Much of the focus will fall upon England captain Harry Kane, who spurned his country's chance to equalise with France as the game reached its conclusion, but England were somewhat guilty of failing to create many opportunities for themselves in open play on a bruising night in Qatar. Here's what we learned:
More Inconsistent Refereeing
Brazilian referee Wilton Sampaio unfortunately drew attention to himself and the general standard of officiating at this World Cup with inconsistent and poor decision-making from the early stages of the game through to the final whistle. Bukayo Saka cut a frustrated figure during his time on the pitch as he was relentlessly brought down by Theo Hernandez, a man who would have been delighted to see the Arsenal forward substituted with plenty of the game still to play.
England must have been seething at half-time, with a clear foul by X on the edge of the penalty area entangling the legs of Harry Kane, going unpunished. If it had not been for VAR, England would not have had the opportunity to stay in the game as they did, up until the last. The look on Jude Bellingham's face as he hit the turf with his hand in dismay during the second half as a result of another French foul going unnoticed, spoke for a whole nation.
Mbappe Has Last Laugh
Images of a laughing Kylian Mbappe will likely haunt the England players for some time to come, with his dramatic antics in the aftermath of the penalty miss by Kane rubbing insult to injury with the unsportsmanlike gesture.
Much of the pre-game talk centred around his battle with England's Kyle Walker, who largely managed to keep France's main man relatively quiet. On the flip side however, it meant that England failed to offer much of an attacking threat down their right side, which resulted in Phil Foden, particularly in the first half, struggling to get into the game.
Though it was not Mbappe's night, France have marched on into a semi-final against Morocco, and their star striker will still be confident of securing this world cup's golden boot.
Croatia and France Still Europe's Top Two
The two teams who battled it out in the Fifa 2018 Russia World Cup final have shown that they are still Europe's top two when it comes to taking to the world stage.
Although neither country are likely to secure the support of many neutral supporters when they line up for their semi-final fixtures, with many wanting to see Lionel Messi's Argentina making it into a final against the last remaining underdogs, Morocco.
We could yet have a final made up of these two European teams, or one with none at all, which would be the first time since the 1950 final.
Southgate Swansong?
England manager Gareth Southgate will now surely be wondering if he has what it takes to lead his country any further than he has already managed to. Under his tenure, England have become the "credible" opponent that he asserted them to be prior to the match against France.
But, the reality is that England have fallen at an earlier hurdle than in the previous world cup, with an undeniably more talented and more unified squad of players at his disposal. Questions will therefore be asked about what awaits this England squad as we look ahead to the UEFA Euro 2024 tournament to be held in Germany. Though the general consensus is that Southgate has done a good job in his six years as manager, he has not been without his critics over the management of players such as James Maddison and Ivan Toney, and Southgate himself will recognise that it never does well to outstay your welcome.