VIDEO NASTY!
KANE FUMES AS ENGLAND FLOP DESPITE HELP FROM TV REF
tWo- goaL Harry Kane slammed England’s performance as ‘not good enough’ as they slumped to defeat against 10-man France in Paris.
France had raphael Varane controversially sent off when the video assistant referee reviewed an incident that saw England awarded a penalty for a trip on Dele alli, converted by Kane.
the captain said: ‘Scoring twice in France should be enough. We have got to find a way to win that — we just weren’t good enough.
‘We were in the driver’s seat but we didn’t step it up another gear. they
were getting too much space in vital areas, even with 10 men. It’s disappointing. We want to be brave and play from the back then sometimes mistakes will happen.’ France manager Didier Deschamps did not agree with the decision to award England the penalty and send off Varane through the video referee when he was adjudged to have fouled Alli, who had run clear on goal. ‘It was complicated by the sending-off and the penalty. It was tricky and seemed harsh, but it was less significant because we won the game 3-2. ‘We saw lots of quality and the manner in which we played, with this attacking style and approach, was encouraging. It was a disaster scenario for us to go down to 10 so credit the players because we were up against a nice English team.’ England’s last three friendlies have been against top-class opposition, drawing with Spain and losing narrowly to Germany and France. On the gulf between the sides, England manager Gareth Southgate said: ‘The gap between the teams is what I thought (it might be). The pleasing thing is the players are taking on board tactical information. ‘The three games have provided a different test. With Spain it was their ability to keep the ball better than us and we had to chase and chase and chase. Here we kept the ball better than France, but physically the demands their players impose on you meant we had problems that led to tiredness, which is one of the reasons for the third goal. ‘I’m not surprised in reality. Those teams are the best. In the past few years we’ve not got anywhere near those teams when it’s come to tournaments and finals, so that’s why we need to play them. We need to see the reality of where we are, test yourself against the best, so you don’t mask where you are in terms of (being) a team. ‘Our work with the ball, though, and the way we can hurt teams is encouraging. The other side has to be challenged by playing against these top sides.’