Kane was unable to save the British.

There is time to relax

The opening segment of the match was predictable. Hardly anyone expected extravagance from the start. The English and the French have already shown in this World Cup that they don’t want to open up and take risks right from the first minutes, and deliver their blows in segments. And the experience of other teams spoke about the same thing.

The further sharpness of the match depended on who would make a mistake earlier and allow to score. Only after the first goal in this tournament begins the real fight and battle of tactics, strategies and sometimes just a battle of football players. Luckily, the goal came early enough this time.

Subsequently, the British, who showed a high density in the support zone, conceded a couple of free meters in front of Tchuameni, who fired under the post with great success. This was preceded by the transfer of the attack from the left flank to the right with the help of Mbappe. But the most observant, as well as fans of the British, could notice that the attack began with a front fall on Saki’s side. The British claimed there had been a breach of the rules. The judge didn’t register it.

We know that VAR is able to “rewind” after goals and a couple of minutes ago. Surely this episode was considered in terms of possible cancellation of the goal. However, the video assistants didn’t see a strong enough reason to call Brazilian referee Wilton Sampaio on the monitor.

The water consumes the stone

Until the goal was an even match. But after him, the French have frankly switched to a counter-attack model, which is suggested when you have Mbappé in your squad. And almost all other events took place right on the side of him. Just not in the area everyone expected. Someone was looking forward to Kilian’s high-speed races with Walker, but there were actually a couple of them.

The main battle took place at the other gate. There, Saka, with Henderson and Kane moving to the edge, simply destroyed the zone by Hernandez and Upamecano, constantly aided by Rabiot. Immediately after the French goal, three dangerous attacks in a row passed along this edge. The French defense was clearly unable to cope, but the British lacked the organization to complete the attacks.

As a result, from all this monstrous pressure that fell on France along Saki’s flank, the British managed to squeeze out only one penalty when Upamecano Tchuameni, who came to help, tripped Bukayo. Weak profit against the background of the pressure force. You can point your finger at the referee and say he missed a lot of fouls of various sizes on Kane and Sak right on this flank.

Judicial withdrawal

Harry’s fall into the penalty area on the right looks particularly egregious. But here the VAR judged correctly, unlike the head referee. Sampaio had to put in a free-kick because the attacker was hooked in front of the line. And it’s the judge’s fault. But the VAR could not tell them, because the video assistants watched the replay for a penalty, but there was none, because the foul occurred before the penalty area. So it turns out that the jury is both guilty and not guilty.

In the future Sampaio will have many other controversial episodes. From the first minutes he wanted to show that he allowed a serious level of contact combat. However, in the future he could not maintain this level bar, neither by punishing players for fouls, nor by letting them pass. Referees more accustomed to such battles are able to maintain a level of stiffness. Sampaio failed. Hence the many complaints. Moreover, not only the losing British, but also the victorious French can present them. Here, rather, the problem is not in prejudice, but in the judge’s unpreparedness for such a match.

Heroes and losers

The match turned out to be intense due to the ambiguous roles of the same characters. Here you take Tchuameni. He worked well in the center, scored the ball, but frankly Saka did not have time in the penalty area and brought a penalty. But these are flowers. Look at Kane. The captain, a real leader, made a powerful bungle in the flank of the French defense, pressed, and they sputtered, leveling the score.

Everything went to the fact that he can become the main character. But when he approached the “point” for the second time, something happened and Harry ascended to heaven, ending England’s salvation. And on his ability to be the top scorer in his story right now. At the same time, Giroud established himself in this status. The French. The irony of fate.

Southgate, who couldn’t help but see Upamecano and Hernandez stunned under pressure from his boys, settled late in the game on a decision that wasn’t a foregone conclusion. He removed Henderson and Saku from the field, who were the main perpetrators of this assault. The coach, of course, knows best what condition the players are in, but neither of them looked very tired and unable to press the French any further.

Rather, it was the idea of ​​Southgate, who launched fresh Sterling and Mount on exhausted France defenders, designed to duplicate the duties of Saki and Henderson, but with fresh legs. Mount succeeded in part: he earned a second penalty. But Rakhim turned out to be far from Bukayo, so the French dealt with the jerks more successfully than him. Furthermore, he recalled the defensive duties of Mbappe, who eventually started returning to this flank to support the defence.

Team shadow and team spirit

A quick confrontation with Walker didn’t work, but Kilian was good at drawing attention to himself. At the same time, the British very often successfully deprived it of space collectively. In general, they turned out to be a very agile and mobile dynamic team that managed to block French counter-attack plans, turning back from the pressure in time. Here Deschamps’ gamble didn’t work.

But this is France, where one for all and all for one. Mbappe has begun to show his commanding essence to a greater extent. It’s hard to say how Deschamps does it. But from the selfish Pogba, he made a silk team member. And now the same thing – from Kilian, who gravitates towards individualism. Therefore, Deschamps Griezmann plays everything in the center of the field. In this game, as a defensive midfielder, he got a yellow card and often kicked the legs of the British furniture. But as a creative, he gave two assists.

In their game, this French team is far from ideal. And it is clear that in fact, halfway through its composition, it is shaped by what it is, and not by optimal performers. But Deschamps has resigned himself to defeats and makes the most of what is at hand, forcing France to advance further in the tournament through individual skill, probation and team spirit.