53 days on from Euro heartbreak, England are ready to do it all again

With the pain of defeat at the hands of Italy still raw, Gareth Southgate’s side return to action in a bid to kickstart their journey to the next major tournament

England return to action this week (Action Images via Reuters)

53 days on from nearly climbing the mountain, England are ready to do it all again.

Less than two months after nearly, finally bringing football home only to see their hopes dashed in heartbreaking fashion by Italy, the Three Lions' journey to the next major tournament will begin to properly take shape.

Qualifying trips for Qatar 2022 to Hungary and then Poland with a home tilt against Andorra at Wembley in between should go a long way to deciding how easily England's path to next winter is.

And while ideally you would want to ease your way back into competition somewhat with domestic leagues only just back up and running, that isn't an option with both away games coming up on the tricky side.

"I think the two away games this week are both going to be hugely challenging," boss Gareth Southgate said ahead of Thursday's game in Budapest. "They're good teams. They're obviously pivotal games in terms of qualification.

"You can't predict what your hardest games are going to be, but we know that Hungary are a very good side and sit second in the group."

Group I started in serene fashion with a comfortable home win over San Marino before Albania were dispatched on the road before the narrow win over Poland all in March.

Now comes another three-game swing over the next fortnight where the team will hope to pick up where they left off in the summer.

It was a whirlwind ride all the way to the final with wins over Croatia and Czech Republic in the group stages before knockout triumphs over Germany, Ukraine and Denmark.

And while the ending - a penalty shootout defeat at the hands of Italy at Wembley - wasn't part of the plan, the positives gained during that fairytale month will stand this current generation in fine stead.

"The team has gained confidence from what they achieved and the progress they've made, not only this summer, but over the last four years," Southgate added.

"But equally we have to start again. The journey to having the chance of another run like that in a tournament is under way. We have got to be at our very best.

"Mentally it's a good test for us. Away from home, 60,000 fans and a very good team we're playing against."

England lost the Euro 2020 final back in July (Getty Images)

A trip to Hungary isn't the ideal restart for many reasons with Thursday's hosts facing Uefa sanctions for alleged racist and homophobic chanting by their country's fans during the Euros.

Southgate though refused to be drawn on what action his players would take if they received similar abuse this week.

"We always prepare the team for everything really," he added. "We've done that this week, but we know we've had our own issues at home, so we're not really focusing on other countries, we're focusing on ourselves and making sure we get our own things correct.

"I don't think we should speak hypothetically. We know the experience we had before (in Bulgaria), but we're going to Hungary preparing for a game against a crowd that will get behind their team and we're looking forward to the challenge of the match. Everything else is speculation really."

And so starts the journey back to another major tournament. England hope this story finally includes their happy ending.