The defending champions are nonetheless competition in Qatar after a tense win
Harry Kane missed a late penalty for England as defending champions France earned a 2-1 victory to maneuver into the World Cup semifinals in Qatar.
England captain Kane blazed his spot kick excessive over the bar of Tottenham teammate Hugo Lloris’ aim within the 84th minute of the match, spurning an opportunity for England to equalize.
Aurelien Tchouameni had given France the lead within the 17th minute with an excellent strike from lengthy vary, earlier than Kane canceled that out from the penalty spot ten minutes into the second half.
All-time French high scorer Olivier Giroud put his crew in entrance once more with a header within the 78th minute.
However there was time for extra drama as Kane was unable to transform his second spot kick of the night time, firing the ball over the bar on the Al Bayt Stadium – and sending England’s World Cup hopes with it.
Didier Deschamps’ French crew arrange a semifinal on Wednesday towards World Cup shock package deal Morocco, after the Africans shocked Portugal earlier on Saturday.
For England, it was extra heartache as their 56-year look forward to a significant trophy continues.
France ended up getting the job completed on an evening once they had been removed from their finest.
England had stored the scary French frontline quiet for many of the match – together with World Cup Golden Boot chief Kylian Mbappe, who largely did not spark into life.
However Les Bleus can name on the expertise of their all-time high scorer Giroud – a person who has spent a lot of his membership profession within the English capital at Arsenal and Chelsea.
Giroud pounced for his 53rd aim for France by beating Harry Maguire to move in Antoine Griezmann’s curled cross with simply over 10 minutes to play of the second half.
Kane is so usually England’s go-to man, and had confidently lashed in his first penalty of the night time within the 54th minute following a foul within the French field by Tchouameni on Bukayo Saka.
That strike meant Kane equaled Wayne Rooney’s file of 53 objectives for the Three Lions – however the milestone will finally really feel a hole one as Kane’s late penalty failure price England a path again into the match.
The semifinal line-ups for Qatar are actually full, with Argentina taking up Croatia on Tuesday on the Lusail Stadium, earlier than France return to the Al Bayt Stadium to fulfill Morocco.
Two-time winner France are aiming to comply with their success in Russia 4 years in the past and turn out to be the primary crew to retain the World Cup since Brazil in 1962.
Even when not at their finest on Saturday, France proved once more that they’ve the toolset to discover a manner by means of – making them an ominous prospect for his or her remaining rivals in Qatar.
