Jamie Carragher has criticised the game management of Gareth Southgate in England's 2-1 defeat to France.
Jamie Carragher was reflecting as yet again in another tournament, England fell short at the biggest challenge, as Oliver Giroud's header in the 78th minute sent the reigning world champions to the semi-finals, where they will face Morocco.
While England came into the game as underdogs, it will still be bitterly disappointing in the way they lost the game. Gareth Southgate's side were the better side, and Harry Kane uncharacteristically missed a crucial penalty late on.
Southgate would have been proud of England's response after falling 1-0 behind to Aurélien Tchouaméni's stunning goal in the first half. However, in a game that was there for the taking, key moments let England down.
This young talented side will certainly be back but it may not be with Gareth Southgate.
Jamie Carragher Criticises Southgate Approach
Between Kane's missed penalty, Rashford's late free kick and controversial referring decisions, fans and pundits could have focused on specific events within the game.
However, Jamie Carragher has blamed the timing of England substitutions for their defeat, especially when they were level and causing France problems.
While Mason Mount and Marcus Rashford made the biggest impact of those introduced, changes were not made by Southgate until England went behind.
Speaking on Sky Sports earlier today, Jamie Carragher believes England will look back on the game with regrets.
🗣️ "England certainly had the strongest bench in the competition"
Jamie Carragher believes England could have been braver from the bench in their match against France. pic.twitter.com/BwxDwIepv3— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) December 11, 2022
I think when you lose a game there's always things you can look back on and think could you have done differently? Maybe that's in hindsight and it's easy to say after the events.
I did feel before the game that England have to be brave from the bench in terms of making substitutions. I just feel when we got that equalising goal in the 54th minute, and France went in front in 78th, and then we made changes.
It just felt in that period between the two goals, I think we could have been braver from the bench. I certainly think now with five substitutions it's a bit part of a manager's role to influence the game and change the game.
I know Gareth Southgate has been criticised for that in the past in the games against Croatia and Italy, and those changes would have been different because England were trying to stop the pressure from the opposition. Both those sides to be totally honest were better than us.
I don't think France were better than us last night. I felt the change should have been to go and win the game, not to stop the opposition."
Jamie Carragher's comments have been a typical theme for England on the biggest stage.
It has been a common theme for England, with Southgate leaving changes late in a crucial game once again. Raheem Sterling and Jack Grealish had little time to impact the game, while James Maddison and Trent Alexander-Arnold didn't event feature.
Against Croatia, they were crying out for another midfielder. While against Italy, they sat back against an ageing team with no pace.
SEE ALSO: Roy Keane Called A Spade A Spade After England's World Cup Loss To France
