Roy Keane shocked a number of supporters by referring to England as "we" during Gareth Southgate side's World Cup quarter-final defeat to France on Saturday night.
The former Ireland captain was on punditry duty for ITV alongside his former Manchester United teammate Gary Neville and ex-Arsenal striker Ian Wright.
Speaking at half-time, Keane said: "They [England] started nervously. France, they look sharp going forward. There's been one or two bad decisions made... Rice going to ground.
On the France goal, he added: "Brilliant strike. Goalkeeper, could he do better? Yeah, I think so. Lovely strike but England will be really disappointed."
Keane then stated: "We've two or three midfielders. One has to get out there (to not let Aurélien Tchouaméni shoot). One has to stop that."
And a number of fans took to social media to say they were stunned with what they had just heard.
One wrote: "What is with Roy Keane and 'we' tonight, last time I looked he was Irish."
Another commented: "Did Roy Keane just say ‘we’ when talking about England??"
Someone else said: "Did Roy Keane just say 'we’'?"
Tchouameni's strike from 25 yards gave France the lead in the 17th minute.
England’s players complained about a foul at the other end of the pitch on Bukayo Saka but the goal stood.
However, England drew the game level in the 54th minute when Harry Kane scored a penalty after Tchouameni fouled Saka inside the box.
Kane stepped up against club-mate Hugo Lloris, sending him the wrong way with a penalty which saw him equal Wayne Rooney’s all-time scoring record for England.
But France’s all-time scorer Olivier Giroud restored the World Cup holders’ lead and it proved to be the winner after Kane blazed over a late penalty in a crushing 2-1 quarter-final exit.
However, former Republic of Ireland midfielder Keane backed Kane to bounce back from his heartbreak.
Keane said on ITV: “For all the disappointments, you’d still ask him to take the next one. He’s a brilliant player, a brilliant professional.
“But it’s a huge setback for him, you’d think he’d hit the target but he fluffed his lines.”
Keane felt defeat was harsh on England.
He said: “It’s brutal. I thought England were outstanding. They covered well and were the better team but you have to give France credit for finding a way to win when they weren’t at their best. That’s what it’s about but it’s really tough on England.”
Kane took full responsibility for the penalty miss after the game as the England captain gave Southgate his full backing.
“It is a really tough night to take,” Kane said in the aftermath of the loss.
“I am gutted, the team are gutted. We had full belief that we could achieve something special at this World Cup but it came down to small details.
“I thought on the night we had the better chances and better spells in the game. It comes down to execution. As captain, I take it on the chin and responsibility missing the penalty.
“It is hard to take for sure but I can be proud of the group, proud of each other for what we’ve done. This will hurt for a while but we will dust ourselves down to get ready in the future.”
On Southgate, the Tottenham striker added: “We love having Gareth as a manager. We want him to stay for sure but that’s his decision. I am sure he will go away and think about that.
“We’ve got a great team, great young players, players coming into their prime and we’ve got a Euros not too far away. As much as this hurts, we have to move on and look forward to that.
“He hasn’t spoken about it; I haven’t spoken to him about it. Like I said, now we are hurting and rightly so.
“He will go away and think about that. That’s his decision. He will talk to his family and friends and make that decision. From the players’ point of view, we are really happy with the manager.”
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