England have made a real statement by coming from behind to defeat Belgium, who occupy first place in the FIFA rankings, on Sunday evening.The Three Lions entered the game on the back of a 3-0 friendly win over Wales with Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Conor Coady and Danny Ings all bagging their first international goals.It was the sort of performance that Gareth Southgate's men needed after the sloppy 1-0 win over Iceland and goalless draw with Denmark that signalled their return to action in 2020.
England vs Belgium
But there could be no denying that Belgium proved the biggest test to date with Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku both lining up for the Red Devils under the Wembley arch.
Meanwhile, the reaction to Southgate's starting XI revolved around no less than three right-backs being given the nod with Kyle Walker, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Kieran Trippier all featuring.
It's the first time that England had faced the Belgians since their defeat in the third-place playoff at the 2018 World Cup, where they also suffered a loss to the same opponents in the group stages.
Rapid start from Belgium
As a result, it seemed to be normal service resumed when the visitors started in style in London and Yannick Carrasco was unlucky to have an early strike ruled out for a late offside.
However, there was no debate surrounding Belgium's eventual opener with Lukaku drawing a clear foul from Eric Dier in the penalty area, before converting with aplomb from the spot.
Rashford scores shock leveller
But anybody who knows football is acutely aware that dominance doesn't necessarily make for an easy win and before you knew it, England had drawn level against the run of play.
The penalty spot was once again the vehicle through which the net was rippled with Jordan Henderson being manhandled in the area, giving Marcus Rashford the chance to step up.
In the absence of regular-taker Harry Kane, who started on the bench, the Manchester United man showed nerves of steel to complete his dream week after being awarded an MBE.
Mount flips the game on its head
Considering the early exchanges made it look as though England were lambs to slaughter, reaching half-time with the scores level was quite a coup and things got even better after the break.
Chelsea youngster Mason Mount silenced the doubters by firing the Three Lions into a shock lead with less than half an hour to play with a deflected strike off Toby Alderweireld's leg.
Mount had been the butt of countless jokes on social media after a quiet start to ninth England appearance, peeling away in celebration after his effort floated over Simon Mignolet.
And try as Belgium might, they couldn't find an equaliser with England topping their UEFA Nations League group with their first ever win against FIFA's number one team since the rankings began.
Not a bad night's work for Southgate and co, that's for sure. It's coming home now, right?
