To hope for the best is one thing. But we British do not like to plan for success. There are good reasons. First, it goes against the national grain. We welcome triumphs, the more effortless the better. But we have tasted too much defeat on foreign fields to plan for victory. We bear the scars of dashed hopes. We know better. Secondly, and more pertinently in most people’s minds, to tempt the sporting gods is to invite inevitable disaster. And so, with wisdom and history on our side, we prepare mentally for the worst.

The instinct of many World Cup dream chasers will thus be to curse the authorities for even thinking of the consequences of an England win, hexing the entire venture, wasting four years of planning and blighting the finest team for generations. We may as well stay at home and avoid the tears.

But these optimistic planners are right. Tens of thousands surprised a defeated England on their return from Italy in 1990. The reception for a victorious team would present unimagined logistical headaches. To cobble something together at the last minute would fail an achievement that grows more likely with each passing day.

Secondly, it is time to call time on the national reticence act. Michael Owen is not superstitious, as he told The Times recently, because he trusts himself to succeed. So should the country. There’s also that other chap, the one with the metatarsal. Alf Ramsey declared with conviction that England would win in 1966. Sven is the first manager since who can do likewise. Besides, psychologically burying expectations is hardly a recipe for success. It didn’t do much good last time. Or the time before. Or the time before that.