However badly England did at the World Cup, it was always worse for France. Both returned from the World Cup in the summer with their tails between their legs but there was no doubt in the minds of the 85,000 strong crowd at Wembley which side had a lot more room for improvement.
France have since embarked on a new era with a new coach, former Manchester United defender Laurent Blanc, and a new squad full of untried prospects who are flourishing in the their new found responsibilities.
It was clear given the number of injuries and late withdrawals from the England squad that Fabio Capello would be fielding a relatively young side to give the fans a glimpse into England’s future. On last night’s showing, the future looks no brighter than the present.
England were clearly missing Wayne Rooney and to a lesser extent Jermaine Defoe and Darren Bent, who would have all been involved had they been available for selection.
France were closer to full strength although they were missing the brilliant talents of Patrice Evra and Franck Ribery.
The contrast between the accomplished and precise passing, control and movement of the French when set against the lumbering – almost prehistoric – approach of England was so stark as to be painful.
Good use of possession, different points of attack, invention, mobility and variety – all assets France had in abundance but were beyond England on this night, qualities that have often been out of their reach against teams of the highest quality.
Wembley expressed its disapproval of the first half display with deafening boos at the sound of the referee’s half time whistle.
The new boys in the side had contrasting evenings. Newcastle’s Andy Carroll made a promising start to his international career despite being starved of meaningful service. Wembley’s ovation when the Newcastle United striker departed after 70 minutes was well merited.
Jordan Henderson looked overwhelmed by the occasion and French paper L’Equpe snared: “He’ll remember playing against France for his first cap. But that’s all.” A harsh but accurate observation.
In comparison to Samir Nasri and Yoann Gourcuff, Henderson and Barry looked like bewildered amateurs and the Frenchmen dictated proceedings for the entire game.
West Ham United’s Scott Parker must have watched Barry’s performance and wondered either what he has to do to win England recognition or what he has done to have a line crossed so conclusively through his name. It may be that Barry’s international days are numbered and with Frank Lampard closing in on a return to action, Barry may lose his place to the resurgent Michael Carrick or a young whippersnapper in Jack Rodwell or Jack Wilshere.
Arsenal full-back Kieran Gibbs, winning his second cap, looked promising but he lacked the defensive discipline to handle Arsenal teammates Nasri and Bacary Sagna.
Such was France’s superiority in every department it may be seen as a plus that England only lost 2-1; Karim Benzema and Mathieu with the goals for Les Bleus.
Peter Crouch’s late goal, his 22nd in 42 internationals, pressed his case for a recall for the qualifiers next year but his introduction forced England to resort to hoofing it up to the giant centre-forward who almost equalised from a late corner.
One positive for England from last night’s game was they were testing themselves against a good side. Previous friendlies and qualifiers against the likes of Bulgaria and Hungary didn’t show how good England were as their opponents were deemed lesser opposition but by going up against France and with future friendlies with Argentina and Ghana lined up next year, fans will not be surprised if England fail at major championships.
The major difference in England and France’s World Cup postmortems is that France got rid of their failing manager whereas England are stuck with Capello for another two years.
Unless the Italian can rejuvenate himself as well as his players it may be a case of same again come Euro 2012.