It’s still there. That kink in the psyche of so many France teams over the years, a niggle that has kept them from joining the very best sides in history, despite all the talent, despite the heritage. It has cost them World Cups, it has cost them championships.
Here they failed to land the telling blow time and again, despite the sword in their hand hovering over exposed flesh. How to tear open a side, how to contrive ways of not scoring. The inventiveness of this side with ball in hand was matched only by the imagination with which they managed to let go of it.
