn't celebrate his strike but Grealish, enjoying both a free role and the pantomime villain status of the Dublin crowd, had no qualms in enjoying his fine low shot that made it 2-0.
England could have had more before the break, before a number of substitutions, including senior debuts for Angel Gomes and Morgan Gibbs-White, and a changed Ireland shape saw a quieter, more even second-half.
Harry Kane, who missed a good early chance, can now look forward to winning his 100th cap against Finland on Tuesday as England return to Wembley and look to make it six points out of six towards their autumn objective of a return to the top group of the Nations League.