'England were the best team at this year's World Cup': Jamie Carragher
Jamie Carragher claims England were the ‘best team’ at this year’s World Cup… as he says the Three Lions would have gone on to WIN the tournament if they had beaten France
- England lost 2-1 to France on Saturday, exiting the World Cup at the quarter-final
- Jamie Carragher said Gareth Southgate’s team should not be the ‘gallant losers’
- He said that the Three Lions were the best performing side during the event
- Find more of Sportsmail’s latest World Cup content from Qatar 2022 here
- Click here for the latest World Cup 2022 news, fixtures, live action and results
England were the best team at this year’s World Cup, Jamie Carragher has claimed, despite their despair at a quarter-final exit to France.
Aurelien Tchouameni’s first-half goal gave France the edge, but Harry Kane’s penalty levelled the scores. Olivier Giroud’s header put Les Bleus in front again to seal a semi-final spot for the reigning champions.
Gareth Southgate’s squad had a glorious chance to equalise for a second time at the Al Bayt Stadium on Saturday, but Kane’s second penalty of the night went high over Hugo Lloris’s bar.
England were the best team at the World Cup, according to former player Jamie Carragher
Carragher felt England were undone by ‘moments’ in the game which sealed France’s 2-1 win
It felt like a continuation of England’s hard-luck stories in the men’s game, dating back over half a century since their World Cup glory in 1966.
Carragher told The Telegraph: ‘There will be a natural temptation… to place Gareth Southgate’s side alongside those of Bobby Robson’s in Italia ’90 and Terry Venables in Euro ‘96 as gallant losers.
‘Let’s have none of that. The biggest compliment I can pay Southgate’s side is that they do not belong with such company.
‘This England team was no underdog going toe-to-toe with the world champions.
He said England’s squad with Jordan Henderson and Jude Bellingham were not ‘gallant losers’
‘This England team leaves the tournament having played better than any side in Qatar over their five games, a genuine contender that could and arguably should have gone all the way.’
The ex-Liverpool defender said that on reflection, there were several things that dictated Saturday’s result, which could easily have changed the outcome.
The 44-year-old wrote: ‘France won on the night because of moments – a stunning goal from distance and a cross from Antoine Griezmann that would have troubled any defence in the world.
‘Then England missed a penalty, knowing that had Harry Kane equalised for a second time it would have carried positive momentum into extra-time.’
If Harry Kane had scored his second penalty, Carragher felt the momentum was with England
Whilst Carragher believes France were the best team in Russia in 2018, and victors Italy were the best team at Euro 2020, he saw enough from England to believe they were the best team in Qatar.
However, he questioned Southgate’s tactical changes during the France defeat, stating: ‘It is difficult to shrug off the feeling that the power England possessed in the squad was not fully utilised when the moment of truth arrived.’
He said that as a positive, the core of Southgate’s young squad will be in line to take England to the Euros in two years time, rounding off his thoughts: ‘Roll on Germany in 2024’.
Qualifiers for the European Championships start with England’s next international matches in March against Italy and Ukraine.
Bellingham will be among the players Carragher is looking forward to seeing at Germany 2024
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