England need to lose this in order to reassess the entire game in England. If we keep scraping into the later stages – or even the finals – of the WC then we’ll keep thinking we’re OK.
It’s not so much the French have remembered how to play (though they have!), it’s more that England have forgotten to turn up so far, so many missed tackles there, pathetic defence, no way he should’ve scored there (though they might’ve from the follow up as the defence was in disarray anyway…)
I think being an England fan is even worse than being a Scotland fan, at least Scotland always over achieve before crashing out. England ‘can’ be so much more than they so often deliver.