Memories of that July evening in the Luzhniki Stadium are bound to still wash over Gareth Southgate on a daily basis. An agonising case of what might have been had England conquered the challenge of Croatia and reached their first World Cup final for more than half a century. However, the England manager insists his team have improved since that dramatic night in Moscow and is determined to end 2018 on a high against opponents they know well.
Sunday's Nations League match at Wembley is a winner-takes-all encounter, which would see the Three Lions win Group A4 and reach the Finals should they beat their World Cup semi-final foes.
Southgate is planning widespread changes from Thursday's 3-0 friendly win against the United States, where Wayne Rooney bid farewell to the national team with a 120th and final cap.
The 33-year-old has now left a group that has been bolstered by the return of Joe Gomez and Luke Shaw, having missed the USA friendly with minor knocks.
"We've obviously played them twice in the last few months and we know their style of play," said Southgate. "We know their preferences, the areas that they build up, we know areas that we think we can try to exploit.
"There will be some very good players on show and a full house, it's a great game to be involved in.
"We've got to put all the things together tomorrow and make sure we back up our last few performances, which have been really healthy, and make sure we finish the calendar year – from an England perspective – on a real high.
"I think we've learned with every experience that we've had," he continued.
"We've added more depth to the squad in terms of some more young players emerging, more competition for places.
"We've had a slight change of system which has also added something different, so we've got some flexibility in how we can play.
"So we're always improving and I think in those five matches that you've seen since the summer what we haven't done is sat on our laurels and said 'OK, we're happy with what we did at the World Cup – that's it for the year, we'll look forward to the European Championships'.
"We've wanted to keep improving and I think the players have shown that mentality as well."
Southgate is not concerned about group permutations, with his sights firmly set on winning the game.
He said: "We want to win the game – it's as simple as that. I'm not concerned with anything else.
"I don't see us, if it's 0-0 with five minutes to play, keeping the ball in the corner to try and stay in the group.
"We want to try and get to a semi-final and we've got to do everything we can to make that happen."
Striker Harry Kane is equally focused on Sunday's game but admitted that night in Moscow still lingers.
"I've always said as a striker whenever you miss a chance you obviously have to forget about it as quickly as possible during the game and be ready for the next one – but it hurts," said Kane.
"Obviously with any big game that you lose, you always think about what you could have done better and there's not many games bigger than a World Cup semi-final.
"I don't think about it as much any more but I'm just trying to focus on each game as they come along.
"We know Croatia are a great side. We played them out there and it was a difficult experience but I thought we played pretty well.
"For us it's about trying to win the game tomorrow and get to another semi-final."
Over in the Croatian camp, meanwhile, boss Zlatko Dalic hopes his side can summon the energy to overcome Southgate's men after a late victory over Spain.
"We totally respect the England team. We learned a lot in both matches," said Dalic. "But I'm more worried about our team because we played against Spain two days ago.
"I'll try to get the best from my players."
Thursday night's 3-2 win over Spain in Zagreb means plenty is at stake for the 2018 World Cup finalists – Croatia will reach the Nations League finals with a win or scoring draw, but will be relegated with a loss or goalless draw.
"We don't need to be motivated," Dalic added. "We play at Wembley, one of the most important stadiums in the world."
Ivan Perisic, who cancelled out Kieran Trippier's opener in that World Cup semi-final before Mario Mandzukic broke English hearts with his extra-time winner, insisted Croatia are determined to inflict more damage on England.
"Tomorrow, we will try to play like we did against Spain. If we play our best like we did against Spain, I think we can win the match.
"Of course both teams need to win. If not Spain go through. If, in the last 10 minutes, it's still a draw, both teams will try to win the match."
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here