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With two matchdays already complete, England's footballing template has been executed perfectly so far at Euro 2020.

First: infinite pre-tournament hype, especially in connection to a burgeoning young star — in this case, Phil Foden. Then, earn some decent results in the group stage without looking overly encouraging on the pitch. Finally, get through to the next round, provide some hope, then lose in heartbreaking fashion late in the game or on penalties.

It's a pattern so often repeated that any England fan worth his salt has put it to memory.

Looking at North Macedonia's obscure warmups heading into its match against Ukraine, there is no surprise it later lost. As fun as it looked, with the players racing up the pitch and passing the ball between each other using upturned cones, it didn't seem like the appropriate warmup for the Euro 2020 Group C match on Thursday.