Daily Mail

SHAKY ENGLAND THROW IT AWAY

They fold despite Varane’s red card

- MATT LAWTON Chief Sports Reporter at the Stade de France @Matt_Lawton_DM

THE temptation to blame Theresa May might have been considerab­le in the England dressing room. Our chastened Prime Minister was here after all.

But Gareth Southgate will have to take the rap for this one as his decision to square up to this ferocious French attack with such a brittle defence proved England’s undoing.

Even after losing Raphael Varane to a controvers­ial red card, awarded at the behest of the video referee, at the start of the second half, these precocious­ly gifted France players had too much pace, skill and power for England in what, for an end-of-season friendly, was a surprising­ly committed, entertaini­ng encounter.

Lesser players might have chosen to consolidat­e after going a man down and seeing Harry Kane equalise from the penalty spot with the new England skipper’s third goal in the two games in which he has worn the armband.

But this is some French squad Didier Deschamps boasts, given the stature of the players — Antoine Griezmann among them — absent from this contest.

In Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante the French had two players who dominated the midfield, and in Ousmane Dembele and Kylian Mbappe we saw two young forwards with whom England simply could not cope. They exploited the space afforded them by a back three to devastatin­g effect, with 18-year-old Mbappe reminding us why he is being so vigorously pursued by Europe’s leading clubs.

The two forwards combined for the decisive 78th-minute strike, Mbappe skinning a most disappoint­ing John Stones before inviting Dembele to beat Jack Butland with an excellent finish.

England started well enough, Kane opening the scoring after nine minutes with a well-executed goal that came after some decent movement and precise passing. But as well as further evidence of alarming fragility at the back after a similarly worrying display against Scotland last weekend, Southgate will be concerned by the lack of dynamism in his team.

A year out from the World Cup, only one of these sides looks capable of making an impact in Russia and it was not the one in white.

The Stade de France provided a perfect setting for a moving display of unity in the battle against terror, with the French military band’s rendition of Don’t

Look Back In Anger a particular­ly poignant moment. They even had a chap who rather resembled Jona Lewie, playing electric guitar in full military uniform.

But once the game got under way, the commitment — certainly of French players clearly keen to impress their manager — could not be faulted.

England began brightly, with Raheem Sterling playing a crucial role in Kane’s opening strike. He received a fine diagonal ball from Dele Alli before sending Ryan Bertrand clear with a clever back heel. England’s wing-back passed across the six-yard box and into the path of Kane for an easy finish.

The French were quick to react, however. Olivier Giroud found the net but the goal, quite rightly, was disallowed for offside. Dembele should have equalised when Mbappe sent him clean through with a marvellous pass off the outside of his right boot but Dembele miscued and the ball drifted embarrassi­ngly wide.

France maintained the pressure and equalised after 22 minutes thanks to poor defending at a setpiece. Tom Heaton did well in saving the initial header from Giroud but the failure even to challenge Samuel Umtiti for the rebound will trouble England’s manager. It was a soft goal to concede.

It was quickly becoming a stern test for England, though they might have regained the advantage when Eric Dier nearly scored from a corner. He had Hugo Lloris’s goal at his mercy but failed to force a save from his Tottenham teammate, instead shooting wide.

The dominance of Pogba and Kante in central areas neverthele­ss provided the hosts with the ideal platform and the direct running of Mbappe and Dembele stretched England to the limit.

With two minutes of the first half remaining, Dembele surged past Stones before unleashing a shot that Heaton again did well to save only for England’s defenders once more to finish second in the race to the rebound. This time Djibril Sidibe got there first to give France the lead.

The first use of a video referee in an England internatio­nal allowed the visitors to force their way back into the game after the break, as replays showed that Varane had fouled Alli in the French penalty area, and Kane did the rest.

But not even the disadvanta­ge of losing the Real Madrid defender deterred these prodigious­ly gifted French players, who instead provided Southgate with the clearest indication yet of the size of the task he has taken on.

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PICTURE: ANDY HOOPER
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