England was for long periods the dominant team at the al-Bayt arena. But Olivier Giroud had the last word as Harry Kane missed the chance to force extra-time when he burned the penalty with six minutes of normal time remaining.
— France knows that they played in a fantastic match and we know that we gave a world team a good match. I don’t think we could have done much more. We deserved more in terms of our performance, but in the end it’s the goal that counts.
“Very proud”
— I am very proud of the way we behaved, not only tonight but throughout the tournament. We have shown character and came back despite being down. I can’t ask for more from my players. Today we drew the shortest straw.
Of course, he also supported the unfortunate Kane.
— We win together and we lose together. We’ve conceded a few goals and missed a few chances, but we wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Harry Kane’s goal for us.
How Southgate will deal with the bitter defeat remains to be seen. He says he will carefully consider whether to continue as boss of the “Three Lions”.
— After each tournament, we have sat down, evaluated and reflected. So we need some time to make sure everyone makes the right decision, he says.
Southgate took office after Euro 2016 and has since taken England to the semi-finals of the WC 2018, the final of Euro 2021 and now the quarter-finals. A result that surpasses many of his predecessors.
Declan Rice depresses. Supported by Rice
Midfielder Declan Rice wants to keep Southgate.
— I hope he stays. I think he has been brilliant for us. I think there is a lot of criticism that is not justified. He has taken us further than people expected and tonight he got everything right.
— It’s not on him, not on him at all. The tactics were right, we played the right way, we were aggressive, we stopped Kylian Mbappè.
— I love playing for him and I love playing for England, says Rice.