England suffered World Cup quarter-final heartbreak at the hands of France – so what went wrong for Gareth Southgate’s side at the Al Bayt Stadium?
The Three Lions put in a spirited display on Saturday night, however, they still went down 2-1 to the defending champions to exit the tournament.
Inevitably, much of the post-match discussion focussed on both the performance of Brazilian referee Wilton Pereira Sampaio, as well as captain Harry Kane’s late penalty miss that could have taken the game into extra time.
However, those were not the only factors behind England’s loss to Les Bleus…
Ref justice for the Three Lions
After watching the Argentina and Netherlands players bemoan the officiating in their quarter-final 24 hours earlier, Gareth Southgate bit his tongue when he was asked about the performance of referee Wilton Sampaio, his assistants and the Video Assistant Referee. But his players had been tearing their hair out throughout the 90 minutes against France – and with some justification.
It may seem like an odd take to blame the referee when England were awarded two penalties against the defending champions, but several standout decisions could have changed the course of this tie – and a series of unpunished challenges allowed France to repeatedly stall England’s attacking play.
First, the big moments. Dayot Upamecano’s bundle into Bukayo Saka looked more and more like a foul with each replay. France broke away to score the opener.
Soon after, the same defender was spun by Harry Kane and, with his arms on the England striker and his legs outstretched to tangle with his opponent, Upamecano seemed certain to give away a penalty. Sampaio and his assistant decided not to give a foul in real time and a VAR check appeared to conclude that the challenge was not inside the area, so the VAR could not advise a penalty be awarded. The calls on the pitch and in the VAR room left England fans mystified.
The VAR did at least intervene when Sampaio and his assistants somehow missed Theo Hernandez’s reckless barge into Mason Mount, advising the official to check the pitchside monitor, where he eventually awarded that fateful late penalty.
But beyond those headline calls, there were also the repeated challenges sustained by Saka. According to the stats, the Arsenal forward was fouled four times, but in reality, it could have been twice as many, with France dishing out some rough treatment to the youngster.
Antoine Griezmann dazzled on the ball with his two assists, but without it he nibbled away at England when they attacked, getting away with plenty before he was eventually booked and then escaping a second yellow when he helped Adrien Rabiot bundle down Saka as he crossed halfway.
“He had an absolute nightmare. A joke of a referee,” was Gary Neville’s verdict on ITV. “I’m not saying it was all down to England’s defeat – people will say it is excuses – but he’s just a bad referee, rank bad.”
In a game of such fine margins, between two evenly matched teams, when England needed to be right on the money to reach the World Cup semi-finals, the refereeing by Sampaio was often another unhelpful obstacle to deal with.
Peter Smith
No case for the defence
England can bemoan the performance of referee Sampaio as much as they like, but in the end, it was defensive mistakes that led to their World Cup quarter-final defeat to France.
Sure, Sunday morning’s headlines will all focus on Kane’s late penalty miss and the at times slightly bizarre display from the Brazilian official in charge of the game, however, that would be to ignore the real reasons behind England’s loss.
Heading to Qatar this winter, Southgate’s side had genuine belief they could return home with the World Cup trophy, although there was always the nagging fear their back line would be their Achilles’ heel.
And ultimately, that was the case at the Al Bayt Stadium as goals in each half from Aurelien Tchouameni and Olivier Giroud were enough to see the world champions through to the semi-finals, both of which were avoidable.
Yes, Tchouameni’s 17th-minute opener was sweetly struck from the edge of the area, but England had enough players back to deal with the danger, as Roy Keane noted on ITV: “From Gareth’s point of view, one or two bad decisions (for the opening goal) – Rice going to ground, you have your two or three midfielders back in there, but it is a brilliant strike.
“Keeper, could he do better? I think so, but you have to get out to the shot a bit quicker and more aggressively. But when the ball comes back in the middle of the park, you have to get out there.
“A lovely strike, but England will be really disappointed…”
And then just as England got themselves back into the game in the second half, Harry Maguire gave Giroud the space to power home a close-range header late on as another defensive lapse proved costly.
“As we feared from the very start of the tournament – it was England’s defence that cost them. Two key lapses, that were ruthlessly punished by France,” said Sky Sports News senior reporter Rob Dorsett.
Richard Morgan
Did Gareth make right calls from the bench?
England’s squad depth has been deemed one of their strengths throughout this World Cup – but does sometimes having too many options cause a manager to overthink things?
When England fell behind on 78 minutes, Southgate was spoilt for choice on who to unleash into the action to change the outcome. Mason Mount was top of his list, a substitution vindicated perhaps by the winning of the penalty by the Chelsea forward, but that is up for debate considering he had Jack Grealish, James Maddison and Trent Alexander-Arnold – three ultra-creative players – sitting there waiting for their chance.
This was surely a game for the Liverpool right back when England needed a goal. Raheem Sterling – thrown on with Mount – was tasked with delivering the quality from the right in the closing stages, but both his crosses were gobbled up easily by Lloris.
The man Sterling replaced was Saka – England’s livewire on the flank that won the first penalty. Jamie Redknapp, speaking on the World Cup podcast, was surprised Saka was withdrawn.
Redknapp said: “France couldn’t handle him, he was too much for Theo Hernandez. I must admit, looking at it now, I couldn’t believe Gareth took him off. If we’d got a goal and gone to extra time, he was the player who got me off the edge of my seat. I found it a really strange decision.
“Obviously you have to make subs to impact the game, but I would have kept him on every single second of that game, and when he went off I’m sure Hernandez breathed a huge sigh of relief.”
Meanwhile, Alexander-Arnold is the best crosser of a ball in the Premier League, yet it is staggering he has played just 33 minutes in this tournament. Southgate has got the majority of his big calls right in the last few weeks, however, the weird disregard for Alexander-Arnold is a tough one to understand.
Lewis Jones
Why can’t England beat top nations when it counts?
Southgate has transformed England into a team that can navigate tournament football with a confidence that feels alien to years previous.
A World Cup semi-final, a Euros final and a World Cup quarter-final is an impressive return. Especially when you consider England’s history in major tournaments.
Each time, though, the Three Lions come undone when they meet a top side in the knockout rounds.
Colombia, Sweden, Germany, Ukraine, Denmark, Senegal. Those are the nations England have beaten in major tournaments under Southgate after progressing from the group.
For a country that now fancies itself when a tournament approaches, this is hardly a record worthy of world or European champions.
Southgate has allowed a new generation of England fans to dream. His accomplishments should not be downplayed or ignored. But England can’t quite get over the hill when it counts.
“Fine margins” seems to be the party line.
England have become a team that can control big games since the crushing World Cup semi-final 2-1 defeat to Croatia after extra time in 2018. Southgate learned his lesson and made adjustments.
The 2-0 victory over Germany at the last-16 stage of Euro 2020 felt like a turning point for the Three Lions. The moment they put the years of tournament trauma behind them to start a new chapter.
But, as was evident against France on Saturday night, and Italy in the final of the Euros, England struggle to turn that firm grip on the game into chances and, crucially, goals.
What do these successful nations have that we don’t? Belief.
Sometimes you have to see something to believe it. Many of these France players lifted the World Cup four years ago. England’s manager wasn’t even alive in 1966.
Didier Deschamps’s men were not better than England’s. They just had that vital one per cent that carried them through. Winners win football matches.
Slow incremental steps seem to be the path to glory under Southgate. Perhaps there is too much impatience in a nation aching for silverware. It will take something special to end the now 56 years of hurt.
Zinny Boswell
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