1. Vive La France! But only just

The defending champions clung tenaciously – and with a little luck – to their trophy and now face Morocco in the semifinal.

France could become the first nation to retain the glittering prize since Brazil in 1962 – but needed a helping hand from England.

Three Lions’ skipper Harry Kane missed a late penalty that would have levelled the scores in a gripping quarterfinal.

He had scored from the spot half an hour earlier to cancel out Aurelien Tchouameni’s 17th minute long-range strike.

After a bright opening, France surrendered the initiative to England who will feel they were the better side overall.

But a 78th minute header from leading scorer Olivier Giroud put France ahead once again.

The game lacked the drama of the previous night – when Argentina played the Netherlands – until Kane’s miss and was settled in normal time.

But the two neighbours, who know each-other so well, produced an absorbing battle in which England looked the stronger side.

But France won where it mattered most and it will be hard to wrest the crown from them.

It was down to fine margins in the end, but, sadly for England, it was a huge margin by which Kane’s penalty cleared the bar.

2. Oh, Harry!

History beckoned; history came back to haunt.

With a possible semifinal against Morocco dangling before them, England would never have a better chance of winning the World Cup on foreign soil.

But the old nemesis of scoring from 12 yards was their undoing yet again.

Only this time, it was different. But the result was just the same: all-too-familiar heartbreak.

Unlike those infamous shootouts that the Three Lions have found ways to lose down the years, this penalty was during the game.

And the second one at that, Kane having buried the first.

As the skipper stepped up to take the second, there was a sense that Mr Reliable would do so again – and put England level.

There were just six minutes to go and England would have the wind in their sails.

He’d had to wait several minutes for a VAR intervention to get the award, but the odds were surely with him.

Again he came face to face with his Tottenham teammate and friend, Hugo Lloris in the France goal.

The crowd hushed. The watching world hushed. There was an awful lot riding on this. At 2-2, extra-time was looming and England looked stronger.

Kane went for power. Too much power. And lifted it way over the bar.

Not since Roberto Baggio sent the ball into orbit in Los Angeles in 1994 had a penalty kick sailed so high.

The crowd was stunned. The watching world was stunned. France celebrated, Kane was distraught. Oh, Harry.

He tried too hard. The occasion got to him. And trying to out-think his pal proved too much. He’ll have to live with this now.

3. Mbappe still too fast for England

In the end, England kept Kylian Mbappe pretty quiet – apart from one blistering run when he skinned Kyle Walker.

But it was their obsession with the Paris St Germain superstar that undid them for the first French goal.

Three defenders were drawn towards him creating space for Tchouameni to shoot.

The Real Madrid man gratefully sent a hard-hit daisy-cutter rocketing into the bottom corner.

As Giroud had warned, it proved that France were much more than a one-man team.

But the media had unearthed some speed stats to justify their Mbappe focus.

During a sprint in the game against Poland, he had been timed at a scorching 35.3kph – not far behind Usain Bolt’s 37.58kph when he set the world 100m record.

Walker, who is no slouch, was recorded at 34.4kph against Wales.

But in their one and only “race” during the second half, Mbappe was a clear winner.

He got the result as well.

4. Deschamps turns water into wine

Famously dubbed “a water carrier” by Eric Cantona, Didier Deschamps has morphed from journeyman midfielder to master tactician and motivator.

One of the elite few to win a World Cup as both a player (1998) and manager (2018), it is off the field where he has really shone.

It’s true that as a defensive midfielder in a star-studded side that included Zinedine Zidane, he did a lot of fetching and carrying.

But given something of a poisoned chalice when asked to take charge of the national team in 2014, he has delivered in spades.

France had still not completely recovered from the mutiny in South Africa under Raymond Domenech.

He was also taking charge of a potentially incendiary group of different races and religions.

But he has united them to weld a great team whose hold on the trophy is proving difficult to remove.

And at this World Cup, he has shown his mettle by not panicking when France were devastated by injuries to three key men.

Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema joined N’Golo Kante and Paul Pogba on the sidelines just before it began.

But he trusted in 36-year-old Giroud who, like wine, seems to get better with age.

Whatever Cantona thinks, Deschamps has proved a winner.

5. England’s penalty agony more painful than ever

Another England penalty miss. And another quarter-final exit from a major tournament. How predictable.

Arguably, this is the most excruciating of all. Nope, it wasn’t one of those long shootouts where the inevitability builds.

But it hurt even more because it was so sudden and unexpected this time.

Kane is one of the best in the business and had already scored one.

The stakes had never been higher. If he could have found the net, the odds would have been on England.

And, no disrespect, but with an injury-ravaged Morocco as semifinal opponents, the door to the final seemed to be opening.

Only for Kane to mess up.

The chance for redemption, for history, disappeared into the desert around Al Bayt stadium. Lost in the sands of time.

They had played well but had not had the rub of the green. But it’s still a quarterfinal exit.

It seems that the country with the best league in the world has mastered the art of a mediocre performance on the international stage.

A quarter-final is par; a semi and a final, which it achieved in the last two major tournaments, was unsustainable after all.

And just as predictable was that its fans (and media) had got carried away beforehand.

Once they get out of the group, the English begin to sniff glory.

After all, who had Gareth Southgate’s men beaten? Iran, Wales and Senegal with a draw against the USA.

In fact, England have beaten only one major football nation (Germany at home in Euro 2020) in a major tournament since 1966.

It’s under-achievement on an epic scale.