The wing-back was let go by Manchester City as a youngster and had to take a step back before a giant leap forward, as have many in Gareth Southgate’s team

We’re on our way, we’re on our way. We’re going to Moscow. Or at least, that’s what they say – over and over in the England end through five games, to date, of Russia 2018.

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It turns out the fans were right all along, too. England will now head to the capital on Wednesday to play at least once at the agreeably huge Luzhniki Stadium, the ohmic heart of this continental‑scale tournament.

Whatever happens from here some things have already changed. As the players prepare for another brain-mangling night of knockout football, and as the fans prepare simultaneously for another brain‑mangling night of jumping through bus-stop roofs, throwing pints of lager in the air and making social media clips of Adolf Hitler saying “it’s coming home”, it is clear this World Cup has brought something beyond the usual extremes of triumphalism and despair.

Above all, it has been a surprisingly funny World Cup. Ever get the feeling everyone just really needed a good laugh? The world has felt like a slightly seasick place in the past few years, undercut by division and uncertainty. Against this the World Cup has felt like pure escapism, a reminder in its colours and its heat that the sun also rises.

Play Video 1:35 'It's coming home': Fans and ex-players celebrate England's World Cup semi-final spot – video

Among the many running gags and memes on social media the Harry Maguire one is perhaps the most telling. You’ve probably seen it by now: a photo of Maguire with one arm draped across the pitch-side railings in cool-relaxed-guy-mode, exchanging small talk with a woman in the crowd wearing an amusingly flushed and adoring expression.

Maguire Talks To Woman continued to do the rounds after England’s impressive 2-0 defeat of Sweden on Saturday afternoon, with funny captions added by everyone from Kyle Walker to career internet japesters to some guy in his bedroom.

It is not hard to see why. The picture captures the basic likability of this group of players, a sense of a renewed connection that comes from various things, most obviously from having better channels of communication and a manager who actively fosters this environment.

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Plus, of course, there is the fact so many of the players have taken a slightly meandering path to this stage, have taken a few steps back to go forward. This combination was perhaps embodied best of all in Samara by Kieran Trippier, who gave a bravura performance on the right flank, emphasising in the process how vital England’s wing-backs have been to their progress so far.

Look to the wings: this has been an unexpected point of strength. Both goals against Sweden came from crosses. The first was another excellent set-piece delivery from Ashley Young, a corner headed in by Maguire, who moved well and met the ball with a lovely thunk right out of the meat of his forehead.

Trippier helped make England’s second from the other side, feeding the ball back to Jesse Lingard whose deep cross found Dele Alli unmarked right in front of goal. Beyond that Trippier was excellent all game, stretching Sweden to the touchline, passing the ball crisply and executing perfectly the role Southgate has sketched out for the only two genuine wide players in his formation.

Trippier crossed the ball 10 times against Sweden, a significantly large number but not a surprising one. To date the top three names when it comes to passes into the box at Russia 2018 read: Neymar, Isco, Trippier. Only Neymar and Kevin De Bruyne have created more chances overall.

So much for the data. There are those who will point to the fact statistics can offer a false narrative. Football is a game of precision, not repetition, and there has been criticism of the number of times England’s wing-backs have hit their crosses short, losing the ball to the first defender.

This should be taken in context. From the way England have practised and played it seems this is simply natural wastage from a specific method of delivering the ball. England like to cross the ball a lot. But they are not lofting it or hitting an area or finding the mixer.

England are looking to score a goal from the first contact on a cross, not to sneak on to a knock-down or a second ball. Trippier’s accuracy with his right foot and the unusually flat trajectory he applies to the ball are key to this. As his old Manchester City coach Steve Eyre told the Manchester Evening News last week: “Kieran tends to put the ball in 10, 15 or 20 yards earlier. He picks you out to score the goal.”

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Hence the increased risk of hitting a defender. Hence also the success in the areas that matter. Analysis of England’s creativity has tended to focus on “set‑piece” goals but this is an unhelpfully vague genre. What is the connection between a penalty and a corner, beyond the striking of a stationary ball.

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A better analysis is to note the number of goals that have come from moves based around crosses, eight of 11 so far, an accurate reflection of the rhythms and angles of their play.

Crosses aside, Trippier is also a key peg in England’s possession routine, always driving into the space outside, offering an option to rest the ball or find a way forward. With this in mind it has been suggested City’s old academy graduate might have offered an even more effective conduit for Pep Guardiola’s system than Walker. Certainly the reasons for his departure seem to fit a familiar kind of pattern. Trippier was a little small. He was mischievous too, spanking the back of the groundsman’s head so often with “stray” 40‑yard passes Eyre suggested his head still has a Mitre logo imprint. Skinny. A bit of a maverick. OK, son. That’ll do.

Welcome to English academy football.

It is a tribute to these same qualities that Trippier has arrived in Moscow. The semi‑final will provide another kind of test for both wide men. The flanks are a dangerous area for Croatia, with Luka Modric prone to popping up and providing the overlap, not least on Trippier’s side, from where Croatia have scored four goals in open play.

Nord’s men may have vanquished the Nordics but this will be a precision examination for a team who are still on their way but whose journey has become an object of genuine fascination.