Gavin Bazunu: Couldn’t really have done much about either goal and pulled off a couple of decent saves to increase his confidence after a rocky start to the season at Southampton. 6

Shane Duffy: Made his return to the Irish team after a lengthy absence and did okay. An impressive block to deny what looked like a certain Mbappe goal was among the highlights, though Ireland will be disappointed they didn’t make more of his presence down the other end with some fairly sub-par set pieces. 6

John Egan: Had a nervy moment early on when he looked in danger of conceding a penalty after a collision with Olivier Giroud but was relatively solid for the most part. 6

Nathan Collins: Had one really impressive surging run forward in the first half when Chiedozie Ogbene could have slipped him through and showed his customary composure and ability to read the play well throughout and help restrict France to two goals. 6

Enda Stevens: Was given a torrid time by Ousmane Dembele in the first half as he just couldn’t match him for pace and it was no surprise to see him replaced by James McClean at the break owing to this difficulty, though Stephen Kenny also indicated afterwards he was suffering from a calf injury. 5

Alan Browne: Did reasonably well in the unfamiliar position of right wing-back, limiting Kylian Mbappe’s influence and also brought some much-needed energy into midfield after switching position in the second half. 6

Josh Cullen: Couldn’t really have much of an influence as Ireland were largely chasing their dominant opponents and showed his frustration in the second half when he was booked for a late challenge on Adrien Rabiot. 5

Jayson Molumby: Like Cullen, just couldn’t really stamp his authority on the game and made a few ill-timed challenges before being replaced by Dara O’Shea in the 68th minute. 5

Jason Knight: Had one encouraging forward run in the second half, but was too often anonymous as France were totally dominant in midfield. 5

Chiedozie Ogbene: A deserved man-of-the-match, Ogbene was one of Ireland’s few genuine attacking outlets with his pace causing the French defence a few problems. However, like the rest of the Irish team, he tired as the game wore on and was replaced by debutant Festy Ebosele in the 84th minute. 7

Adam Idah: Was given the thankless task of leading Ireland’s forward line, Idah was invariably isolated on his own and surrounded by French bodies so could seldom have a positive influence on the play. 5

Subs: James McClean did not have quite as much trouble as Enda Stevens marking the brilliant Dembele, while Dara O’Shea was his usual reliable self. Will Keane, Aaron Connolly and Festy Ebosele just didn’t have the time and enough opportunities to influence the play. 5

Stephen Kenny: The visitors certainly didn’t disgrace themselves and Kenny set up a reasonably defensively solid team. Moreover, it’s hard to think of any manager in the world who would have inspired Ireland to a win tonight. But the defeats are starting to rack up now and another bad result on Sunday will lead to more question marks over the Dubliner’s future as well as Ireland’s hopes of qualifying from the group effectively ending. 6