Thanks for all your company and comments – should you want more, here’s a little essay from the future on what we’ve just seen, for Joy of Six: misses. Au revoir mes amis!

That was, quite simply, the greatest game of football I’ve ever seen and surely one of the greatest games of football ever played, an unstoppable buzz of beauty, joy and love from start to finish. Cherish it, enjoy it, teach it to your children, teach them to teach it to their children; its lovingkindness will endure forever. Hallelujah.

So the favourites are out! France will play Germany or Mexico next.

That was a great penalty, swept into the side-netting. The French squad go wild and they’ve every right to go wild! I suppose we could say that justice was done, given Carlos’ intervention, but players are allowed to commit fouls, the laws are the to punish them, and Brazil ought to have had the game won by then.

Carlos takes his time walking to his line, nudges the ball, and Fernandez promptly sends him the wrong way before haring off like he’s been touched by the hand of God! He has been touched by the hand of God and so have we! What a moment! What a game! What a sport! What a life!

He absolutely lamps this, but against the face of the left upright! He’s had a fine game, but really, where was Careca? Where was Silas? It doesn’t matter! If Fernandez scores now, France are into the semis!

This is one of the worst, most hilarious penalties you’ll ever see! Platini runs at it straight, looking for the top left, but gets nowhere near! The three greatest players playing in this game have made the greatest rickets! We’re back on serve!

Edinho knows the laws, because he’s in the ref’s face setting him straight, then Branco does likewise before whacking centre-left as Bats goes to the right. But Platini scores this next one, France will be nearly there.

Bellone runs up fast and whips a left-footer across his body, which hits the post … then hits the diving Carlos on the curls, and bounces in! The ref gives the goal, but according to the laws, the ball was dead after that post situation! “It’s like hitting the post in a sense, and going in,” says Motty.

Zico runs harder at it this time, and Bats reckons he’ll go the opposite way so dives right, and the ball goes just left of centre. And yes, Motty does say he’s “making up for his earlier miss”; of course he does, and of course he isn’t.

Amoros, who scored in Seville, sprints, slows, speeds up, and places it just out of Carlos’ reach, to the keeper’s left.

Two and half steps, body open, punched into the bottom right,

That’s how you do it. Stopyra charges at the ball, cracking a riser more or less down the middle and into the roof, as Carlos dives left.

He does exactly what he did against Poland, taking one step like in a five aside game, but Bats either reads his ego or gambles on his ego, hurling himself right and palming the ball away. It wasn’t a terrible penalty – fair power, not far enough into the corner or high enough when it needed to be one or the other – but the keeper knew where it was going, so got to it.

Well … this is it. Brazil are going to take first; Socrates is en route to the spot.

That was everything we hoped it would be and infinite other things besides. All I can really do is express everlasting gratitude to the players, who did a moving, affirming job, and to the manager, who sent their teams out to attack the game like we should always attacking everything. Obrigardos, merci and bravo.

119 min Amoros chips to the back post, looking for Bossis, but he mistimes his leap. Stopyra retrieves and finds Platini, but the return ball can’t find him, and Julio Cesar brings it away. Except Platini comes back at him, knocks square to Fernandez – it bounces up nicely – but he lashes miles high.

119 min France win a free-kick down the right, a few yards away from the box. Everyone piles forward.

118 min Jimmy notes that the ref has had a really good game, which is true. And the reality is that, if Carlos wouldn’t have been sent off, not deeming his foul a foul probably didn’t affect the outcome. But my guess is that after this game, he’ll be on the plane back to … I’m not sure, does anyone know where he’s from?

117 min You’ve probably and understandably forgotten, but about 40 seconds ago, Carlos brought down Bellone when he was through on an empty goal. And now the France players voice broiges to the ref, but if he didn’t do anything about it then, he certainly won’t do anything about it now. As it goes, Bellone’s touch wasn’t a great one – he forced himself wide, and wouldn’t necessarily have scored – bur the laws of the game aren’t right. If you deny a goalscoring opportunity anywhere on the pitch, that should be a penalty; if you commit an offence in the box without denying a goalscoring opportunity, that should be a direct free-kick. Anyway, apologies; I’m lowering the tone.

