Here we go then. Deep breath: England are heading to a major tournament looking entirely competent.

Since Gareth Southgate took over England have played 18 matches, winning 10, drawing six and losing two. There are some reasons to be pessimistic, like the fact England have played all of the big four – Spain, Brazil, France and Germany twice – and haven’t beaten any of them. But then again they won their group comfortably, and now carry an uncanny resemblance to a team with cohesion.

Now the preparation is over and the tournament is nearly upon us, here is a detailed look at how and why Southgate has shaped his England team in the way he has, and what we can expect in Russia.

England 23-man Nations League squad Show all 23 1 /23 England 23-man Nations League squad England 23-man Nations League squad Jordan Pickford Club: Everton

Getty England 23-man Nations League squad Jack Butland Club: Stoke City

Getty England 23-man Nations League squad Alex McCarthy LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - AUGUST 18: Alex McCarthy of Southampton during the Premier League match between Everton FC and Southampton FC at Goodison Park on August 18, 2018 in Liverpool, United Kingdom. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images) Getty Images England 23-man Nations League squad Kyle Walker Club: Manchester City

Getty England 23-man Nations League squad Danny Rose Club: Tottenham Hotspur

Getty England 23-man Nations League squad Trent Alexander-Arnold Club: Liverpool

Getty England 23-man Nations League squad Kieran Trippier Club: Tottenham Hotspur

Getty England 23-man Nations League squad Luke Shaw Club: Manchester United

Getty Images England 23-man Nations League squad Joe Gomez Club: Liverpool

AFP/Getty Images England 23-man Nations League squad John Stones Club: Manchester City

Getty England 23-man Nations League squad Harry Maguire Club:Leicester City

Getty England 23-man Nations League squad James Tarkowski Club: Burnley

Getty England 23-man Nations League squad Dele Alli Club: Tottenham Hotspur

Getty England 23-man Nations League squad Eric Dier Club: Tottenham Hotspur

Getty England 23-man Nations League squad Jesse Lingard Club: Manchester United

Getty England 23-man Nations League squad Jordan Henderson Club: Liverpool

Getty England 23-man Nations League squad Fabian Delph Club: Manchester City

Getty England 23-man Nations League squad Ruben Loftus-Cheek Club:Chelsea

Getty England 23-man Nations League squad Adam Lallana Club: Liverpool

Getty England 23-man Nations League squad Raheem Sterling Club: Manchester City

Getty England 23-man Nations League squad Harry Kane Club: Tottenham

Getty England 23-man Nations League squad Danny Welbeck Club: Arsenal

Getty England 23-man Nations League squad Marcus Rashford Club: Manchester United

Getty

How Southgate’s team evolved through qualifying

England began qualification in a rough 4-3-3/4-5-1 formation and quickly switched to a 4-2-3-1, but halfway through the campaign two matches changed Southgate’s thinking.

The first was a June qualifier against Scotland. England drew 2-2 at Hampden Park thanks to Harry Kane’s late equaliser (something which solidified his position as the team’s natural captain). But the manager was unimpressed by England’s play out from the back and was particularly disappointed with Chris Smalling on the ball, so he made a decision to abandon both the Manchester United defender and the back-four system.

