Anthony Barry gets emotional in his last half-time interview of the World Cup with message to England squad

England assistant coach Anthony Barry's half-time interviews have been a highlight of the World Cup - and he used his final one of the tournament to praise his players.

Barry was put in front of the cameras at half-time of England's 4-2 win over Croatia in the opening group stage match, and claimed his side had put in a 'complicated and confusing' performance to go into the break at 2-2.

The former Chelsea, Belgium and Portugal first-team coach mellowed slightly in the interviews that followed in comparison to that, but every Three Lions match has been accompanied by one question to Barry, followed by one answer, at half-time.

England produced an outstanding performance in the first half of their bronze final against France to lead 4-0 - and, in truth, the scoreline could have been even greater.

Marcus Rashford and Bukayo Saka combined to repeatedly breach France's backline, while Eberechi Eze and Declan Rice patrolled the midfield.

There wasn't a lot, then, to be particularly critical about as far as the coaching staff were concerned - and Barry decided to use up his one answer by sending a passionate message to his squad.

'I know what the cynics will say...' - Barry on England's last first half of the World Cup

"I have to be honest, no frustration," he told BBC's Kelly Somers. "I'm a little bit emotional - I can't find the words to describe just how proud I am of these players.

"They're playing a game with broken hearts. I see 11 lads out on the field with broken hearts, I've seen them in the hotel the last two days with broken hearts.

"And to build a performance like that, just through the pride of playing for England, with the team spirit we've built over the last seven weeks... it's just been a privilege to watch.

"I know what the cynics will say, it's too late, but we're still playing against a world class opponent. And that 45 minutes, I'm so proud of the boys. There's 45 minutes to go, anything can happen. But in isolation, I'm proud of the team, and hopefully everyone back home is as well."

Following Barry's comments, England conceded twice in the opening 10 minutes of the second half, through goals from Kylian Mbappe and substitute Bradley Barcola.

Mbappe then made it 4-3 on 66 minutes to become the leading goalscorer in World Cup history - until at least Sunday, when Argentina's Lionel Messi will try to take the record back in the final.