Didier Deschamps’ 185th and final match as France coach ended in a frustrating defeat, after the team showed impressive character to come back from a first half humiliation, only to fall a little short. The one consolation for France is that Kylian Mbappé’s two goals and assist puts him in a great position to retain the golden boot, as well as making him the World Cup’s record goalscorer.

The Match

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In the third place play-off match – the game that no one wants to play – one would have expected there to be a little more at stake for France than for England, les Bleus wanting to see Deschamps off in style and Kylian Mbappé hoping to secure his second straight golden boot award.

However, in the first half, there was only one team that looked interested in winning the match, England tearing France apart as much of the French team barely bothered to break into a run and an awful back four keeping a ridiculous high line. The 4-0 scoreline barely flattered England as they capitalised on error after error to punish the French, who could muster only a couple of tame, easily saved shots. Goal one came from a poor Désiré Doué ball and a failure to close Declan Rice down. Goal two came from Adrien Rabiot being outjumped at a corner. Goal three came from the whole back line being caught napping from a France attack and goal four from more French laxity through the middle.

Unsurprisingly Didier Deschamps gave his team a rocket at half time, made four changes and it was a different team in the second half, France rampaging through England almost at will. Dayot Upamecano set the tone, showing some proactivity from defence that was totally missing in the first half. His strong challenge began the move from which Michael Olise set Mbappé up to pull one back. Mbappé then turned provider, slipping Bradley Barcola to power home. Olise’s seventh assist of the World Cup put Mbappé through to score his 10th of the tournament and become the World Cup’s all-time leading scorer. Ousmane Dembélé and Michael Olise then squandered chances to equalise before a clumsy Malo Gusto challenge allowed England to restore their two-goal lead from the spot. France responded again, Dembélé finally showing some end product. They pushed for a late equaliser but England had the final word, putting the game to bed on the break.

A shame for Deschamps to end his great era in defeat and there are lessons to be learnt from the first half but the outgoing coach can take pride in the reaction of his team in the second half.

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France player ratings

Mike Maignan 5 – made a couple of saves to keep France from further first half embarrassment but was slow to react to some goals. Made an important save early in the second half but could do nothing about England’s penalty.

Malo Gusto 2 – gets a point for at least attempting to add something going forward, but surely the first role of a full back is to be able to defend? Gave away the penalty which ended France’s chances of a result.

Ibrahima Konaté 2 – always looks like he’s playing on ice, showed no leadership – how is he near an international team and what were Real Madrid thinking? Rightly ditched at half-time.

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Dayot Upamecano 6 – totally changed the face of the game with his aggression and front-foot defending. Unfortunate that he was beaten on the halfway line in the lead-up to England’s sixth.

Maxence Lacroix 4 – part of the first-half disaster, recovered well in the second half but was turned inside out for England’s sixth.

Théo Hernandez 1 – awful in defence, added nothing in attack. Unsurprisingly ditched at half-time.

Lucas Digne 5 – came on at half-time and gave a solid performance defensively and going forward. Showed good character after his semi-final performance.

Warren Zaïre-Emery 5 – at least looked to bring some energy in the first half but gradually faded. Showed more than enough to suggest that he will be a big part of this team in the future.

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Adrien Rabiot 5 – did not show the same dynamism as he did in the first half against Spain. Beaten in the air for England’s second. His bite returned in the second half to help France save their blushes.

Rayan Cherki 3 – this was his chance to show what a playmaker he can be. He failed to take the opportunity and also went off at half-time.

Ousmane Dembélé 6 – the one second-half introduction who had very little to do with France’s revival, shooting and passing poorly. His late goal saved his performance. Still disappointing overall when compared with his Paris Saint-Germain form.

Michael Olise 6 – although it is his style to look deceptively relaxed, he seemed totally uninterested in the first half, seemingly playing at walking pace. Showed a reaction in the second half, assisting twice for Mbappé but also missing two great chances to make it 4-4.

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Désiré Doué 4 – another player who struggled to impose himself in any way in the first half. His poor ball led to England’s first goal, setting the tone for the first period. Substituted at half-time.

Bradley Barcola 6 – A bit part of the second half revival, stretching England’s defence numerous times and finishing well for France’s second.

Kylian Mbappé 7 – At times guilty of trying to do too much on his own in the first half, before an excellent second half in which he scored two, assisted one and forced a couple more saves.

GFFN | Jeremy Smith