Ousmane Dembele was the match-winner for France at the Stade de France on Tuesday, with the Borussia Dortmund attacker’s goal giving the 10-man hosts a 3-2 win against England.
Before the game, a touching tribute to the victims of the Manchester and London terror attacks saw a rendition of ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’ and a minute’s silence.
Harry Kane continued his good run of form by opening the scoring after just nine minutes, with the Spurs striker netting after an impressive team move.
However, a youthful and effervescent French side were always a threat and drew level on 22 minutes.
Barcelona defender Samuel Umtiti was the goal-scorer, netting from close-range after Tom Heaton had done well to keep out Olivier Giroud’s header.
Just before the break, Les Bleus took the lead, with Monaco full-back Djibril Sidibe firing home after superb work from Dembele.
Despite looking sloppy at times, England played well in patches and got themselves level soon after the restart.
Kane was the goal-scorer once again, netting from the penalty spot after Raphael Varane was judged to have fouled Dele Alli in the box.
The Real Madrid defender somewhat harshly saw red for the incident, but only after the referee had used his video assistant.
Despite having a man-advantage, Gareth Southgate’s side failed to impose themselves on the remainder of the game, with France looking the more likely to find a winner.
Monaco starlet Kylian Mbappe, who impressed throughout, hit the crossbar from just 10 yards out as the hosts looked for the winner.
However, on 78 minutes, Dembele would get France’s third goal of the game, after being set up by Mbappe following some dismal England defending.
While it’s difficult to know what to take from a friendly game, it’s fair to say that the future looks very rosy for the French, with Paul Pogba also impressing alongside the likes of Dembele and Mbappe.
Here’s the Manchester United midfielder leaving Gary Cahill with an acute, potentially life-threatening case of twisted blood…
We must have watched that video ten times and we still can’t work out what Pogba did.
As for Cahill… we only ask that you pray for him.
In summary, France’s young exciting side was a joy to behold while England, despite their undoubted attacking power, continue to be blighted by the ever-hovering spectre of sub-par defending.