It was a hugely eventful match in Charlotte with James’ free-kick lighting up the Bank of America Stadium midway through the second half. But the weather then took a turn, and the game was suspended for nearly two hours with only five minutes of normal time remaining.

Angel Di Maria levelled from the spot after the game resumed to take the match to extra time, but the Blues showed impressive character as a quickfire trio of goals in the second half of extra time from Christopher Nkunku, Pedro Neto and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall booked our place in the final eight of the competition.

And our skipper was hugely impressed with the team’s character and determination to fight back after Benfica's late equaliser and go on to secure our place in the last eight.

‘We’ve come a long way,’ James said after the game. 'It’s difficult to be so close to the end of the match and then have a kick in the teeth.

'To pick yourself up, brush yourself down and score a few goals probably shows how far we’ve come, and everyone has played a part today.

‘It was a very difficult game with a lot of interruptions. The climate wasn’t the best, the pitch wasn’t the best, it was hard to play, and we got into 85 minutes, and we stopped for a long period of time.

‘It takes a lot out of the players to cool down and then restart that engine again, but we’re happy we got the job done.’

Reece explained how the squad remained active and composed during the long stoppage due to adverse weather, with work undertaken in the dressing room to ensure we were able to get over the line, even if extra time was required.

He continued: ‘It was about recovery, keeping the legs going on the bike, listening to some music to keep the vibes going, and we did well in extra time to score the goals we did.’

Reflecting on his own strike, which broke the deadlock much earlier in the afternoon, the Blues captain described how he approached the set-piece, eventually spotting the Benfica goalkeeper off his line.

James said: ‘As I was walking over and I was speaking to the centre-backs, and I asked them what they wanted. They said a shot, cross or in-swinger, and I said no problem.

When I got to the ball and saw the goalkeeper's positioning; he showed me too much of the goal. So I just decided to shoot and it went in.'