Welcome to England's future. On Tuesday, in Belo Horizonte, a game of football will be played. If  England lose, it means  nothing. If England win, it means nothing. If England draw - well, you get the idea. And not just because the World Cup is over for Roy Hodgson and his men. The FA decided on Friday, in the aftermath of an eight-day exit from meaningful tournament football in Brazil, that victory and defeat were very over-rated qualities when assessing the success of a sports team. Save me: England boss Roy Hodgson talks to Raheem Sterling at training on Monday . There were other factors, intangibles, concerning preparation and work across several years that had to be considered, too. 'If it doesn't matter who wins and who loses, then why do they keep score?' asked the great Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi, a man with more quotable one-liners than Bill Shankly, yet England are moving beyond these earthbound measures of advancement. It is just as well, for the Costa Rica experience is destined to be repeated two years from here. The  qualification campaign for the 2016 European Championship, with the finals expanded and downgraded to 24 teams, means it will get no easier to ascertain English progress in the coming months. Team talk: England's manager Roy Hodgson with the players on Monday . Strength: John Terry and Rio Ferdinand formed an exceptional partnership . England must play Switzerland, Slovenia, Estonia, Lithuania and San Marino to qualify, knowing a top-two finish guarantees entry and third place affords a puncher's chance via the play-offs. The only high quality opposition England will face between now and June 2016, then, is in friendly games, and those results are  notoriously deceptive. England have defeated Italy and Spain in their most recent non-competitive meetings and won against Germany in a friendly in 2008. There will be no way of knowing England's true standing until their next competitive game in finals football in 2016. Everything that  happens until that date lacks substance. Coming here, the message was that England had battled through a difficult qualifying group, which allowed for false security. It was suspected that Gary Cahill and Phil Jagielka were far from an exceptional pairing at centre-half, when compared to their predecessors: John Terry and Rio  Ferdinand, Tony Adams and Sol Campbell, with Ledley King in the role of fifth Beatle. Bottom line: England's whole defence struggled to cope in Brazil . Yet, England had only conceded four goals in qualifying, it was pointed out. Fewer than any country in Europe, bar Spain. Cahill and Jagielka were not perfect, but they could do a job. This wasn't true. England's centre-halves, the whole defence in fact, were below the standard required. That is why the World Cup, not the route to it, is the health check. Hodgson thinks it would be harsh to judge his work on two matches, but that is football's bottom line. Did Carlo Ancelotti become a better coach because he won a single match, and with it Real Madrid's 10th European Cup final? In a word: yes. The fear when Hodgson succeeded Fabio Capello was that he would turn England, not into Inter Milan, nor even his overachieving Fulham and Switzerland teams, but into West Bromwich Albion. Hodgson did a very good job at West Brom, but it was a job with limitations. West Brom do not  tolerate relegation, but they have no realistic ambitions of major success, either. If they finish safe and give it a go against the biggest clubs, it will be regarded as a good season. This is where England are now. High and mighty: Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti celebrates Champions League glory . For Premier League safety, read tournament qualification. Alex Horne, the general secretary, summed up the dismal reprogramming that has taken place at the FA when he announced before the tournament began that he believed Hodgson had done enough to justify seeing out his contract until 2016 just by getting to Brazil. The widespread acceptance of courageous defeat by Italy in Manaus is another sign that England now regard themselves as small and provincial, unable to challenge the elite. Hodgson's final season at West Bromwich Albion began with a home game against the champions, Manchester United. Wayne Rooney put United ahead, but David de Gea was inexperienced and vulnerable, and West Brom equalised through Shane Long. Limited success: Roy Hodgson made sure West Brom were safe from relegation . They gave United a real game from there but, with nine minutes to go, an Ashley Young cross that deflected once before going in off Steven Reid handed United victory. It was agreed that West Brom could have put more pressure on De Gea after half-time, but had done pretty well in the  circumstances and were perhaps unlucky not to earn a point against a classier team. There was  definitely cause for optimism. In . essence, that was the reaction to England's defeat by Italy. Even the . same scoreline against  Uruguay has produced no grand inquest. What . began as realism is now the meek acceptance of defeat. The impossible job, we are now told. It isn't. That is more expectation . management. If it is impossible then the incumbent should step aside to . make room for another candidate, who might entertain possibility. Others see the green shoots of recovery in the next generation. Yet . this presumes on several fronts. Any team that includes Phil Jones or . Chris Smalling  presumes they will train on and make the team regularly . at Manchester United under Louis van Gaal, in a way they have not over . the last three years. Any team that includes John Stones on the back of . 