L’Equipe handed France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris their highest average match rating in an apparent show of strength to the way England set up.
France, the reigning world champions, defeated Gareth Southgate‘s England 2-1 to advance to the semi-finals.
Ranking the players, L’Equipe was customarily harsh, awarding England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford only a five, while his counterpart, Lloris, received an eight.
Hugo Lloris was among the top rated players by influential publication L’Equipe as France knocked England out
‘Doubts about his level of performance? What doubts? It is thanks to his six saves that the Blues have remained afloat,’ the paper said.
‘His burst in front of Kane is that of a high-level goalkeeper. Attentive in front of a free kick from Shaw then another attempt by Kane, he pulled off an exceptional save in front of Bellingham.’
Meanwhile, the backlines were thought little of by the influential French sports paper, though Kyle Walker and John Stones were both given sixes by the publication.
Bukayo Saka appeared to have the France defence on strings for much of the proceedings
‘Above all, he had to control Mbappe and he succeeded very well because the Parisian only passed him once.
‘He allowed himself a few breakthroughs and caused the warning of Griezmann, but above all he remained cautious to secure his right lane,’ it said of Walker.
France’s backline, as a unit, did not fare much better. Particular criticism was honed in on Theo Hernanez, who endured a horror night up against Bukayo Saka.
Harry Kane, despite his crucial penalty miss, was given some credit for his overall performance
‘What is going through his head on this almost innocuous action which lead second penalty? A gross mistake which could have had immense consequences.
‘A fault that occurs in a second period when Saka hurt him madly, in particular by his internal movements. He is for example preceded by the will-o’-the-wisp by a cross from Shaw justb after the 70th minute mark. Before that, he had managed Saka rather well, had ensured a clean first raise, and a few effective relays.’
L’Equipe ended up giving him a four. His fellow defenders fared little better, with Dayot Upamecano receiving a 5; Raphael Varane 6 and Jules Kounde the same.
In midfield, Jordan Henderson and Jude Bellingham were both handed fives while Declan Rice was given a six.
Dayot Upamecano, who appeared to have a torrid time up against England’s frontline, was handed a five rating
‘He is the English player from whom we expected a lot, probably too much. He did not know how to accelerate the game of his team, as he had to do in previous outings in this World Cup,’ they said of Bellingham.’
Meanwhile, France’s midfield – Adrien Rabiot, Aurelien Tchouameni and Antoine Griezmann – were given five, five and six, respectively.
Both teams had the potential to hurt each other going forward – with many predictions hinging the game on the damage Kylian Mbappe could wrought.
He was largely ineffective, given a five L’Equipe on a quiet night for the Paris Saint Germain man.
Declan Rice, seemingly inconsolable at the end, was highly thought of by the publication for his performance
Griezmann was given a seven and Ousmane Dembele a five. Olivier Giroud, who scored the winning goal just before 80 minutes, was also given a rating of seven.
England’s attack was a mixed bag. Saka was among England’s highest rated players having been awarded a seven – after winning a penalty and generally causing Hernandez all sorts of problems – while Harry Kane, who missed a decisive penalty, was handed a six.
Phil Foden was one of the lowest rated players on the park according to the publication – he was given a four for his overall showing.
