Kylian Mbappe had the run on him and we all know what happens in that scenario.
He’s gone, out of there, offski, he’s the fastest man left in the World Cup, don’t forget. He’d get a ticket if he was out running on some English roads, he is a 35 kilometre-per-hour-plus man.
Whether or not Mbappe’s needle nudged that mark when he momentarily got clear of Sofyan Amrabat midway though the second half is unknown but the Frenchman was in his stride, that is for sure.
But Amrabat got there, this all-action midfielder got there, this warrior and technician at the heart of this Moroccan team got there.
Mbappe yelped and rolled around, Didier Deschamps had a minor rant, Amrabat got on with it.
There have been plenty of players who have lost nothing but gained plenty during the agony of a World Cup semi-final defeat … Amrabat should take his place towards the top of that list.
And most of his team-mates should join him.
Were Amrabat and his brothers-in-arms robbed? Absolutely not. They lacked composure at the vital times in the vital areas and were simply not clinical enough, forcing Hugo Lloris into only a couple of demanding stops.
They also made a couple of small but extremely costly defensive mistakes in the build-up to the Theo Hernandez goal that gave France the early lead to protect and to use as a platform to counter.
Were Amrabat and his brothers-in-arms failed by the officials? Absolutely not. One shocking yellow card for Sofiane Boufal apart, Mexican referee Cesar Arturo Ramos Palazuelos had a decent match and let things flow.
But were Amrabat and his brothers-in-arms a credit to their nation, a credit to their continent?
Absolutely they were, their performance not warranting the harshness of the second goal from Randal Kolo Muani.
But while the French performance was again, not overly convincing - but, again, resulted in a win - the Kolo Muani settler was a reminder of how powerful the depth of this footballing nation has become.
One of the flimsy consolations the English took away from the defeat by France was that the future is bright because of the core of young talent in Gareth Southgate’s squad.
Fine, but take a look at this French squad and you might realise that England’s core of young talent is not of such a significant size.
The French have now qualified for three finals in five World Cup tournaments, not to mention a Euros final in 2016, and are becoming a dominant force in international football.
And that is not going to change any time soon.
Fernandez made the breakthrough with a wonderfully adept technical finish and that was symbolic of the talent in the collection of players in their early and mid-twenties. Fernandez has just turned 25 while Mbappe, of course, only reaches 24 next Tuesday.
The brilliant young man who announced himself on this sort of international stage against England, Aurelien Tchouameni, is 22 while Youssouf Fofana is a year older.
Defenders Jules Kounde and Ibrahima Konate are 24 and 23 respectively and Ousmane Dembele is 25. In short, this is a French squad with generations of talent, promise and success to come.
Not that they found matters routine against the ultra-combative Moroccans. For their noisy multitude of fans, Walid Regragui gave every last drop of effort.
They were not quite good enough but Amrabat and his brothers-in-arms really did make their country and their continent proud.
