England got their Qatar World Cup off to the best possible start with a thumping 6-2 win against Group B rivals Iran.
Tournament debut goals from Liverpool target Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka (2), Raheem Sterling, Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish gave Gareth Southgate's side a dream result that sees the Three Lions top their group after the first round of matches.
They must still go head-to-head with the USA on Friday, November 25 and Wales on Tuesday, November 29, before a route into the knockout stages can be secured, but just who would England need to face in order to make it all the way to the final on December 18?
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Thankfully a passage to the end is already mapped out by the FIFA Group Stage draw, with two possible routes depending on whether England finish top or not.
Should first place in Group B be secured, Southgate's men will face the runners-up of Group A. With host nation Qatar currently looking like the weakest team in that group, a possible last-16 tie against either Ecuador, Senegal or the Netherlands awaits on Sunday, December 4. If England were to finish second in their group, they would still face one of those three sides, unless the Qataris spring a surprise, but on Saturday, December 3.
With England clear favourites to top their group, working on that assumption, they would go into the bottom half of the draw for their first knockout stage match, in what will be classed as 'Match 52'.
If they can overhaul Ecuador, Senegal or the Netherlands they will then face the winners of Match 51 in the quarterfinals and this is where things start to get really tasty.
Match 51 will be contested between the winners of Group D, which includes reigning world champions France, and the runners-up of Group C, which includes Argentina, Poland and Mexico. It means that a quarterfinal clash with Kylian Mbappe and the French could well be on the cards in Match 59 on Saturday, December 10.
Make it to the semi-finals via this route and England would then face the winners of Match 60 on Wednesday, December 14. Possible heavyweights in this part of the draw include Germany, Belgium, Spain and the beaten finalists of four years ago, Croatia.
Should this route plan out as described, duels with five-times champions Brazil, Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal or Darwin Nunez' Uruguay team are only likely to materialise in the final itself. But if England were to finish second in Group B, a semi-final clash against Alisson and Fabinho's Brazil could be back on.
Whichever course England end up on they are likely to run into the tournament's big guns at the quarterfinal stage and it is here where we will learn if the Three Lions have got what it takes to build on the clear progress of their last two major tournaments and go one better in the Middle East.
