In the future, when someone is asked to explain England's historic curse at big tournaments, Saturday night's effort against Russia will be one of the exhibits submitted into evidence.
This was England at peak England-ness, turning a certain victory into a baffling 1-1 draw.
One begins to think that this isn't really a football team at all. It's an art installation entitled 'Gotcha!' It started so brightly, and long before they hit the field.
In recent years, England has stuck to a rigid star system. The biggest names from the Premiership are slotted together in a huge square-peg-in-round-hole jumble, then spend most of 90 minutes running into each other at midfield.
This was the team that could not figure out that, for all their individual quality, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard could not do the same thing at the same time in the same position. That ongoing mistake cost England most of a decade.
The message has finally been received. The England XI no longer functions to union rules – seniority first. Featuring a variety of youngsters in midfield and/or forward positions – Dele Alli, Eric Dier, Raheem Sterling – England began by running rings around the Russians. Quite literally.
Russia is an old, plodding team. Their tactical formation appeared to be based on the idea that a maximum number of them would be arrayed at any time to watch an England player run past.
Ten minutes in, you thought, 'This will be easy.' Twenty minutes: 'This could be a crooked score.' Thirty minutes: 'Funny that there haven't been any goals yet.' Forty minutes: 'Uh oh.' England hit posts. They hit crossbars. They went just wide and just over. They put the ball in every sort of dangerous position possible, but for the back of the net. Every single player in white seemed to be working at peak performance. That's what was worrying.
They finally got their tally in the 73rd minute from an Eric Dier free-kick. Having defended so desperately for so long, you expected Russia to crumble. For the next five minutes, it once again felt like a game that could end 3– or 4-0.
But the Russians stiffened and England relaxed. The stabilizing presence of Wayne Rooney (I know, that's strange to write) was removed via substitution. All cohesion dissipated.
In the final moments, the English collapsed into their own half, happily fending off pressure. You know how that ends up.
In the 92nd minute, the Russians floated a speculative ball into the English area. It was headed back across the face of goal while English keeper Joe Hart stood anchored in no man's land. The ball was on its way in, but Russia's Denis Glushakov hammered it just in case. The game ended almost immediately after Russian celebrations.
Now begins a great national reckoning on the topic of 'Why us?' Given the number of available spots in the second round and the quality displayed through most of the evening, England will still stroll into the second round.
The larger immediate problem is how the result affects days of street violence in Marseille, where the match was staged.
A minority of English fans have been involved in running battles with French ultras, Russian travelling support and local riot police. Embarrassing scenes are being broadcast all over social media. At least one English supporter has reportedly been seriously injured.
According to several spectators, that violence had spread inside the Stade Velodrome by the end of the match. Doubtless, it will continue through the night.
It's not yet clear who's to blame. The usual answer is 'everyone.' But what's indisputable is that these sorts of problems seem to follow England wherever they go. In recent years, they've somewhat tidied their reputation as the drunken buffoon of European football. All that good work is now out the window.
Based on Saturday evening and its run-up, it could be a disappointing tournament for England, and we're not only talking about results on the field.