Audio By Carbonatix
France produced a terrific performance to teach England a painful lesson in passing, movement and imagination - even after going down to 10 men. The final score did not reflect the extent of their superiority, nor the abject cluelessness of their opponents.
England actually started pretty well, crafting a beautiful goal for Harry Kane on nine minutes. But inspired by the peerless Paul Pogba, France gradually hauled themselves into the game, and on 22 minutes, Samuel Umititi was quickest to react after Tom Heaton could only push Olivier Giroud's header back into play.
Then, just before half-time, Ousmane Dembele, another who had a fine match, sent John Stones out for a bag of chips, and when he shot Heaton again parried into danger. This time, Djibril Sidibe tucked home.
Less than a minute after half-time, a lifeline for England: Dele Alli brilliantly chased his own flick-on and Raphael Varane ran across the back of him, clipping his heels; the referee pointed to the spot.
What was more surprising was that, after consultation with the video referee, he then showed Varane a ridiculously harsh and frankly incorrect red card, beforeKane scored from the spot.
In prime position for force a win, England were instead outplayed for the remainder of the game, unable to get close to Pogba and unable to cope with the pace and intelligence of Dembele, Thomas Lemar and Kylian Mbappe.
France could've had several more goals but contented themselves with one, scored by Dembele after lovely work from Lemar and Pogba. Roughly, they are brilliant, England are not.
Latest Stories
-
Legal lifeline for Ghanaians in America as lawyers association, Embassy move to tackle diaspora challenges
38 minutes -
Photos: First Atlantic Bank PLC officially listed on Ghana Stock Exchange
59 minutes -
Energy minister assures stable power as Ghana hits peak demand in December
2 hours -
Miguel Ribeiro Fiifi Brandful
2 hours -
Adom TV’s ‘Nine Lessons and Carols’ electrifies National Theatre in a festive extravaganza
2 hours -
Mahama orders $78m payment to Justmoh to resume Agona–Nkwanta road works
2 hours -
Christmas rush deepens traffic woes in Accra Central
3 hours -
Three arrested after viral video shows toddler being fed alcohol
3 hours -
Survivors ‘nervous and sceptical’ about release of remaining Epstein files
4 hours -
‘No room for egos’: Sam Jonah issues bold challenge to UCC graduates and Ghana’s future leaders
4 hours -
Eggs-traordinary success: Multimedia Group’s Christmas Egg Market sells out in record time as patrons demand extension
5 hours -
Galamsey crackdown: IMANI boss challenges Mahama to purge NDC of mining interests
6 hours -
Fela set to become first African to receive Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
6 hours -
636 new ‘Blue Water Guards’ deployed to frontlines of anti-galamsey war
6 hours -
Ghana to launch E-visa by Q1 2026
7 hours
