As many predicted, the fatal blow came from France’s left flank, although it was not delivered by Kylian Mbappe.
Instead, it was Antoine Griezmann who whipped in the cross for Olivier Giroud’s winner on Saturday night.
Before the game, almost all the focus was on how England could stop Mbappe, but Gareth Southgate had actually pointed to Griezmann as the most likely player to make the difference.
“There were so many goals, if you look back over the years in games where France have been in a close game, where Griezmann’s created the goal or scored the goal,” Southgate said on the eve of the game.
The England manager will take no consolation from being proved right, but he should take inspiration from France’s use of Griezmann.
The 31-year-old Atletico Madrid player has spent his club career as a forward, chasing goals and assists, but for his country he is part of a hard-working midfield three — as much a brilliant creator, capable of dictating the tempo, as a tireless runner.
Griezmann was also involved in the move for France’s first goal, but a theme of Saturday’s match was his work off the ball and canny tactical fouls — until he was booked just before half-time.
While England largely managed to shut down Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele, that still left Griezmann, and their own lack of a creative force in midfield was part of the difference between the teams. England might not have been reliant on Harry Kane’s penalties if they had created more from open play.
England do not have a Griezmann, but they do have a Griezmann-in-waiting in Phil Foden, who was disappointing on the left wing.
Southgate was criticised for not introducing Foden from the bench when England were missing a creative spark in the 0-0 draw with the USA and explained afterwards he does not trust the 22-year-old to do the defensive work to play centrally, in part because he rarely does for Manchester City.
“Sometimes the discussion around just plopping him in as a 10 in every game isn’t realistic, because in a game like the [USA] you have to have the ball and there are defensive responsibilities he doesn’t have to do at his club. From the wide areas, the defensive responsibility is different,” Southgate said.
There is merit in this point, but nurturing Foden into the country’s No10 should be a key part of England’s strategy for the next major tournament.
At Foden’s age, Griezmann also lacked the discipline and patience to perform the role he does today, but he has become well-versed in the art of self-sacrifice under Atleti coach Diego Simeone.
The same can be true of Foden, who is perhaps England’s most naturally-gifted creative player but struggles for consistency when outside of Pep Guardiola’s meticulously-designed structure.
With age and experience, that will come and, by Euro 2024, Foden will be a veteran of two major tournaments and another two years into his development under Guardiola.
As it stands, Foden is the best bet to gradually take on more responsibility and become England’s Griezmann.
