Rating the players as Three Lions bow out of World Cup

That was a sickener, wasn’t it? The two Harrys will inevitably get grief but Gareth Southgate’s England side can return from the World Cup with their heads held high.

16 Conclusions on a heartbreaking exit for England are available, but do consume these ratings.

JORDAN PICKFORD
Whenever a goal does in from 28 yards, it’s reasonable to look at the keeper. Could Pickford have done better with Aurelien Tchouameni’s ripsnorter? Roy Keane thought so; we don’t. Hit at just under 70mph, through the legs of a defender, arcing away from Pickford – the fault lies closer to the shooter, not the goalkeeper. Pickford bailed out England immediately after they had got level with a fine save to take the bounce out of Adrien Rabiot’s shot after a crater appeared in the Three Lions’ midfield. Made another decent block to deny Olivier Giroud moments before the France striker headed in the winner.

KYLE WALKER
Kylian Mbappe escaped from Walker’s pocket once in 100 minutes, that occasion being a 56th minute run and cut-back which amounted to nothing. The key to stopping the France No.10: don’t engage, and get your mates around you. Between them, Walker, Bukayo Saka, and whichever midfielder happened to be closest all combined to do an admirable job on Mbappe. England focusing their attack down the right stopped Theo Hernandez from supporting his winger while ensuring there were white shirts around the ball upon the turnover. A fine job all round, from Walker, his team-mates and the coaching staff in stopping arguably the world’s best player. Sadly, France have other players, especially their No.7, who are quite good at football.

LUKE SHAW
The left-back endured a nervous start but settled after being sucked into a challenge by Ousmane Dembele before the winger created the first chance for Giroud. After that one slip, Dembele struggled to have an impact and his replacement, Kingsley Coman, fared no better.  Shaw was off corners, perhaps to give England more pace to defend any counter, but the Manchester United defender was allowed a first-half free-kick, which he fired straight at Hugo Lloris.

HARRY MAGUIRE
Maguire will inevitably get stick for France’s winner and perhaps he could have located Olivier Giroud a little quicker amid the chaos after Antoine Griezmann’s initial corner had been half-cleared. But Griezmann’s second delivery was perfect. Giroud pulled off the back of Stones, leaving Maguire the nearest man. His mere presence on…