Roy Keane sympathised with England after their heartbreaking World Cup exit at the hands of France - and the Irishman claimed that their elimination against the reigning world champions was a reminder that elite sport is often "brutal".
Gareth Southgate's side were eliminated in the quarter-finals of a major tournament for a record-breaking seventh time after succumbing to a late 2-1 defeat against France after Harry Kane blazed an 84th minute penalty over the crossbar.
Kane had found the back of the net from the spot earlier in the second-half half to cancel out Aurelien Tchouameni's stunning opener. But Olivier Giroud's powerful header in the 78th minute ultimately proved to be decisive in Doha as France continue their quest for a third world title.
England earned plenty of plaudits for their performance at Al Bayt Stadium, where they recovered from a nervy start to outplay France for large portions of the match.
However, the Three Lions were unable to recover from their late setback; even though Marcus Rashford went close to forcing extra-time with one of the final kicks of the game.
Keane, covering the match as a pundit for ITV, insisted after the match that he thought that England were "outstanding" against the reigning world champions and felt that they could take plenty from the match going forward - but he also stressed that the defeat was a stark reminder that you don't always get what you deserve in "top level" sport.
The former Manchester United captain said after the game: "Just a reminder top level sport is brutal. Absolutely brutal. I thought England were outstanding, the better team but you have to give France credit, they know how to win the game, they weren’t at their best but they found a way. Really tough on England."
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Keane's former Old Trafford teammate Gary Neville, who was also covering the match for ITV, echoed his colleague's comments and commended the overall performance that Southgate's side produced against one of the sides heavily tipped to win the tournament.
"Absolutely gutted for Harry Kane, gutted for the lads, they played so well in that second-half," Neville assessed after the game. "It was a 50/50 game they just came the wrong side of, you wouldn’t have had anyone else to take that penalty, he would’ve been England’s greatest ever goalscorer.
"The heartbreak, they’ve had to work so hard, they’ve now got to wait four years. Look this is no disgrace, England have lost pretty badly in tournaments but they played pretty well against a great side and I thought they edged it in the end not tonight."
