Wayne Rooney has said some of his former England team-mates are jealous at the success Gareth Southgate is having with this team. They should be.
This exciting young team are showing them how it should be done. The likes of Sven Goran Eriksson, Fabio Capello and Roy Hodgson had stronger squads at their disposal but the progress under Southgate has only highlighted how much those England sides underachieved.
Gone are the club rivalries that divided England camps.
When I went away on international duty, the Manchester United players would always sit apart from the rest of the group. Now there is a feeling of togetherness. Southgate’s team are like a club side — every player bursting with pride for each other and the badge.
Players are being picked on form, not reputation.
It doesn’t matter who you play for — if you’re good enough, you have a chance. This approach has allowed Ben Chilwell, Joe Gomez, Ross Barkley and Jadon Sancho to break into a team who reached the World Cup semi-finals.
What pleased me most about Sunday’s win is that it finally put to bed the nonsense that England fluked their way to the last four in Russia.
They have now beaten the World Cup finalists and a strong Spain side away from home.
I am immensely proud of what Southgate has achieved. Wembley was rocking on Sunday. It was probably the best atmosphere the ground has seen since Euro 96.
This side have made the country fall in love with its national team once more.