SIR - The success of the England football team has one magic ingredient which has eluded previous generations since 1966 - humility.

All my life I have witnessed England squads with egos so large moons orbited them, marinated in a rich hubris sauce stirred by jingoistic journalism, leading to such absurdity as the late Jimmy Hill's contention Kevin Keegan could be as good as Pele on the day, only for Belgium in the 1980 European Championships to prick such pretensions, leading to an undignified live television tantrum after he exited the tournament without scoring one goal.

So it continued with Mssrs Barnes, Beckham, Crouch, Gascoigne, etc: half a century's intoxication on black and white era glories.

Harry Kane, Jamie Vardy and Jesse Lingard by contrast have spent most of their careers being told they wouldn't amount to anything but loan fodder, inoculating them from other's expectations and providing a useful dose of Kipling's If... , as demonstrated by Kane's fury his side switched off after their first half mauling of Panama.

How far they'll go in this contest is frankly irrelevant when such a squad are a joy to watch - which for the paying fans is what it's really all about.

Mark Boyle, Linn Park Gardens, Johnstone, Renfrewshire