Saka does it to France again

The half that France will want to forget

Three goals. Thirty-seven minutes. One of the most decorated squads in international football, pinned back and taken apart before the half-time whistle had even arrived.

France came into this match as one of the tournament's most feared sides. They left the first half looking like a team that had never met each other. Deschamps, watching from the touchline, had the look of a man trying to remember whether he'd left the oven on.

Saka: the man France cannot stop

Bukayo Saka was the difference — again. His brace gave England the platform to build something historic, and the manner of the performance suggested this wasn't a fluke or a fortunate night. Saka was direct, decisive, and utterly relentless against a French backline that had no answer.

According to Foot Mercato, this is the second time Saka has humiliated France in this fashion — the 'encore' framing in French football media is pointed, and not without justification. When the same player keeps doing it to you, it stops being bad luck and starts being a problem.

What this means for both sides

For England, a 3-0 lead over France at a World Cup — before half-time — is the kind of result that shifts the entire conversation around a tournament. The full-time scoreline has not yet been confirmed, but the damage to France's campaign was already done well before the break.

For Deschamps, the questions will be sharp and immediate. A side with France's individual quality should not be conceding three in 37 minutes to anyone, let alone in a World Cup fixture. Whether this ends their tournament ambitions or simply wounds them depends on what follows — but the first half alone will follow this squad for a long time.