If only England had been wearing their away kit this would have been the perfect case of Red Djed Redemption at the World Cup as the Tottenham defender played a vital late role in the huge 3-2 win against Mexico.
Thomas Tuchel's team are through to the quarter-finals after a pulsating clash at the Estadio Azteca. They defended superbly with 10 men amid the noise of 80,824 fans to set up a huge match in Miami on Saturday night against Norway, who stunned Brazil with Erling Haaland's double.
Among those who kept out the waves of Mexican attacks on Sunday (or very early on Monday morning for those with bleary eyes in the UK) was Djed Spence after being thrown into the huge game with Dan Burn in the 73rd minute as Tuchel looked to repel the hosts' bombardment of the England box with their extra man.
It had been Spence's replacement at right-back, Jarell Quansah, who had seen red for his reckless lunge just nine minutes into the second half.
It's worth noting that the 25-year-old Spurs defender was a doubt for the game after feeling a muscle problem that morning but he entered the fray amid the din of the roaring Mexican fans and put in a performance that slapped away much of the unbalanced criticism that came after his performance against DR Congo five days beforehand.
In those 17 minutes, plus another 11 of added time, Spence made five clearances - just one less than the excellent Burn - as well as one interception and he won one aerial duel.
His most important moment came when he slid in to stop Santiago Gimenez from bursting into the England box in the 83rd minute with a challenge that had to be perfect. Then while still on the floor, the full-back got to the loose ball before Guillermo Martinez could seize upon it and Anthony Gordon completed the clearance.
When the final whistle blew, there was a relief and joy all round for the England stars but amongst the delirium Jude Bellingham, who had scored twice on the night, sought out Spence. He placed his forehead against his team-mate's and launched into a long, passionate monologue at the Spurs man.
He was no doubt making sure that Spence was well aware of his own key part in this historic victory - only the third competitive defeat for Mexico in their famous stadium since it opened all the way back in 1966 - particularly after the criticism he had faced in the week along with the intense scrutiny over the right-back spot.
Bellingham knows all about overblown criticism and Spence faced his own bout of it after the game against DR Congo.
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For despite Spence clearly having to come across to cover for wandering centre-backs and then Jordan Pickford, who was magnificent against Mexico, being beaten at his near post, it was all the Tottenham defender's fault apparently.
It fit in with the narrative that had built around the videos of Tuchel shouting from the sidelines for more from Spence in that match and also once during 15 open minutes in front of the media at one early training session. Let's ignore the fact that the vocal and manic England boss shouts at most of his players during games and that these were just a couple of selective clips from an entire tournament so far.
With Spence having had some managers over the years who found getting through to him required a delicate balance of carrot and stick, the clips fell nicely into the box he had been placed in.
It created a pile on. Was Spence great against DR Congo? Not at all. Were any of England's starting players beyond Harry Kane and Bellingham particularly good? Not at all.
So it was important for Spence to get his moment in the Azteca as Tuchel's subs all made their mark with John Stones and Morgan Rogers also playing their parts.
The media recognised the Spurs defender's efforts across those 28 minutes in Mexico, all of them mentioning that vital challenge in the England box and that he stepped up when needed.
For Tottenham supporters, Spence's cameo also further confirmed the opinion that many who watch the club regularly hold - he's better on the left. In a sport in which wingers are increasingly inverted, the 25-year-old can deal with them on his stronger foot, although to be fair he is also good at handling those who do attempt to get past him on the outside.
Those who don't watch Spence as much think he's better going forward than he is defensively, but the truth is that it's actually the other way round. He doesn't offer too much going forward, other than some pace - as shown in his strong cameo against Croatia - and his crossing is not the best despite that pre-World Cup cross for Kane.
There's a reason Spence has only registered eight assists and seven goals from 234 senior appearances across his career. For context, his rival for the right-back spot at Spurs, Pedro Porro, has 50 assists and 29 goals from 305 games.
Yet from one-vs-one defending, Spence is the better of the two and that is where his strength lies. Tuchel may well be tempted to employ him against the tricky Antonio Nusa at the weekend for exactly that reason, but that would likely be on the right.
The arrival of Andy Robertson, along with Destiny Udogie and Ben Davies all looking to play at left-back, means Spence will compete in his favoured position on the right if he is up for the challenge next season under Roberto De Zerbi. He will back himself to be good enough to do so.
He will have learned plenty of important lessons from his World Cup experience and will get more minutes before his tournament comes to a close this summer.
The Djed Spence redemption has begun. All eyes are now on Miami and then what comes next for him and Tottenham during a big season in north London.
