England's three-match winning streak in the qualifiers had greatly boosted the confidence of English fans. They were finally beginning to believe the media's proclamation that "this is the strongest England national team in history."
In particular, their major 4:2 victory over Serbia in an away game showed the offensive strength of the England team.
The England team had won big points game after game, and the happiest people were not the fans or the media, nor even Tony Twain himself. The happiest person was Shaun Harvey, the English Football Association chief executive, who first contacted him.
