It is a topic that has not, to the best of my knowledge, been debated — that England might fail to qualify for the 2018 World Cup finals. It is not so much a taboo subject, but a general acceptance that England will qualify (because this is what it does, it qualifies for finals) and then under-perform and/or loses on penalties to Germany (because this, too, is what usually happens).
Only the group winner in Europe qualifies for Russia automatically and after four matches England leads Slovenia by two points. That scenario is likely to remain after Sunday's games when England hosts Lithuania and Slovenia visits Scotland.
Ranked 58th by FIFA,Slovenia is hardly blessed with household names, but coach Srecko Katanec has fashioned a team whose whole is more than the sum of its parts. Slovenia has lost only one of its last nine World Cup qualifying games, including a 0-0 home draw with England. While there may be an assumption England will be in Russia the summer after next, Gareth Southgate will take nothing for granted as he prepares his squad for the game against Lithuania.