Calm down, dear!

Exactly eight years ago today I made my debut as a blogger. And it wasn’t pretty. The day before, England had been beaten 4-1 by Germany (remember them?) in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. I’d actually missed the first half - including Lampard’s criminally disallowed goal - of that second-round match in Bloemfontein because my then girlfriend and I had been in the Channel Tunnel on our way back to the Netherlands from a wedding in London. On emerging into the Calais sunlight, I turned on the car radio. And then turned it off again. We spent the next three hours in silence. The next day I unloaded into the blogosphere for the first time. A thousand words of invective and the gratuitous use of schadenfreude was involved.

This is what England performances do to you. Which is why I’m not getting carried away this time around. Yes, it’s fantastic that England are through to next week's quarter-finals without drama. Yes, the momentum of two wins-out-of-two is exactly what they need. Yes, the way in which they ruthlessly dispatched the poorly-disciplined Panama was a joy to behold on a glorious, sunny Sunday lunchtime back home in England.

But let’s calm down a tad. England have played only the two games. Even if they are beaten by Belgium tonight (and will go through, anyway), tougher challenges await. But even before considering them, thoughts of taking it easy - job done - against the Belgians should be struck far from view. It will clearly be a tough game against, arguably, tournament dark horses, but not one without familiarity, given the number of Premier League teammates and opponents the England players will be facing, and given the intimate knowledge Belgian coach Roberto Martinez and his assistent Thierry Henry have of the England squad. Gareth Southgate and indeed his No.2, Steve Holland, can draw on their own insider understanding of how Eden Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne, Romalu Lukaku, Thibaut Courtois and others work week in, week out. Even if Gary Cahill doesn’t play, he’ll have invaluable intelligence on playing in front of Courtois and behind Hazard. Likewise Raheem Sterling, playing alongside De Bruyne in the Manchester City attack. That's assuming that Martinez plays his strongest side.

Even if he doesn't, Belgium won't be any easier to play, but tonight's tie will be the nearest to a ‘business as usual’ game that England will take part in during this World Cup. And if they play well, no matter what the actual scoreline, they’ll go into the knockout stage feeling good about themselves, and with opponents genuinely respecting them. For once. In principle, England will go into the Round of 16 with momentum on their side. The spirit in camp is, it would appear high, and the confidence galvanised by that 6-1 destruction of Panama will have permeated through the entire squad.

"There are no easy games," I heard Harry Kane slip into his post-match interview on Sunday, and while this is the most hackneyed of footballer cliches, he is, of course, correct. Whether England face Japan, Senegal or Colombia in the next round, if they progress they'll still be at the tender mercy of knockout stage fate (winning Group G could see England face Mexico or Brazil in the quarter-finals, Uruguay, Portugal, France or Argentina in the semis, with Sweden/Switzerland and Spain/Russia/Croatia/Denmark ahead should they end the group stage as runners-up).

Football is mad, unpredictable even. Who’d have expected Germany, the reigning world champions, to go out at the group stage yesterday, or Argentina to struggle like they did against Iceland on the opening weekend? Well, they did, and that should give both heart and a warning to England fans already singing "Football's coming home" after just two games. It could be, but then our hopes have been dashed too many times before to make getting them up this time - for now - even if the results against Tunisia and Panama have put a timely pep in the nation's step. As the highly likeable Southgate has warned, there is a long way to go before quarter- and semi-finals should be thought about. By all means dream, but don't lose the plot.

Last Sunday was a special day. Irrespective of what happens next, it was a joy to watch England play the way they did against Panama. The fluidity and indifference towards the Central Americans’ bad behaviour was refreshing. Kane’s composure in front of goal, Lingard’s endeavour, and indeed the entire team effort - up until Panama’s consolation goal - was as good I’ve seen England play in 22 years, not since that Britpop-fuelled, sunshine-infused run in Euro '96. But I won't get carried away. It's nice, though, to feel good for a change. Let's hope it lasts.