The writing was on the wall for England and their head coach, Gareth Southgate.
A tournament marked by underwhelming performances was set to end in Gelsenkirchen, with a limp showing against the 45th best team in the world.
But then, Jude Bellingham stirred. In the space of three minutes and 17 seconds, England — and Southgate — were saved.
Was this the moment that changed everything?
England will certainly hope so. They say greatness is forged from adversity, but England were not in difficult circumstances when Bellingham took flight deep into stoppage time.
They were desperate.
(Adam Davy/PA Images via Getty Images)
Trailing 1-0 courtesy of Ivan Schranz’s first-half strike for Slovakia, England were essentially out of time. Six minutes of stoppage time had been added to the end of the match and four and a half of those had already elapsed.
The ball had bounced out for a throw-in on the England right flank. Desperate times called for desperate measures. For much of this tournament, England have laboured on the ball, lacking a clear playing identity. But all of that talk was irrelevant now. They just needed to find something, somehow, from somewhere.
So they resort to a good, old-fashioned long throw. One footballer chucking the ball with all his strength into the box with his hands, hoping for the best.
Kyle Walker was England’s honorary Rory Delap — a former Ireland international who made his name with a bullet throw for Stoke City in the 2000s — although he lacked Delap’s legendary distance.
His throw into the box would only just reach the six-yard box. England had seven players waiting in the penalty area, hoping it would land kindly.
It is defender Marc Guehi who makes the all-important first contact. He is being marked tightly, but his header turns a sub-par long throw into a good one. The flick-on keeps the attack alive.
Waiting around the six-yard box is first Ivan Toney, who is shielding another Slovakian marker, Norbert Gyomber. In doing so, he leaves space.
Bellingham then drifts away from his marker, Denis Vavro, as if guided by the hands of fate.
He takes that open space and the ball arrives slightly behind him…