More than three weeks after Roy Hodgson's resignation, the search for the next England manager has reached its conclusion.
Sky Sports News HQ understands that Sam Allardyce will be ratified as Roy Hodgson's replacement at an FA board meeting on Thursday.
But who are the three men on the FA panel that picked the new man, and what were they looking for? Here, we take a look...
Who will pick the new boss?
FA chief executive Martin Glenn, FA technical director Dan Ashworth and FA vice-chairman David Gill.
What are their credentials?
Glenn admitted that he was "not a football expert" during a press conference alongside Hodgson last month, but has been in his role at the FA since March of last year.
He spent most of his career as a branding expert in advertising before joining the FA - hiring Gary Lineker as the face of Walkers crisps in 1992.
Glenn is an FA Level One qualified coach, but has not coached or managed at any professional level. He spent time as a non-executive director at Leicester City from 2002 to 2006, but he has never appointed a manager before.
He has also overseen the use of a number of ex-England players including Joe Cole, Phil Neville, Rio Ferdinand and Steven Gerrard getting involved in England's younger representative sides.
Ashworth, meanwhile, joined the FA in 2012 where he rose to his current role. He came to prominence during his time at West Brom, where he worked alongside Hodgson - with the former England boss playing a key role in bringing Ashworth to the FA.
He helped with the appointments of Roberto Di Matteo, Hodgson and Steve Clarke at The Hawthorns, while he also oversaw the appointment of Mark Sampson to manage the England women's side, who finished third at last summer's World Cup.
He was released by Norwich as a teenager having failed to make it as a defender, but does hold a coaching Pro Licence. He has also previously worked at Peterborough and Cambridge.
Gill was formerly the chief executive at Manchester United from 2003 until 2013, leaving at the same time as Sir Alex Ferguson. He remains on the board of directors at the club.
He was appointed vice-chairman of the FA in 2012, having been on the board for several years and also holds positions on the UEFA executive committee and is the UK vice-president on the FIFA executive committee.
He has never before overseen a managerial appointment, but would have been consulted on the appointment of David Moyes at Manchester United in 2013.
What were they after?
There were initial reports that Gareth Southgate was reluctant to take on the role temporarily while the FA waited for a more appetising appointment such as Arsene Wenger to become available. Glenn recently confirmed they were not after a short-term solution.
The possibility of the FA appointing a foreign boss for the third time was opened up when Glenn declared that they "want the best person for the job" regardless of nationality.
Whatever the country of origin, Glenn was keen to stress the importance of the England manager liaising with all age-groups in order to improve English football.
For Ashworth, that is likely to mean buying into the notion of 'England DNA' - the concept he launched in 2014 and was described at the time as "the start point for the creation of a world-class approach of elite player development leading to winning England teams".
Was anyone else involved?
Lots of people. Glenn is believed to have taken the initiative in canvassing the views of a number of former England players in order to gain a better understanding of the reasons for England's perceived under-performance in major tournaments.
Who is on this board?
There are 12 people on the FA's board. As well as Glenn and Gill, there is chairman Greg Dyke (who stands down after Thursday's meeting) and the National Game representatives Barry Bright, Roger Burden, Jack Pearce and Mervyn Leggett.
The Professional Game representatives are Ian Lenegan, Peter McCormick and Jeremy Moxey, while independent non-executive directors Roger Devlin and Heather Rabbatts are involved too.
Although Glenn, Ashworth and Gill recommend their choice of England manager, it is the entire board that ratifies that decision.
Who was on the shortlist?
Jurgen Klinsmann was the focus of considerable speculation and quickly became the bookmakers' favourite for the job. However, it soon emerged that two Englishmen had been interviewed for the role - Sunderland boss Sam Allardyce and Hull's Steve Bruce.
Allardyce visited Gill's Cheshire home and met with all three of the FA panel, while Hull confirmed earlier in the week that Bruce had held "informal discussions" over the job.
What happens next?
Sunderland and Hull both expressed a desire for the decision to be made quickly, with the former describing the speculation as "extremely damaging" and thus putting the FA under pressure to finalise their plans. Thursday's meeting with the 12-man board was the obvious time for the panel to present their decision.
With contract details to be finalised, a formal announcement may take a little longer. However, it seems certain that the identity of England's next manager will be officially confirmed very soon.