26 appearances for Everton, presumes he will grow up to be John Terry . not James Tomkins, who made 37 appearances for England at all levels . from Under 16 onwards, without quite fulfilling the outstanding promise . of his youth. In the previous three World Cups, the players with five caps or fewer are Michael Dawson, Stephen Warnock, Joe Hart, Aaron Lennon, Stewart Downing, Scott Carson, Theo Walcott, Wayne Bridge,  Darius Vassell and Trevor Sinclair. Not everybody delivers on that early promise. Any team that includes Jack Wilshere presumes he avoids injury, and any wholly youthful starting XI presumes depth below, as at all tournaments the law of averages dictates there will always be at least one significant injury, possibly more. Call up: Shaw and Jack Wilshere will get the chance to impress against Costa Rica on Tuesday . Go through the motions: England prepare for final group game against Costa Rica on Tuesday . VIDEO City Guide: Belo Horizonte . Yet here we are. Reimagining what constitutes success. The England of the future gets its kicks from logistical efficiency. 'The best prepared team at the World Cup,' we were told and that boast persists through back-to-back defeats. We wish to be judged on intangibles, when in sport there is a very finite measure of attainment. It's called the score. It is immune to spin, management, foresight, hindsight, revisionism, criticism or any form of external pressure.  By removing it from the equation, nothing is. Win, so what? Lose, so what? Glen Johnson came out of the lift at England's team hotel in Sao Conrado, in the aftermath of the defeat by Uruguay. A fellow countryman asked how he was feeling. Johnson shrugged philosophically. 'What can you do?' he asked. Actually, that shouldn't be a rhetorical question. There are books written on what you can do. Indexed, cross-referenced, alphabetised. There are videos and coaching sessions, debates and discussions, and plans A, B, C, probably through to Z. There is always something you can do. Yet England's right-back is a man of our times. What can you do, eh? He should have an FA blazer. He'd fit right in.
If England qualify for a tournament and and give it a go against the big sides, then it's regarded as a success .
The only high quality opposition England will face between now and Euro 2016 is in friendly games .
The World Cup and not the route to the finals is the barometer and England's whole defence was not up to standard .
Welcome to England's future. On Tuesday, in Belo Horizonte, a game of football will be played. If England lose, it means  nothing. If England win, it means nothing. If England draw - well, you get the idea. And not just because the World Cup is over for Roy Hodgson and his men. The FA decided on Friday, in the aftermath of an eight-day exit from meaningful tournament football in Brazil, that victory and defeat were very over-rated qualities when assessing the success of a sports team. Save me: England boss Roy Hodgson talks to Raheem Sterling at training on Monday . There were other factors, intangibles, concerning preparation and work across several years that had to be considered, too. 'If it doesn't matter who wins and who loses, then why do they keep score?' asked the great Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi, a man with more quotable one-liners than Bill Shankly, yet England are moving beyond these earthbound measures of advancement. It is just as well, for the Costa Rica experience is destined to be repeated two years from here. The  qualification campaign for the 2016 European Championship, with the finals expanded and downgraded to 24 teams, means it will get no easier to ascertain English progress in the coming months. Team talk: England's manager Roy Hodgson with the players on Monday . Strength: John Terry and Rio Ferdinand formed an exceptional partnership . England must play Switzerland, Slovenia, Estonia, Lithuania and San Marino to qualify, knowing a top-two finish guarantees entry and third place affords a puncher's chance via the play-offs. The only high quality opposition England will face between now and June 2016, then, is in friendly games, and those results are  notoriously deceptive. England have defeated Italy and Spain in their most recent non-competitive meetings and won against Germany in a friendly in 2008. There will be no way of knowing England's true standing until their next competitive game in finals football in 2016. Everything that  happens until that date lacks substance. Coming here, the message was that England had battled through a difficult qualifying group, which allowed for false security. It was suspected that Gary Cahill and Phil Jagielka were far from an exceptional pairing at centre-half, when compared to their predecessors: John Terry and Rio  Ferdinand, Tony Adams and Sol Campbell, with Ledley King in the role of fifth Beatle. Bottom line: England's whole defence struggled to cope in Brazil . Yet, England had only conceded four goals in qualifying, it was pointed out. Fewer than any country in Europe, bar Spain. Cahill and Jagielka were not perfect, but they could do a job. This wasn't true. England's centre-halves, the