Intro:

France squad head back to base after defeat before flying home

Script:

The France squad and coach Didier Deschamps couldn't help but look look downbeat as they arrived at their base camp hotel in Ribeirao Preto on Friday night after their 1-0 defeat by Germany in Rio's Maracana stadium in the World Cup quarter-finals earlier in the day.

So once again France were eliminated by Germany after previous defeats in 1982 and 1986, and in truth, the French side didn't live up to previous performances they had given in this tournament.

The tournament for France was however a major improvement from the disaster of South Africa in 2010.

This World Cup saw the rise of a new generation of French football players who could form the heart of a promising team for the 2016 Euros to be held in France.

Their exit came as a blow to players who had been optimistic after encouraging performances in their previous four games

However, it all came to a shuddering halt against a German team, who took an early lead and comfortably defended it through to the final whistle.