There were tears at the end - but there are always English tears at the World Cup.
Harry Kane missed a late penalty that meant another dream cruelly withered on the vine, fittingly this time in a desert setting.
Kane, on the night he drew level with Wayne Rooney as England’s record goalscorer, joined names like Peter Bonetti, Stuart Pearce, Chris Waddle and David Beckham in the annals of England hard-luck stories at this tournament. No wonder the Three Lions captain wore the thousand-yard stare of a man in shock at the final whistle.
Kane had already dragged England level from the spot when he stepped up to look into the white’s of Hugo Lloris’ eyes from 12 yards again five minutes from time.
Olivier Giroud had headed the world champions ahead for a second time in the 77th minute. But this time, Kane’s shot was so high it landed in with the England fans behind Lloris’ goal.
So Gareth Southgate’s side were out - and a tantalising semi-final meeting with Morocco was beyond them. Southgate, who knows a thing or two about missing penalties when the stakes are at their highest, said: “Harry is very low as you would expect - but he’s got nothing to reproach himself for.
“We’re in the position we are because of his leadership and goals. Tonight’s result was about 100 minutes’ of football. Even if the penalty goes in, we’ve got a lot to do to win the game.
“So now recriminations. We win and lose together. Harry is the best - but even the best miss. There’s no-one I’d rather have in that situation. If we had another penalty tomorrow, I’d feel exactly the same way.”
It was a night dipped in both pride and pain for the nation. England outplayed the reigning world champions for long periods and were also faced with a Brazilian referee who was out of his depth. “I don’t think you should talk about the referee when you’ve just been beaten,” was Southgate’s diplomatic take.
France boss Didier Deschamps admitted: “You do need a bit of luck sometimes. These important games always come down to small details - and thankfully it went our way.”
