England vs France: Olivier Giroud’s powerful header sent the Les Blues to the semi-finals of the World Cup after relentless performances from the French players.
The player who is now the all-time goal scorer for France got the better of England defenders who could not compete with him aerially.
Harry Kane who equaled Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney’s goals for England failed to make use of his last opportunity to get an equalizer as he blasted the ball over the net.
Aurélien Tchouaméni scored a beautiful, powerful shot from outside the box in the 17th minute, with Jordan Pickford not having a single chance to stop the brilliant effort .
The goal came after the referee failed to give England a free kick at the edge of the France box after Lucas Hernandez fouled Bukayo Saka.
Tchouaméni fouled Saka in the box, and the English team got the opportunity they had been waiting for with Kane scoring the penalty against his teammates Hugo IIloris.
Saka came close in the second half but the ball was palmed away by IIloris who was in a very good form against England.
Harry Maguire had a free header, and it was pitch perfect for the England defender to score in the match.
Unfortunately, with six minutes to play and under an intense pressure, Harry Kane smashed his second spot kick high over the bar. Kane looked devastated. There was no way back, and at the final whistle, he was inconsolable.
Referee Wilton Sampaio had initially overlooked the foul on Mount before VAR advised him to check the pitchside monitor.
England were frustrated throughout this enthralling contest by decisions from the officials, with different decision going against the English side.
Maguire was fouled at the edge of the box and the English players allowed Marcus Rashford who scored a free kick against Wales to play the last kick of the match.
The Manchester United youngster placed the ball at the right position but it did not disturb the French goalkeeper. it ended in tears for the English stars and the French players jubilated as wildly as they could.
Key Stats in England vs France
England has exited the World Cup quarterfinal stages seven times total, more than any other team has done in the competition’s history.
Against France, England gave up two more open-play goals than they had all tournament.
What next for England and France
The three lions of England will face Italy in the UEFA Euro 2023 qualifiers on March 23, 2023. It is likely that Gareth Southgate will not lead the English team into the qualifiers.
On the other hand, France enters the semi-finals for the second time in a row and plays against the big teams’ nightmare, Morocco, on December 14, 2022, at 8:00 p.m.
The winner moves on to the final to play against either Argentina or Croatia, who will compete against themselves on December 13, 2022.
