There have not been many occasions over the last 32 years of watching England in tournament football where I have been able to enjoy a good performance and a good result. All too often our best displays have ended in defeat - semi finals against Germany in 1990 and 1996 and quarter finals against Portugal in 2004 an 2006 for example - so last night's 3-2 victory over Sweden was particularly sweet.
Okay so it hasn't won us anything, or even got us out of the group stage, but it made a pleasant change to be able to enjoy an England match in a major tournament. In fact the last time I can recall feeling so excited watching my country was when we beat Holland 4-1 in Euro 96.
Last night's match felt very similar, in many ways, to our World Cup quarter final win over Cameroon in 1990. On that occasion we also led 1-0, went 2-1 behind in the second half before scoring twice to go through, although we needed extra time and two Gary Lineker penalties to win that night.
Of course the biggest irony of the win last night was that in the build up to the game everyone was saying how vulnerable the Swedes were to crosses into the box - the very reason Andy Carroll was selected to start in the first place - yet it was us who conceded twice from set pieces, an area where we have traditionally been so strong.
But Roy Hodgson then produced something successive England managers have failed to do - a plan B. He immediately brought on Theo Walcott for the once-again disappointing James Milner and the Arsenal winger made an immediate impression.
He appeared a little shocked that his effort from 25 yards flew straight into the net to bring us level just four minutes after his arrival - unsurprising perhaps given that he had not scored for his country in nearly four years - while it was his powerful run and cross from the right that enabled Danny Welbeck to plunder the winner twelve minutes from time.
And what an important winner it could prove to be. A draw would have meant only victory over Ukraine on Tuesday night would have been good enough to send us through to the last eight, while now we just need a point.
But qualification alone may not be enough. With Spain favourites to top Group C, the runners-up in our section will face the holders in the quarter final. For all the excitement of last night's success we do not appear good enough to beat them at the moment so it is in our best interests to try and win the group.
France currently lead by one goal - the one goal we should have scored last night with efforts from John Terry and Steven Gerrard superbly kept out by the Swedish goalkeeper- and you would expect them to beat Sweden. Therefore we would not only need to beat Ukraine but do so by at least one more goal than the French - a tough ask.
However, we should not get ahead of ourselves just yet. We still need a result against the hosts, who know only victory will be good enough for them, so we just need to concentrate on doing that and worrying about any possible quarter final opponents on Wednesday.
So as much as I enjoyed last night's success I am under no illusions. Sweden are an average, ageing side and we made hard work of beating them, hardly the form of potential European Champions. However, we showed a resilience sadly lacking from England sides in the past and we were able to find a way to win, something Manchester United have made a habit of in recent years.
Okay so we may not be able to go all the way and actually lift the trophy on July 1st, but if we can recapture a little of what we showed in the final twenty minutes last night perhaps I won't have to wait another 16 years to enjoy an England victory.
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