AL KHOR, Qatar — It is a mark of England’s improvement under Gareth Southgate that the failures at least are heroic again. After the years of damp squib exits, Saturday’s 2–1 loss to France, the reigning world champion, was a defeat that felt very much like the old days. The loss to West Germany in 1990, to Argentina in 1998 or to Portugal in 2004, full of near-misses and close-run things to be replayed over and over. There will be those who blame Southgate for the result, but the truth is England did not do much wrong. It played well and was beaten by a very good team in what was, by some distance, the highest-quality game of the tournament so far.
The closest of all those near misses, of course, was the penalty Harry Kane skied over the bar after 82 minutes. Players miss penalties. It happens. Kane is usually very good at them. The urge to blame the manager is always strong in football, particularly when that manager has been in position six years and familiarity has begun, in certain quarters, to breed contempt, but it doesn’t really apply here.
“They know how close they’ve come,” said Southgate, who was as measured as ever in his postmatch remarks.
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There had been much talk in the buildup as to whether Southgate would be bold and start with the 4-3-3 that had overwhelmed Senegal. But the choice of adjective seemed strange: the bold thing for him to have done would have been to reject the shape that had carried England to the quarterfinal to impose a more defensive structure. As it turned out, the defeat had little to do with the shape; rather France won two moments and had an element of luck at other key junctures. Kylian Mbappé did not get in behind Kyle Walker with regularity or to a detriment. In the end, what undid Southgate’s side was a cross from Antoine Griezmann and a header from Olivier Giroud that flashed in off Harry Maguire’s shoulder; the sort of thing that really ought to be an English strength.
Twice in the first half, key refereeing decisions went against England, neither wrong as such, but equally both could easily have gone the other way. Another referee might have decided Bukayo Saka was fouled in the buildup to France’s opening goal (another referee might have given Saka a lot more free kicks), while Kane was denied a penalty when Dayot Upamecano tangled with him only because he was a fraction outside the box. Margins sometimes are exceptionally fine. Not every defeat is shameful.
France, meanwhile, did what it does under Didier Deschamps. It played within itself, suggested on the counter the heights of which it might be capable and—just about—held England at arm’s length, although the expected goals tally was 2.6–1.3 in England’s favor. In Russia, France had its wobbles, notably against Argentina, and this side is not as secure as that. What got it through, in the end, was a supremely good finish from Aurélien Tchouaméni to put it ahead after 17 minutes, as he whipped a low shot past Jordan Pickford from 25 yards, and then a brilliant cross by Griezmann after 78 minutes that brought Giroud’s winner.
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Win the moments and the rest will follow. Deschamps was unusually gracious in victory, praising England and speaking of the “tiny little details” that fell the way of his side. But England can legitimately feel it was the better side for the final three-quarters of the game, probing intelligently down the flanks, creating opportunities. Hugo Lloris made three fine saves, two to deny Kane and one on a blistering chance from Jude Bellingham. Kane, having scored one penalty to pull level with Wayne Rooney’s England scoring record (53), then blasted over a second effort that would have leveled the score with seven minutes left. He, surely, has done enough for his country to avoid the sort of opprobrium that has so often in the past followed England disappointments, and Rooney himself took to his defense.
“Absolutely gutted for the lads but proud of the way they’ve played this tournament and they should be proud. Congratulations to Harry Kane on equalling the record, he’ll be on his own soon and couldn’t think of anyone better to take over. Keep your head up Harry,” Rooney wrote on Twitter.
Far more than the defeat on penalties to Italy in the final of the Euros or the extra-time defeat to Croatia in the World Cup semifinals four years ago, this was a game England can leave without reproaching itself. It was not tactically or technically outplayed, it just lost. Indeed, for all the inevitable criticism Southgate will receive for having gone out at an earlier stage than England did in Russia, this was probably the more impressive campaign. But with England there is always the other narrative, the one that looks back to 1966 and asks why there has been no trophy since.
France has two World Cup titles and two European titles in that time. Under Deschamps, somehow, it is never especially convincing, which is perhaps the luxury that having high-class players affords a side. While England laments the little things that mark the difference between competing for trophies and wondering what could have been, France goes on again. It’ll meet Morocco, Africa’s first semifinalist, on Wednesday, optimistic of becoming the first side since Brazil in 1962 to retain the World Cup.
