One of the first things Jordan Henderson did during his holiday this summer was sit down and watch a replay of England’s agonising defeat to Croatia in the World Cup semi-final.

One can think of more enjoyable pastimes to do during a vacation, especially as the 28-year-old was struggling to hold back the tears in the immediate aftermath of England’s narrow 2-1 loss just a week earlier.

No-one in the England set-up had ordered him to do it — the Liverpool skipper just felt it was something that needed to be done.

As he explained to Standard Sport: “I wanted to learn, to see what I could have done better in the game, what we as a team could have done better and how we dealt with certain situations.

“I didn’t leave watching it back long after I got back from the World Cup, maybe a couple of days. I wanted to let things settle down a little bit before analysing what happened.

“I have to admit it was a little bit hard to press the play button and watch it again, because I obviously knew what the outcome was going to be. It’s difficult, but you have to go through these moments.

“I’m a big believer in having to go through hard times to get to where you want to be. Nothing comes easy, you have to work.

“I have had some tough experiences over the last few years that I want to use to keep improving. I want to keep getting into those situations where we can win trophies.

“You have to learn as much as you can from that experience in case you ever get there again. Hopefully, we will, because you want to improve, you want to go further, you want to get better.”

That July night in Moscow promised so much for so long, only to end in bitter disappointment. Kieran Trippier’s superb free-kick in the fifth minute put Gareth Southgate’s side on course for England’s first World Cup Final since 1966. Other chances were created in the first half but went astray.

Inevitably, Croatia came out stronger after the interval and Ivan Perisic’s equaliser took the game into extra time before Mario Mandzukic ended England’s dream.

Naturally, the intense disappointment immediately after the game’s conclusion is not the best time to reflect on where things went wrong

But watching the game back allowed Henderson to see how England let the flow of the game slip in the second half — and what he spotted was a failing that previous England sides have been accused of in the past.

“One of the biggest things I picked up is that we didn’t keep the ball well enough in the second half, especially when we were under pressure,” he said. “I felt we defended well for large parts of the game and they weren’t causing us too many problems in terms of clear-cut chances, but in those situations, when you’re under pressure, you have to keep the ball.

“You can’t keep having the pressure on your goal all of the time because, eventually, a team will get through. We didn’t keep possession well enough as a team. If we get there again, we need to be in the frame of mind to not make the same mistakes. It’s done now, we have to move on and use the experience as best we can.

“There is definitely a different mood around the England team. We made the nation fall back in love with the England team.

“That’s very powerful. We can use that going forward. It’s an amazing thing for a team — it gives you strength and confidence.”

There is no doubt that the quality of England’s football saw a marked improvement in Russia, although some still disputed whether victories against the likes of Tunisia, Panama, Colombia and Sweden, while losing to Belgium (twice: once in the group stages and then in the third-place play-off) as well as Croatia meant finishing fourth flattered them somewhat.

Manager Southgate’s next challenge is to get his side to dictate play against the best sides in the world as well as the ones they are expected to beat.

Uefa’s new Nations League may take time to generate much excitement among supporters, but there is no doubt that England’s opening game against Spain at a sold-out Wembley on Saturday will provide an insight into whether any lessons have been learned from the Croatia defeat.

“Spain will provide a good test,” Henderson admitted. “They’re a different side to Croatia. Spain are a fantastic team, with a great style of play.

“They’re very difficult opponents and it will be a tough challenge for us. It is one we have to look forward to, because you need to win against teams like this if you want to progress even further in tournaments. I disagree with the people who questioned the calibre of sides we beat at the World Cup. They were difficult games and top teams in their own right, with their own styles.

“I have been in tournaments before, where people would say England should win this game and we didn’t. It was a totally different experience in Russia to previous major competitions I have been to. We can use that to achieve something even better.”

And that would certainly make for better viewing in the Henderson household.