QF France 0 - 0 AET (France win on pens)
The Kane effect was in full swing tonight. 120 minutes of watching the outgoing Ronaldo waving his arms, smashing free kicks into the wall, and running about as if his legs really hurt. The loyalty shown by managers to historically good players despite all evidence before them suggesting it is a bad idea, is remarkable.
Whilst Ronaldo was plainly subtracting rather than adding to Portugal's hopes, Pepe was a machine at the back. Playing at 41, to the standard he did, is unreal. I reckon he's got another World Cup in him!
The game was midway between intriguing and dull. France, with Mbappe also mostly ineffective, huffed and puffed and only looked a real threat once the excellent Dembele came on. Portugal held the ball well, but increasingly reminded me of England, with any possession effectively meaningless because of the chasm created up front by having a threatless striker placed there.
It seems nuts to me that teams consider the risk of mounting attacks to be greater than the 50/50 risk of elimination by penalties. But they both embraced that risk and, somewhat predictably, there was a loser.
The law of averages now suggests that England's game might actually be ok, so buckle up and get ready for the Southgate show.
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