England players have made a mockery of Tuchel’s insults

France 4-6 England (Mbappe 48′, 66′, Barcola 54′, Dembele 90+6 | Rice 3′, Konsa 18′, Saka 37′, 45+1, 87′ pen, Bellingham 90+8) A game of two halves rarely had greater application. A liberated England so far ahead Dan Burn and the defensive firefighters were packed off to Miami Beach for some welcome R&R. By the second half drinks break there was a fleet of Ubers bringing them back. By then a four-goal lead had shrunk to one and we were back to Atlanta processing collapse.. So much for a match of no consequence. In the first half England made a nonesense of DNA theory. You could argue that France had perhaps checked out in a mad first half, but they still had Kylian Mbappe, Michael Olise, Desire Doue and Rayan Cherki on the pitch. Thomas Tuchel said that everyday is a learning day in this game, especially in defeat. Maybe the secret is not to overcomplicate nor overthink. Rather convince yourself the game means nothing and play stress-free football. Just 134 seconds in, the net was collecting its first cargo, a curled effort from Declan Rice. What on earth was he doing so far up the pitch? Executing or ignoring the instructions of Tuchel. Rice was aided by a poor pass from Doue but the point is he was advanced enough to leather it. England and the match needed that. And so did Tuchel, booed by the England fans when his name was broadcast on the PA. Tuchel ripped up the template here with seven changes from the Argentine retreat, none of which included Kobbie Mainoo, who was declared injured. That tension will have to work itself out later when minuteless Mainoo eventually addresses his treatment by Tuchel at this tournament. Tuchel wanted us to believe this squad just wasn’t up to it (Photo: Reuters) England appeared notably relaxed and with Rice operating without Elliot Anderson in a deep double-pivot were more offensively organised. Morgan Rogers and Eberechi Eze combined higher up the pitch to feed the wide men Bukayo Saka and Marcus Rashford. Ivan Toney dropped into the spaces to link the play Harry Kayne-esque. For those who would have the English footballer inferior, it must have been perplexing to watch the white shirts outmanoeuvre the feted French to take a two-goal lead by the first drinks break and double it before half-time. Maybe what this showed is that talk of DNA bears little scrutiny. Football is species specific played by sapiens. How players express potential within the limitations of legs and feet is governed by the same factors; speed, balance, strength, build and temperament. None can fly nor run at 100 mph. The exceptional make a difference, the rest do their jobs according to tactical and strategic choices. England were miles better than the opposition in the opening 45 minutes, playing according to Premier League first principles; dynamic, attacking, aggressive, competent, confident. France came back with a raft of substitutions which utterly tipped the balance. Mbappe began to find space and Olise had Ousame Dembele and Bradley Barcola to feed on the wings. Read more Pete Hall: Four reasons the World Cup final stadium is not fit for purpose Daniel Storey: The World Cup final’s half-time show is an abomination England were run ragged by the reconstituted French and might easily have seen their advantage disappear. The late introduction of Jude Bellingham and Anderson proved sufficient to restore order and a late penalty from Saka three minutes from time for his hat-trick looked to have given England space to breathe. Then Djed Spence succumbed to injury reducing England to 10 men. Dembele took advantage with a fourth for France in added time. Enter Bellingham to end the tournament with a quite brilliant solo effort. It felt fitting that Bellingham should have the last word for England, demonstrating what might be should Tuchel grasp the nettle and finally set England free.