Manchester United greats Roy Keane and Gary Neville reckon England were "too nice" to win the World Cup.
An iconic and controversial showcase in Qatar was brought to a conclusion on Sunday afternoon when Argentina defeated France on penalties following a show-shopping 120 minutes. Lionel Messi was the hero with two goals at the Lusail Stadium as he also converted from 12 yards during the shootout.
Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez took centre stage after the final whistle for his "mind games" when facing up to France players from the spot, while the South Americans were involved in several flashpoints throughout the tournament - including their feisty last-eight game with the Netherlands which featured 18 cards.
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That was a World Cup record as eight Argentina players were cautioned. England, by contrast, only picked up one card from five matches in Qatar and that went to Manchester United defender Harry Maguire.
He was booked against France in the quarter-finals. But was that a telling factor which cost Gareth Southgate and his Three Lions from emulating the 1966 heroes?
Keane and Neville were on the ITV Sport panel at the final and shared their thoughts on the England squad during their post-tournament analysis. Keane said: " Y ou can be too nice in this game and England are too nice."
Neville added: " We can't applaud teams for getting too many yellow cards, but one does seem a little bit too nice." However, their fellow pundit and ex-Arsenal striker Ian Wright contested that view.
He responded: "W e just didn't get booked. What's that got to do with us losing? I think that it's a good thing."
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