Players lined up around the centre circle, while fans sing ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’, as both teams and their fans paid tribute to those affected by the Manchester and London attacks. A truly incredible gesture from the football community.
It was a friendly full of frustration for Gareth Southgate’s England squad, as they failed to fend off an attacking French side, as they lost 3-2 at Stade de France last night.
The night started strong for England, as the Premier League’s top goal scorer, Harry Kane, scored inside the opening ten minutes.
However, Southgate’s experimental back three were quick to crumble under the continuous counter attacks from the French side, who bagged two before half time; with goals coming from Umtiti and Sibide.
Things looked up early into the second half. England were awarded a penalty as French defender Varane, with little help from the referee’s video assistant, was sent off for his challenge on Dele Alli. None other than Harry Kane stepped up to the penalty spot to score his second of the game.
Despite being reduced to 10 men, France’s were able to clinch the win as Ousmane Dembele scored their third and the game’s final goal of the night.
A promising performance from the young talent in the french side, but with a shy number of players from the England squad putting in a decent performance, Gareth Southgaate has some serious evaluating to do. One of which is who gets the number 1. spot as the manager gave both goalkeepers, Tome Heaton & Jack Butler, 45 minutes in goal. The World Cup is still a year away, but every second counts for Southgate.
