The 26-year-old came up against Chelsea’s Mykhailo Mudryk at Wembley in a game where goals from Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka were enough to ensure a 100 per cent start to qualifying for Gareth Southgate’s side.

It was Chilwell who came in for the suspended Luke Shaw at left-back and he looked right at home on his first appearance in well over a year.

‘It’s been a while since I put the jersey on, so I wanted to make sure I played well,’ he said after the victory. ‘It was moments like putting that shirt on that kept me going [through my injuries].

‘To know that the hard work paid off and to get the chance to start again for England, I’m very happy.

‘International football is very difficult in its own right. But when you’re playing well for your club, you bring that form into international games.’

England sit in Group C and have Malta and North Macedonia to play in June before the season ends, and Ben says the national side cannot get ahead of themselves after beating Italy and Ukraine.

‘It’s literally the perfect start. But that’s all it is, a start. We’re very happy with how the week has gone, but it’s only two games in. We’ve still got a long way to go.'