It’s been an emotional week for England players and staff, as evidenced by Anthony Barry’s half-time interview.
Anthony Barry struggled to hold back tears during his half-time interview (Image: BBC)
England assistant manager Anthony Barry almost burst into tears during his half-time interview against France. Barry personally led half-time interviews at every World Cup match this summer.
Barry has been vocal in his criticism and honesty when he and Thomas Tuchel were unhappy with the way the game played out in the first half. His tone was often direct and harsh, but after the Three Lions had beaten France with four men before half-time in the bronze medal match, Barry was completely different.
He was visibly emotional as he spoke of a breathless first half that saw Declan Rice and Ezri Konsa find the back of the net and Bukayo Saka score twice. Barry struggled to hold back tears as he reflected on his players’ mood after losing to Argentina in the semi-finals.
He said, “To be honest, I don’t have any regrets. I’m a little emotional and I’m having a hard time expressing in words how proud I am of the players. They’re going into the game with a broken heart.”
“I’ve seen 11 players heartbroken and I’ve seen them heartbroken over the last two days. They were able to build on performances like that by playing for England. It was a privilege to see the team spirit that we’ve built over the last seven weeks.”
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“I know the cynics will say, ‘It’s too late,’ but we’re still playing against a world-class opponent and I’m very proud of those 45 minutes. There’s still 45 minutes left and we don’t know what’s going to happen, but in isolation we’re proud of our team and I hope everyone back home is the same.”
Before the match in Miami, Tuchel and France coach Didier Deschamps made it clear that neither they nor their players were looking forward to playing.
When the Three Lions escaped their traps in this first half, Tuchel and Barry combined to create a response from the Three Lions. Rice intercepted France’s loose pass and moved forward to find the far corner from 20 yards out.
England got through France entertainingly in the first half (Image: Alexandra Fechete/SPP/Shutterstock)
He then turned provider with a cross to Konsa’s head, who flicked it across goal and into the far post. The water break didn’t slow down England’s momentum, with Saka tucking the ball in after he and Marcus Rashford made saves and cleared off the line.
He then completed the first half’s two goals by scoring emphatically into the far corner after Eberechi Eze found him with a nice reverse pass. Things got tense after half-time when Kylian Mbappé and Bradley Barcola found the back of the net within the first nine minutes after half-time, halving England’s lead to 4-2.
Mbappé then grabbed his second goal, which really shook England’s nerves, but Bukayo Saka scored a hat-trick from the penalty spot to calm the nerves, after Les Bleus missed several chances as Michael Oliseh fumbled his way through the line.
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