IT is probably a good job England have not qualified for a major tournament with three games to spare.
We have only managed that once before — against San Marino in September 2015 — and we all remember what happened in the south of France nine months later.
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This thoroughly deserved defeat was, of course, nothing like that absolutely shameful day when England were humiliated by Iceland in Nice.
Under this group of players and manager, it is difficult to imagine them turning out a performance quite as bad as the one we saw on the Cote d’Azur under Roy Hodgson.
But similarly, in the Czech capital last night, England were outfought and outsmarted by opponents who played to their strengths and deserved such wild celebrations at the end.
Gareth Southgate’s men are currently ranked four in the world and the Czech Republic 44 but for long periods it was difficult to tell them apart.
Our country’s youngest and most exciting players showed us — maybe not unsurprisingly — they still have a lot to learn.
Jadon Sancho, Mason Mount and Declan Rice are three extremely talented individuals and they are all good enough to be dreaming big.
While they have their heads in the clouds, these individuals appear to have their feet on the ground — which is even more encouraging.
Even though the defeat was by no means their fault and the trio were all let down by the more experienced players, this was a proper wake-up call.
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Declan Rice was replaced late on but will have learned a lot from the defeat against the Czechs
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This result, settled by an international debutant who plays for Dallas in MLS, was a tap on the shoulder for anyone who thinks improving on a World Cup semi-final appearance will be straightforward.
England will still qualify for Euro 2020. They will still play their first match at Wembley on June 14.
But here Mount and Sancho were replaced by Ross Barkley and Marcus Rashford with 17 minutes left — and neither could complain.
Here was a third cap and full debut for Mount, 20, but it was a mistake by Southgate to play him as a No 10 in the first half, considering he has impressed for Chelsea on the left.
Mount played a part in the build-up to the penalty won by Raheem Sterling but he still touched the ball just five times in the first quarter.
Thankfully, for the second half, Southgate saw the error of his ways and switched Mount to his normal position.
Sancho, 19, who has once again been tearing up the Bundesliga, also looked lost.
The Borussia Dortmund ace struggled to even touch the ball and was caught out defensively on a couple of occasions.
Rice, 20, was picking up cap number six for England — but he suffered a torrid game next to Jordan Henderson, lost possession too often and was regularly shoved off the ball.
And then there was Michael Keane. Deary me.
Despite being 26, he was representing his country for only the tenth time. Whether he should be given many more chances remains a source of debate.
Dele Alli, meanwhile, deservedly not in the squad, knows he must really improve if he is to have an impact on both Mount and Barkley, who could end his dream of playing at Euro 2020.
The Sinobo Stadium, with its structure and red seats, felt like a mini version of Southampton’s St Mary’s.
And England’s defenders must have suffered flashbacks as some of the mistakes made were not dissimilar to what we saw on the south coast against Kosovo last month.
Initially, there was a perfect start for England with Sterling brought down by Lukas Masopust and Kane confidently delivered from the spot for international goal number 27.
Yet the weakness we saw against Kosovo soon resurfaced from the set-piece, when Rice slipped and Keane was guilty of some shocking ball-watching as Jakub Brabec scored.
At the end, England were caught out again when 30-year-old Zdenek Ondrasek scored his first international goal with his first shot.
So now we head to Sofia for Monday’s game against Bulgaria and there will be changes, including Ben Chilwell for the suspended Danny Rose and, surely, Joe Gomez for Keane.
The likelihood is that Southgate will keep faith with the novices in this squad, such as Rice, Mount and Sancho.
We must all have a sense of perspective over England’s first qualifying defeat for ten years.
However, it is a bloody good job there are three more qualifiers — and four friendlies — before the Three Lions walk out at Wembley next June.