Scotland vs England player ratings Show all 22 1 /22 Scotland vs England player ratings Scotland vs England player ratings Craig Gordon – 4 out of 10 Will be disappointed with himself. Should have saved Oxlade-Chamberlain’s strike, which itself stemmed from him misjudging a backpass from Tierney. Scotland vs England player ratings Christophe Berra – 6 out of 10 A decent display and cannot be blamed for either of England's goals, though could have organised his backline better. Scotland vs England player ratings Charlie Mulgrew – 5 out of 10 Guilty of ball-watching for England’s late equaliser and losing track of Kane, though could have done with a shout from Robertson. Scotland vs England player ratings Kieran Tierney - 7 out of 10 Impressive from the youngster. One goal-line clearance, one vital block to deny Rashford a clear shot at goal, but let himself down on the Oxlade-Chamberlain goal. Scotland vs England player ratings Ikechi Anya - 6 out of 10 Had an opportunity to get at a nervy Walker but did not take it. Scotland vs England player ratings Andrew Robertson – 6 out of 10 Troubled England’s right flank, though benefitted from Rashford’s hesitancy to track back. Mix-up with Mulgrew cost his side. Scotland vs England player ratings James Morrison – 5 out of 10 Hampered by an early knock, failed to find his rhythm in the game. Substituted at half-time. Scotland vs England player ratings Scott Brown – 6 out of 10 Took only three minutes to pick up a yellow card. If only he had put as strong a foot in on Oxlade-Chamberlain in the build-up to the goal. Scotland vs England player ratings Stuart Armstrong – 6 out of 10 Showed neat touches around England’s box and his movement troubled red shirts at times, but should have held the ball up better before Kane's equaliser. Scotland vs England player ratings Robert Snodgrass – 5 out of 10 Scotland needed a performance from him, but he was quiet and ineffective, much like he was throughout the second half of the season. Scotland vs England player ratings Leigh Griffiths - 9 out of 10 Two incredible late free-kicks and both deserved. Suffered from poor service but did not let that deter him, pressing England’s backline throughout. Scotland vs England player ratings Joe Hart – 4 out of 10 Largely untroubled until the late goals, both of which he should have saved. Questions have to be asked whether he is still England’s best ‘keeper. Scotland vs England player ratings Kyle Walker – 5 out of 10 Poor. Penalty call against him for the trip on Griffiths could have gone either way, but it was just one of several mistakes. Scotland vs England player ratings Chris Smalling – 6 out of 10 Recovered from a nervy start that included one horribly shanked clearance over his own goalmouth. Scotland vs England player ratings Gary Cahill – 7 out of 10 More assured than his defensive partner for the majority of the game, until that reckless challenge to concede first fatal free-kick. Scotland vs England player ratings Ryan Bertrand – 7 out of 10 Bright down the left, especially going forward. Scotland vs England player ratings Jake Livermore – 7 out of 10 His selection raised the odd eyebrow but, particularly in the first half, he was England’s most composed player. Scotland vs England player ratings Eric Dier – 5 out of 10 Paled in comparison to Livermore on a real off-day for the Tottenham midfielder. Picked up a needless yellow card, too. Scotland vs England player ratings Marcus Rashford – 5 out of 10 On his first competitive international start, a display that suggested he remains only an impact player for now. Did not take to his role on the right flank. Scotland vs England player ratings Dele Alli – 5 out of 10 Totally failed to get going, looking tired and cumbersome at times. England's best player on his day, but that was not today. Scotland vs England player ratings Adam Lallana – 7 out of 10 England’s best attacking outlet and particularly came the fore after half-time, once he began to find more space in Scotland’s half. Scotland vs England player ratings Harry Kane – 7 out of 10 Missing his usual composure in front of goal but found it when it mattered. A simple finish but one he needed to make.

In the following game, a friendly against France, Southgate started with three at the back. He had already experimented with it a few months earlier in a 1-0 loss to Germany in Dortmund, and although England also lost in Paris and were carved open several times in a 3-2 defeat, the team were more effective moving the ball from back to front than they had been in Scotland days earlier.

It was notable that afterwards Southgate went out of his way to praise the movement in England’s opening goal, when wing-back Ryan Bertrand burst into the box to supply Kane. Over the summer that followed, the manager sat down with his assistant Steve Holland and decided wing-backs best suited the profile of the squad. Southgate later detailed how playing this way also provided “more passing options” than a flat back four.

Southgate still persisted with the more accustomed 4-2-3-1 through qualifiers against Malta and Slovakia when the squad regrouped in September, but took the chance to switch to 3-4-2-1 at the end of the Slovenia game in October once qualification was virtually sealed as he sought to test his new plan.

England have come a long way under Southgate (Getty)

Then came the final qualification match, a dead rubber in Lithuania which drew viewing figures of approximately no one but which in hindsight offered plenty of insight into Southgate’s thinking. He used the match to test personnel in his three-at-the-back system – John Stones in the centre, Harry Maguire on the left and Kieran Trippier at right wing-back. He was also impressed by Harry Winks and Michael Keane, although they would go on to miss the World Cup after loss of fitness and form respectively.

After beating Lithuania, Southgate revealed England would be using a back three at the World Cup, saying it gave the players a dependable base to work from.