whole defence in fact, were below the standard required. That is why the World Cup, not the route to it, is the health check. Hodgson thinks it would be harsh to judge his work on two matches, but that is football's bottom line. Did Carlo Ancelotti become a better coach because he won a single match, and with it Real Madrid's 10th European Cup final? In a word: yes. The fear when Hodgson succeeded Fabio Capello was that he would turn England, not into Inter Milan, nor even his overachieving Fulham and Switzerland teams, but into West Bromwich Albion. Hodgson did a very good job at West Brom, but it was a job with limitations. West Brom do not  tolerate relegation, but they have no realistic ambitions of major success, either. If they finish safe and give it a go against the biggest clubs, it will be regarded as a good season. This is where England are now. High and mighty: Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti celebrates Champions League glory . For Premier League safety, read tournament qualification. Alex Horne, the general secretary, summed up the dismal reprogramming that has taken place at the FA when he announced before the tournament began that he believed Hodgson had done enough to justify seeing out his contract until 2016 just by getting to Brazil. The widespread acceptance of courageous defeat by Italy in Manaus is another sign that England now regard themselves as small and provincial, unable to challenge the elite. Hodgson's final season at West Bromwich Albion began with a home game against the champions, Manchester United. Wayne Rooney put United ahead, but David de Gea was inexperienced and vulnerable, and West Brom equalised through Shane Long. Limited success: Roy Hodgson made sure West Brom were safe from relegation . They gave United a real game from there but, with nine minutes to go, an Ashley Young cross that deflected once before going in off Steven Reid handed United victory. It was agreed that West Brom could have put more pressure on De Gea after half-time, but had done pretty well in the  circumstances and were perhaps unlucky not to earn a point against a classier team. There was  definitely cause for optimism. In . essence, that was the reaction to England's defeat by Italy. Even the . same scoreline against  Uruguay has produced no grand inquest. What . began as realism is now the meek acceptance of defeat. The impossible job, we are now told. It isn't. That is more expectation . management. If it is impossible then the incumbent should step aside to . make room for another candidate, who might entertain possibility. Others see the green shoots of recovery in the next generation. Yet . this presumes on several fronts. Any team that includes Phil Jones or . Chris Smalling  presumes they will train on and make the team regularly . at Manchester United under Louis van Gaal, in a way they have not over . the last three years. Any team that includes John Stones on the back of . 26 appearances for Everton, presumes he will grow up to be John Terry . not James Tomkins, who made 37 appearances for England at all levels . from Under 16 onwards, without quite fulfilling the outstanding promise . of his youth. In the previous three World Cups, the players with five caps or fewer are Michael Dawson, Stephen Warnock, Joe Hart, Aaron Lennon, Stewart Downing, Scott Carson, Theo Walcott, Wayne Bridge,  Darius Vassell and Trevor Sinclair. Not everybody delivers on that early promise. Any team that includes Jack Wilshere presumes he avoids injury, and any wholly youthful starting XI presumes depth below, as at all tournaments the law of averages dictates there will always be at least one significant injury, possibly more. Call up: Shaw and Jack Wilshere will get the chance to impress against Costa Rica on Tuesday . Go through the motions: England prepare for final group game against Costa Rica on Tuesday . VIDEO City Guide: Belo Horizonte . Yet here we are. Reimagining what constitutes success. The England of the future gets its kicks from logistical efficiency. 'The best prepared team at the World Cup,' we were told and that boast persists through back-to-back defeats. We wish to be judged on intangibles, when in sport there is a very finite measure of attainment. It's called the score. It is immune to spin, management, foresight, hindsight, revisionism, criticism or any form of external pressure.  By removing it from the equation, nothing is. Win, so what? Lose, so what? Glen Johnson came out of the lift at England's team hotel in Sao Conrado, in the aftermath of the defeat by Uruguay. A fellow countryman asked how he was feeling. Johnson shrugged philosophically. 'What can you do?' he asked. Actually, that shouldn't be a rhetorical question. There are books written on what you can do. Indexed, cross-referenced, alphabetised. There are videos and coaching sessions, debates and discussions, and plans A, B, C, probably through to Z. There is always something you can do. Yet England's right-back is a man of our times. What can you do, eh? He should have an FA blazer. He'd fit right in.
puncher's chance via the play-offs. The only high quality opposition England will face between now and June 2016, then, is in friendly games, and required. That is why the World Cup, not the route to it, is the health check. Hodgson thinks give it a go against the biggest clubs, it will be regarded as a good season. This is where