While Fabio Capello's experimental team was outclassed for virtually the entire match, there were some very good English Premier League players on display at Wembley.
The trouble for Capello was they were playing for France.
Full-back Bacary Sagna, who provided the pass for Mathieu Valbuena'a goal which put France 2-0 ahead, and Samir Nasri, who largely ran the match with a brilliant midfield display, both earn their keep playing for Arsenal.
Chelsea's Florent Malouda also had a huge impact, creating Karim Benzema's opening goal after 16 minutes.
But the French trio's performances, along with those of the outstanding Yoann Gourcuff and Benzema, continually illustrated the technical gulf in class between the sides.
Arsene Wenger, Arsenal's hugely successful French manager and ideally placed to judge the merits of the two sides, told The Sun newspaper: "It's despairing, the (England) team were without fight.
"As soon as England won the ball back they lost it again. They lost the ball straight away on the first pass. They avoided tackles. There was only one team on the pitch.
"The richness of a country's football is assessed by the depth of its players . When there are five players missing for England you don't see much in reserve to take up the challenge. There were too many players not at the right level to take on this French team."
"Andy Carroll can play up front with anybody," Cascarino wrote. "The trouble last night was that he was up front with nobody."
While Laurent Blanc's team passed and moved with speed and intelligence, England were largely static and passed poorly and played like 11 individuals who had only just met.
This frailty again raises doubts about Capello's ability to create a side good enough to challenge for the European title in 2012 and whether the Italian is still the right man to lead England.
