DANNY MURPHY IN DOHA: Even in defeat, England are a better team now than they were at the last World Cup or Euro 2020 when they weren’t further in the competition.
I was in the stadium for a pulsating quarter-final and it was the best performance I’ve seen from the Three Lions in any tournament game.
Nobody wants to exit the World Cup but if you have to leave, this was the way to do it. Fall on your sword having tried everything with no regrets and nothing left on the pitch.
Jordan Pickford (right) was the first to console Harry Kane (left) after England’s World Cup exit
Gareth Southgate’s (right) side were left heartbroken after their World Cup defeat to France
England were better on the night than France. They showed the great composure having twice fallen behind and came out for the second half in particular with great intent.
When I look through the line-up, I can’t think of a single player who produced less than a 7 or 8/10. Harry Kane missed a crucial penalty but this was still his best game of the competition.
I can empathise with him on the spot-kick because I was a penalty-taker and understand the difficulty of taking two in the same game.
Kane (pictured) converted a penalty during England’s quarter-final match vs France
The England captain unfortunately missed his second putting the ball over the cross bar
It’s not easy when the goalkeeper has faced you earlier on and I think Harry tried to hit his second one harder because he saw Hugo Lloris going the right way.
We know the end result but what impressed when I looked down on the pitch at full-time was the role of Jordan Pickford. He was first over to console Kane as the captain slumped to the pitch and shooed the photographers away.
It was the type of leadership and camaraderie from the England goalkeeper that typified the whole of Gareth Southgate’s campaign in Qatar.
There was only one disappointment in 100 minutes in terms of what happened on the pitch and that was defending the cross that led to Oliver Giroud’s winner.
Olivier Giroud (right) gave France the win, shattering England’s hearts to knock them out
Giroud got between our two centre-halves but even then still needed a slice of luck with the deflection off Harry Maguire. It was classic centre-forward play and amazing to think he wouldn’t have featured without Karim Benzema’s injury. At 36, you can’t underestimate Giroud’s contribution.
That moment apart, England more than matched the world champions. The energy of Jude Bellingham, Jordan Henderson and Declan Rice in midfield was phenomenal.
Bukayo Saka caused Theo Hernandez all sorts of problems and we kept Kylian Mbappe quiet. Physically we were the stronger team which would have put us in good stead had the game gone into extra-time. For long periods, we looked in control.
Bukayo Saka (pictured) caused problems for France’s Theo Hernandez throughout the match
But what defines the very best teams is being able to produce those pieces of magic when you’re under the cosh. France did that with an outstanding cross by Antoine Griezmann for the decisive goal.
For all the talk of Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele, it was Griezmann who ultimately made the difference and while England were superb, you can’t call them the best team at the World Cup when they haven’t managed to get over the line.
At the same time, if there are any inquests start, it has to be accepted that England have moved forward, even from being European finalists last year.
Youngsters like Bellingham, Saka and Phil Foden have enhanced their reputations further and will be around for many more big competitions.
Antoine Griezmann (pictured) was the standout player for France assisting both goals
Jude Bellingham (left) has certainly hiked up his transfer tag after an impressive tournament
England coped well with Kylian Mbappe (left) but on the night other French players stood up
Bellingham is now a bona fide £100million midfielder, a superstar. Rice would probably cost the same in this market. Saka is going to be huge for Arsenal if they are going to fight for the Premier League title. He terrified defenders. With all three, a bright future lays ahead.
We coped with Mbappe as well as anyone could but France showed they do have others who can step up. I’d make them or Argentina favourites to win the World Cup.
A month ago I might have fancied Argentina but having watched each team three times live, I think France have more match-winners even if the South Americans are steely opposition.
I do think England were hard done by with some refereeing decisions in the first half though that they didn’t prove decisive with two penalty awards in the second.
The Brazilian referee tried to let the game flow which in general I approve of from officials. Unfortunately, it can mean the occasional foul going unpunished and it did look like Saka was impeded in the build-up to the first French goal.
The big picture is we did get the chance later on to level at 2-2 and we missed it.
