England assistant manager Anthony Barry appeared on the verge of tears during his half-time interview with the BBC as England faced France in the World Cup. Barry, who has conducted the half-time interviews for every World Cup match this summer, struggled to contain his emotions.
Emotional tribute to players
Barry said: 'I have to be honest no frustration. I'm a little bit emotional, I'm struggling to find the words to describe how proud I am of these players. They're playing the game with broken hearts.'
He added: 'I see 11 lads with broken hearts, seen them in the last two days broken hearts, they can build a performance like that through playing for England, the team spirit we built the last seven weeks, it's been a privilege to watch.'
Defiant message to critics
Barry acknowledged potential criticism but remained defiant: 'I know what the cynics will say, "it's too late" but we still play against a world class opponent. That 45 minutes I'm so proud, there's still 45 minutes to go, anything can happen but in isolation, I'm proud of the team and hopefully everyone back home is too.'
The interview highlighted the emotional toll on the England squad after a difficult week. More updates are expected as the match progresses.
