In England's 5-0 win over Andorra on Saturday night, two overwhelming notions surfaced.
1. Gosh, Phil Foden is the unquestioned future of this Three Lions.
2) If the Manchester City rising star can play Italy at Wembley Stadium, how different will the Euro 2020 final be.
In fact, we could sleep peacefully at night because we knew Thaten probably wouldn't start against the Blues anyway, and if he was selected for the squad, he wouldn't be asked to direct the game in midfield.
But on Saturday, Gareth Southgate handed over england midfield to the 21-year-old for the most gorgeous and inspiring performance we've seen from him while he put on his white shirt.
Foden started the game in midfield with Jesse Lingard and James WardPleus, and his role was evident from the start. Lingard is the shuttler, Ward-Prouss is the nanny, and Foden is the organizer of the deep burial.
It's something we rarely see from this young man, who tends to play on the flanks, behind strikers and even plays the false number nine when City don't have a suitable centre-forward. So it's great to see him catch the ball deeper on the pitch and get the time and space needed to show off his amazing passes.
Occupying the right side of midfield, he wanted to break through such a clumsy defence and liked to knock back standard crosses from the flanks, which required a special kind of pass to catch them off guard.
Foden soon realized that a slightly obliquely long floating pass at the top of Andorra's defense was their weakness, as he picked Ben Chierwell with testers early on. The left-back pulled up his lines, but it was a warning shot from the home team and a crack in the armor that visitors found.
Knowing how to hurt your opponent is one thing, but being able to actually exploit that weakness is a world of difference. Incredibly, Foden has done it time and time again.
In the 18th minute, his England team-mate profited from his majesty. Foden fired a missile at the Andorran line, and Jaden Sancho read it well. The striker took control of the ball and cut back to Chilwell, and this time, the defender made no mistakes.
The host continued to provide him with the time he needed in the middle of the park, and his feet never left the punishment pedal. The Manchester City star rolled up another beauty behind the opposing defender and found Bukayo Saka in space, doubling the Arsenal player's lead after scoring.
Since then, it's been a show about passing, passing and controlling the game. Foden ended the game with a 95 percent pass success rate, including 100 percent of his nine long pass attempts. Simply sensational.
But the exact reason england have stood back for years is their inability to control the game in key matches and dominate midfield battles against stronger teams – which ultimately proves their defeat in euro 2020 finals.
This doesn't necessarily stem from systemic problems, but rather from a lack of players who can compete with the world giants and match them from head to toe. At Foden, England boasted of people who could do it.
He may not be physically intimidating, but he can use his mind and feet to control the speed of the race. He can set the pace for the rest of england's players and, accompanied by the likes of De Klan Rice and Calvin Phillips, he can not only win games for the country, but also dominate them.
Roy Keane likens Foden to American football quarterback Tom Brady for his ability to consistently find his passers, no matter how complicated or clinging to the pass.