116 min “That’s extraordinary!” says Motty of the ref’s ability to adjudge assault, but there’s no more time for moralising because Brazil are breaking! Cesar legs it down the right and finds Silas, infield; he plays into Careca, whose first-time touch-off doesn’t complete the one-two, but instead he chases after the ball, which he wants more than Battiston. Now out on the right, he slows Battiston down, sticks one in behind and barges onto it, riding the desperate recovery tackle before drilling a straight, yet wondrous cross across the face of goal … and Socrates is right there, unmarked! This for the match! But he misses his kick, nutmegging himself in the process! He had nothing left, falling away even before he tried the shot!

I don’t know what to say – I’ve never, in all my life, seen a football match anything like this and in a way I hope I don’t ever see another football match like this. It should be on the wall in a gallery, on the school curriculum, have its own television channel – it should have everything, because it is everything.

116 min Here we are. Here – we – are! Bats comes a long way to flap the corner clear, and with Alemao down, France break! Amoros, on the right touchline and midway inside his own half, tucks inside Branco, who expected a pass, then does pass – infield to Platini. Who, of course, sees him coming, and lazily pets a first-timer in behind the Brazil defence! Bellone is through! This is going to be the longest two seconds of his life! Brace, brace! Carlosfunkel races outside his box, Bellone knocks the ball past him … and Carlosfunkel schumachers him! He trips, regains his footing … but can’t catch up with the ball, and Julio Cesar tidies up!

On the plus side, Bellone still has his teeth, but even Battiston will agree that is scant consolation when he had the chance to put France into the semi-finals of the World Cup! You’ve got to say, that’s fantastic keeping from Carlosfunkel, making sure he got outside the box to do what had to be done. YOU WHAT! The referee waves play on! I’m not certain he could’ve sent Carlos off, though that was what he deserved – and remember, Brazil have no remaining subs, so he’s also deprived us of an outfield player in net for penalties – but seeing that and failing to disturb the sound of silence? That is an astonishing piece of behaviour!

116 min Zico pokes wide to Alemao, who has no one front of him so tees himself up for a shot, catapulting everything he’s got into a zooter that Bats tips around the near post.

“It would just be typical for West Germany or the hosts Mexico to knock out one of these dazzling teams in the next round,” says Paul Kellington.

114 min It’s a fair while since we saw Platini.

113 min The corner comes to nothing, but only because, when the ball is half-cleared, Stopyra strays fractionally offside when it comes back in.

111 min Amoros is down clutching his shin. I think he wore one from Alemao after hitting the pass – I’m sure he’ll be fine. In the meantime, Edinho bitches to the ref about stopping the game for him to be treated, because his boys have a winner to locate.

111 min We’re back! Careca to Silas to Branco down the left, then Amoros makes another fine challenge before striding away purposefully, launching a fine long pass to Stopyra. But Julio Cesar sticks with him so he goes back to Ferreri, collects a return by the by-line, and digs out a decent cross that Edinho feels obliged to nod behind.

111 min “So much has happened since, that seems like yesterday,” says Motty of Careca’s goal. That’s a lovely line.

110 min Talking of which, I’m absolutely loving this at the moment.

110 min These lads are bushed now, but Bossis still go-go Gadget legs it forward, only for someone to stray offside. L’ouch.

108 min A quiet minute or two, then Tusseau goes down with cramp. Pathetic.

106 min Right then. Fifteen minutes more, and if there’s no winner, it’s penalties – which, as we know, are an absolute lottery of a test of skill under pressure.

Note: the ref is Romanian.

We are in the presence of true, lasting greatness. Bow down.

105 min My shift + 1 is getting a right hammering here! Bats chucks Ferreri into trouble and Branco steams him! He’s got men in the box! But his cross is too close to Bats, who collects easily enough in the end.

105 min The gigantic Alemao battles through a couple of challenges wide on the right then opts to go infield to Josimar rather than cross; Josimar quickly shoves the ball a few yards to Silas, who unfurls a delectable cross for Socrates, in between Amoros and Battiston! But he can only head straight at Bats … but in fairness he was about 13 yards out … but either side of Bats and it’s in!

104 min I want a pair of Brazil shorts.

104 min Alemao lays back to Silas, who fights through a challenge on the slide, just outside the box, then Zico takes over and rolls a ball between defenders for Silas. Bats comes rushing out and for a second there’s a penalty chance, or a chance to take the keeper out of the equation, but he plays back to Alemao, who chips over the top.

103 min Brazil come again, Careca pulling wide for Silas, who chucks all of himself into a shot from the left corner of the box – and it’s a decent one too, sending Bats flying across goal. But it screeches over the bar.

102 min Often, extra-time is tedious, both sides feart of getting beat. Here, absolutely nothing has changed.