England became the first team to lose seven World Cup quarter-finals after Gareth Southgate's side bowed out of the tournament with a 2-1 defeat against France.
The Three Lions came into the game with plenty of optimism but were put on the back foot inside the opening half an hour when Aurelien Tchouameni blasted home from 25 yards to give Les Bleus the lead. However, Southgate's men responded well to going behind and were gifted an opportunity to level from the spot just after the break
Harry Kane stepped up and converted his penalty into the top left-hand corner, sending Hugo Lloris the wrong way. It was a terrific strike from the Tottenham forward, and it gave England a route back into the game.
But France re-took the lead against the run of play in the 78th minute when Oliver Giroud powered a header home. Kane had the chance to keep England's hopes alive for a second time, but he blazed a penalty wildly over the bar in the final minutes to condemn his country to another painful quarter-final defeat.
In actual fact, it was the seventh time they have bowed out in the last eight of the World Cup. The Three Lions were first eliminated from the competition at the quarter-final stage in 1954, and have since done the same in 1962, 1970, 1986, 2002, 2006 and then in 2022.
It is a crazy record given the fact the first World Cup didn't take place until 1930, meaning England have been knocked out in the last eight seven times in their 16 attempts at the competition. However, the Three Lions also went out in round two in 1950 and 1982, which is similar to bowing out in the quarter-finals under the old format.
Despite falling to defeat against France, Southgate decided to focus on the positives from his side's performance. He also reflected on Kane's missed penalty as he equalled Wayne Rooney's Three Lions record.
He said: " Harry is very low as you would expect - but he’s got nothing to reproach himself for. We’re in the position we are because of his leadership and goals. Tonight’s result was about 100 minutes’ of football. Even if the penalty goes in, we’ve got a lot to do to win the game.
"So now recriminations. We win and lose together. Harry is the best - but even the best miss. There’s no-one I’d rather have in that situation. If we had another penalty tomorrow, I’d feel exactly the same way."
It was a night dipped in both pride and pain for the nation. England outplayed the reigning world champions for long periods and were also faced with a Brazilian referee who was out of his depth. "I don’t think you should talk about the referee when you’ve just been beaten," was Southgate's diplomatic take.
