England's quest to end a painful 60-year wait for World Cup glory begins against a Croatia side that helped prolong that dream by eliminating them in the 2018 semifinals in Russia.
The Three Lions arrived in Kansas City on Saturday, and will hope to call it home until July 19 when the mission is accomplished: add a second star to the England shirt.
England cruised through qualification, booking their place in North America with two games to spare and maintaining a perfect record but now it's time to take to the world stage.
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With no Harry Maguire, or Phil Foden, Cole Palmer, Trent Alexander-Arnold or Morgan Gibbs-White, coupled with the surprise call-up of Ivan Toney, Thomas Tuchel's World Cup squad selection sparked some fierce debates.
"We have specialists for all different kinds of scenarios, whether we are leading or chasing a result. We always want to be a strong set-piece team so we have specialists for that, and we want to be a strong penalty team so we have specialists for that," Tuchel explained after his selection.
And after a scrappy 1-0 win against New Zealand was vastly improved with a 3-0 victory against Costa Rica in England's final friendly, we have collected some bigger clues as to which players might be in that starting XI on Wednesday.
Most England supporters would probably agree on seven or eight players nailed down to start, but Tuchel has shown throughout his career that he is not afraid to spring a surprise -- by Nina Hristova.
Predicted line-up:
Jordan Pickford, Reece James, Marc Guéhi, John Stones, Nico O'Reilly, Elliot Anderson, Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka, Anthony Gordon, Harry Kane.
Confirmed line-up:
Pickford, James, Konsa, Stones, O'Reilly, Anderson, Rice, Madueke, Bellingham, Gordon, Kane.
Jordan Pickford's position in goal is beyond question, and there's no dislodging captain Harry Kane up top, who is the undisputed focal point of this team.
The bigger selection dilemmas lie in the supporting cast around Kane and the defence in front of Pickford. The No. 10 role has been another one up for debate with Jude Bellingham and Morgan Rogers competing for the spot. However, Bellingham's tournament pedigree and knack for delivering in big moments make him difficult to leave out and even Rogers probably agrees with that.
"The ability to shift to the defensive side of the game. Jude can be a completely different player on any given day. That is the top 1%, even less, of footballers," Rogers said.
"You can easily say to him, today, 'Their number ten's on it, I need you there', and it will be seamless."
Then there is the left wing conundrum. Anthony Gordon and Marcus Rashford were each handed starts during the friendlies, but Gordon looked the more direct and inventive of the two and that could give him the edge. Still, the fact that both have made a strong case to start, reinforces the quality and depth England have at their disposal on the left wing.
That's not quite the case on the opposite flank. If Saka is fit to start, then that position is his own. He has insisted that he is "ready to go." Noni Madueke wasn't so convincing against Costa Rica, failing to take a clear opportunity that left fans with their head in their hands. Tuchel said he will take extra care with Saka who is being closely monitored with an Achilles problem and so far has lived up to that promise. The Arsenal winger was substituted on in the 63rd minute, as his cameo off the bench served as a reminder of what England can miss without him.
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The midfield duo and full-back positions pick themselves. Declan Rice and Elliot Anderson have formed England's first-choice partnership and are expected to start in the double pivot, with Nico O'Reilly operating in the left-back role, and Reece James out on the right.
John Stones started alongside Ezri Konsa last time out, with Tuchel handing the latter more minutes than any other player after Kane and Pickford. Despite Konsa's long run under Tuchel, Marc Guéhi could get the nod to start alongside Stones, who despite his history of injuries, offers experience in major tournaments -- by Nina Hristova.