Are we ready for the World Cup? Not the one that should be kicking off about now, a summer-long fiesta of football that we in Europe have become accustomed to ever since Jules Rimet suggested we take a boat trip down to Uruguay in July 1930 to launch some new-fangled global tournament to ascertain the best team in the world. (Naturally, England declined to enter since we were self evidently the best team in the world. As if this French contrivance would catch on anyway!)
No, it's the mid-season November World Cup in Qatar we're talking about. Though to be honest, in Gareth Southgate's timeline in might as well be next week. He has three more games to get it right. Hungary here on Tuesday and then two games against Italy and Germany in September and then two months before we kick a ball again against Iran in the opening game.
Normally a World Cup build-up features two or three warm-up friendlies, in which established players amble about trying not to get injured, players on the fringe dash about frantically trying to impress whilst those of us paid to analyse worry endlessly over what B team's 1-1 draw against Norway will mean for our prospects against France in a semi-final.
In World Cup time, we're at that point, three games away from our opener. So, what's the system Gareth? Why haven't you nailed it down? How can we win the World Cup with this team? Who's the back-up centre forward? Why would you even think of playing five at the back against Iran? In World Cup time, Iran is a couple of weeks away. Yet in real time it's five months, which presents unique challenges.
Still time for Jadon Sancho to start the season well and make the squad or Harry Kane to fracture a metatarsal and have us all fretting on whether he'll be fit for the group stages, assuming we make them. Still time for Jordan Pickford to have a crisis in confidence or Tyrone Mings to announce himself as the go-to centre half as John Stones struggles to get a game at Manchester City.
It was hard to really believe that the World Cup is, figuratively speaking, pretty much right here, right now at a deserted Molineux, our punishment for allowing the Euro 2020 final to descend into an abomination of hooliganism. The few thousands kids allowed in did their bit, cheering enthusiastically, singing the national anthem sweetly – they left out the exhortation not to surrender to the IRA – and booing cheerfully at Italy and, in disappointment, at the end.
It was about as far removed from that bacchanalian summer's evening at Wembley as it was possible to be. Apart from the complete breakdown of law and order, there also featured a fair amount of breathless tension, agonising what-might-have-beens and good portion of extraordinary passion. This wasn't any of that.
'We're at a stage of the season where it is incredibly difficult for the players after two very tough away games and then play with no fans,' said Southgate. 'You're having moments pressing for goal but nothing coming from terraces and opponents don't have pressure of fans behind them.'
Indeed, this felt like a weary finale on which to judge whether Gareth Southgate, the man with the best England record since Sir Alf Ramsey actually Mike Bassett in disguise or is he on the cusp of his own ennoblement.
'We're managing minutes like in pre-season that's incredibly complicated when you'd like to be honing team and fine tuning,' said Southgate. 'We're trying to set out the best possible way to get through these games, learn as much as we can of course with a desire to win.
'But there is a bigger objective at the end of the year as well and what I didn't want to do was to roll out same team because a win might relieve bit of tension of my shoulders but the more important thing is the team and how we progress ahead of World Cup. For me it was really important to see those players and that was important today as the result.'
Some positives first. Aaron Ramsdale looked every inch an able deputy. He may yet challenge Pickford in time, if not before Qatar. His saves Sandro Tonali on 28 minutes and Matteo Passina on 45 minutes were first rate, exuding the lively confidence of a man comfortable in the England shirt. If Pickford should falter, England will survive.
Reece James was good, though such is the proliferation of right backs, it doesn't make a whole lot of difference. Whoever plays in that position, England will be good. And Harry Maguire was fine. Right now, after a wretched season, Maguire will take 'fine' like he would once have seized a man-of-the match award.
The questions, over which we have five months to agonise yet just three games to resolve, are that England ae still cut open far too easily at the back. Thankfully, Italy weren't quite the force they were last summer, starting with just of the starting finalist at Wembley and their finishing was wayward.
But Kieran Trippier is no left back and Ben Chilwell needs to be back from injury soon. England's midfield still doesn't function smoothly whether it's a 3-4-3 or, as it was last night, 4-2-3-1. They are slick going forwards at times – the move where Sterling and Mount combined for the Chelsea player to hit he bar was a fine interchange of ideas and momentum. But they allow too much space for opponents to play in.
They benfitted from wayward Italian finishing though England also good chances, Sterling's miss from five yards on 53 minutes being the most notable. Nor did Tammy Abraham impress. He should have scored when Italy keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma misplaced a pass to him and the Roma striker ended up shooting wide. Jack Grealish was impish but largely ineffective and Jarrod Bowen, when he came on, ran with the enthusiasm of a man playing his third match for England but without guile.
'We do reply on Harry [Kane] and Raheem and this is a concern,' conceded Southgate. 'Harry's goal-scoring s record is phenomenal but we have to spread that load. We have players scoring more regularly with clubs who have to convert that into international football.'
When Kane came on to replace Abraham on 65 minutes, it felt like the cavalry arriving. Except that, on his 61st game of the season and just 11 months from the Euro 2020 final, even Kane has his limits. As do England. They're better than OK. They're reasonably good. They may even put a run together in a tournament. But right now it's hard to judge. Predominantly, they're tired.