France 3 - 2 England: as it happened, goals, match report
Ten-man France swept England aside at the Stade de France, with goals from Umtiti, Sidibé, and Dembélé as Varane saw red. Captain Harry Kane scored twice for England.
France 3 - 2 England: match report
Dembélé and Mbappé dazzled as Didier Deschamps’ Les Bleus surged past England in an entertaining friendly match at the Stade de France. The Three Lions roared in to an early lead through Harry Kane, before France regained control through Umtiti and Sidibé. The game looked to have swung back in England’s favour after the break, when Raphael Varane conceded a penalty and received a red card, allowing Kane to score his second of the night from the spot. Yet France grew in to the second half, and Dortmund’s Dembélé sealed the win in the 78th minute.
The two teams emerged to an emotional, yet defiant atmosphere in Paris. As Oasis’ ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’ played out, two traditional foes came together to pay tribute to the victims of the recent terror attacks in Manchester and London.
England, lining up with a three-man defence, rushed in to an early lead. It was a finely-crafted goal. Alli sprayed the ball to Sterling, who held it up, before prodding a back-heel to an overlapping Ryan Bertrand. The Southampton man crossed for Kane, who tapped the ball in from close range.
With Theresa May watching on from the stands, England’s lead proved to be as precarious as her premiership. After 22 minutes, Tom Heaton, making his first start in goal for England, could only parry Olivier Giroud’s powerful header in to the path of Samuel Umtiti. The Barcelona defender shot from close range to score his first international goal.
England slipped out of the game. Pogba, Kanté, and Dembélé were emphatically winning the midfield battle. In attack, Mbappé showed why he will provoke eye-wateringly expensive bids from the top clubs of Europe. Playing in tandem with Giroud, he stretched England with his searing pace and deft trickery.
Two minutes before half time, right-back Djibril Sidibé fired France in to the lead. Mbappé was the architect. The Monaco striker shot low, and hard. Once again, Heaton could only parry the ball, and Sidibé charged in to find the bottom corner.
A beautiful, pastel sunset provided a backdrop to the Stade de France at half time. As the game got back underway, it was ‘red sky at night, Southgate’s delight’. With less than a minute gone from the restart, Dele Alli stole in behind the French defence, and fell under the challenge of Varane. After a moment of deliberation, the referee pointed to the spot and, after confirmation from the video referee, Varane was shown a red card. Kane, up against his Tottenham team-mate Lloris, shot down the middle to level the score.
England pressed and prodded at France, who took time to adapt to the one-man disadvantage. When Les Bleus did adapt, they did so in style. The trio of Pogba, Dembélé, and Mbappé tormented England. They were effervescent, full of flair, always one yard ahead.
It was the Borussia Dortmund man who scored the winning goal. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain gifted the ball to France. Mbappé cushioned it to Dembélé, who arrowed the ball in to the bottom corner.
France continued to threaten, with half-time substitute Jack Butland preventing further damage. Their performance was all-the-more impressive given the wealth of talent, headed up by Antoine Griezmann, who watched on from the bench. For Gareth Southgate, the gaping hole in the centre of the English midfield will need addressing. But this Tuesday night in Saint-Denis was all about the youthful brilliance of the French attack.