England assistant coach Anthony Barry appeared on the brink of tears as he spoke at half-time about his pride for his Three Lions players after they hit four past France in a jaw-dropping World Cup third-place play-off first-half performance.
It took just three minutes before Declan Rice inked his name on the scoresheet with a curving effort from distance, with Ezri Konsa adding a second 15 minutes later.
Bukayo Saka saw a goal chalked off for offside before he scored his first in the 37th minute, and bagged his brace one minute into added time before the break.
‘Have to be honest, there’s so much frustration,’ Barry said in his final half-time address. ‘I’m a little bit emotional, I can’t find the words about how proud I am of those players.
‘We’re playing a game with broken hearts, 11 lads with broken hearts.
Anthony Barry spoke emotionally of his pride in his ‘heartbroken’ England stars as they scored four in the first-half of their third-place play-off versus France
‘I’ve seen them in the hotel in the last few days with broken hearts. They can build a performance like that by playing through pride for England. The team spirit we’ve built in the last seven weeks.
‘The cynics will say it’s too late but we still play against a world-class opponent and I’m so proud of the boys.
‘There’s 45 minutes to go. The game’s not done. Anything can happen. But I’m proud of the team and I hope everyone is as well at home.’
In the BBC studio, Martin Keown suggested that Barry looked ’emotionally drained’ after close to two months Stateside.
For fans still distressed at missing out on a place in a World Cup final, the bronze-medal match may appear to have little significance.
But with honour still on the table, France may look to step up their performance in the second-half for outgoing manager Didier Deschamps’ final match in charge.
France have not conceded four goals in a single half since their European Championship qualification match against Yugoslavia in 1968.
Captain Kylian Mbappe at times looked bewildered by the ease with which England were able to scythe through France’s defence, with Deschamps cutting a desolate figure slumped in the dugout.
Head coach Thomas Tuchel had initially raised eyebrows by opting to start a number of regular fixtures throughout the tournament – such as Declan Rice – while benching others including Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane in Miami.