“We have to have some consistency in formation, some consistency in what we are asking the players to do,” he said. “We have to focus on a system and really try to hone it, work on it, improve it, and that might mean we have to leave some good players out. You have such little time to work with the players that the more clarity they have under pressure, then they will know what to fall back on. It will help to switch between two systems, but for me they would both be with three at the back.”

Alongside 3-4-2-1, the second of those two systems was a 3-5-2 (or 3-5-1-1) formation which Southgate deployed in the final 20 minutes in Lithuania. He has used it almost exclusively ever since.

England changed shape after Lithuania (AFP)

What we learned from six friendlies before Russia

England played six friendlies ahead of the World Cup: three mildly entertaining draws against Germany, Brazil and Italy, and three gently uplifting wins over Holland, Nigeria and Costa Rica.

Playing in Southgate’s 3-5-2 formation, England looked more assured than they did when switching to a back three in the June defeat against France. The final squad quickly began to take shape: Jordan Pickford and Ruben Loftus-Cheek impressed on debuts against Germany while the “outstanding” Harry Maguire was singled out for particular praise.

After the Germany draw, Southgate elaborated on his formation switch. He criticised the “positional discipline” his team had shown in the 4-2-3-1 deployed in qualifying, and said that the 3-5-2 was preferable to 3-4-2-1 because the three central midfielders “opened up possibilities”: he said the two attacking midfield roles either side of the pivot, which he called “the No 8s”, could be filled by any number of players such as Adam Lallana, Dele Alli, Loftus-Cheek, Jordan Henderson and more. The malleability of those roles gave Southgate the chance to recalibrate his team without changing the overall system.

Loftus-Cheek was named man of the match against Germany as one of Southgate’s ‘No 8s’ (Getty)

The March friendlies were also revealing, when England beat Holland 1-0 and drew with Italy 1-1. Henderson and Eric Dier shared holding role responsibilities across the two games suggesting they would not be paired in Russia, but more interesting was the decision to move Walker into the back three.

Southgate gave four reasons: he wanted good technical players in the wide centre-back berths to carry a threat, as Cesar Azpilicueta does so well for Chelsea; he felt Walker already impressed in similar inside zones under Pep Guardiola; Walker had an existing relationship with Stones at club level; and playing Walker at centre-back would mean having to take one less out-and-out centre-half on the plane. With Stones and Maguire already bedded in, a back three was now taking shape.

Then came the two most recent games, against Nigeria and on Thursday night against Costa Rica, both played since the World Cup squad was announced. They were opportunities to further establish the 3-5-2 formation and for players to push their starting claims. Danny Rose seemed to edge ahead of Ashley Young at left wing-back; Marcus Rashford and Fabian Delph impressed; Pickford’s composure on the ball helped him win the race to start against Tunisia. It has been a long road since Southgate’s first game against Malta in 2016, but he now he has his team, playing his way.

The World Cup warm-ups have seen Southgate settle on his side (Getty Images)

How will Southgate deploy his team at the World Cup – and will it work?

Asked before Thursday night’s friendly over Costa Rica whether the team had trained with any other systems, Southgate gave a firm “no”. He is unlikely to deviate from his two embedded formations: 3-4-2-1 and 3-5-2, and the latter will almost certainly begin the tournament.

The tournament will be framed in a wider context which is about more than immediate success. Southgate has been working with the FA for several years, absorbing Dan Ashworth’s ‘England DNA’ ever since he began managing the Under-21s. The FA is adamant he will be given time to build and that this is the start of a longer journey implementing the England Way, which appears to be a gentle lean towards more technical, less direct football.

Southgate has repeatedly used words like “potential” to describe England, the team with the lowest combined average age and caps of any squad at the World Cup. He regularly points to the damning statistic that England have won only three knockout games at major tournaments in the past 25 years (by comparison, Germany have won 23). Russia is the first step in a longer project which Southgate hopes to helm. Avoiding a humiliating defeat will be an improvement on Euro 2016, and he has been careful not to demand a deep run in the competition.

Yet however hard he tries, there is a sense that he is building something. Sturridge described the squad as “more relaxed” after Southgate’s first game, and that description has cropped up on plenty of occasions since. It is said before most tournaments, but this time there does seem to be a unity in the England camp, a calm focus, an overwhelming sense that the players both know and enjoy what they’re doing.

Deep breath. On to Russia.