AL KHOR, Qatar — Defending World Champion France reached the semi-finals in Qatar later Olivier Giroud78th minute header helps Didier Deschamps’ side 2-1 win end England at Al Bayt Stadium on Saturday.
– 2022 FIFA World Cup: News and features | bracket | Schedule
Aurelien TchouameniThe amazing attack at 17 minutes was canceled by Harry Kane54th minute penalty, but after Giroud restored France’s advantage, the England captain missed a second penalty when there was a chance to equalize six minutes later. Les Bleus last stand from England, holding their place in four finals.
JUMP TO: Player Rating | Best/worst performer | Highlights and remarkable moments | Quotes after the game | main statistics | upcoming match schedule
rapid response
1. Penalties cost England again
It wasn’t a penalty this time, but England were knocked out of the World Cup after their most reliable penalty taker — one of the best in the world — missed a penalty from close range. 12 yards when the game has six minutes left. Kane scored a penalty earlier in the game, equaling Wayne Rooney’s all-time England scoring record in the process, but stepped up again to face him Tottenham Hotspur teammate Hugo lloris with a chance to level the score at 2-2 late in the game, he shot over the bar in an unusual way. This is only the fourth time he has missed England in 21 attempts.
In the build-up to the match, Kane eliminated any familiarity issues with Lloris.
“Surprisingly I don’t train too much against Hugo, I usually train with goalkeeper number two or number three the day before the game when you usually train with them,” Kane said. “I’ve played against him before, but I won’t say much, but I’ve had the same situation with Premier League goalkeepers when facing an English goalkeeper, I follow my procedure. and adhere to pre-match training.”
Kane scored against Lloris in a June 2017 friendly, but when that matters most, the 29-year-old – who has been in fine form throughout this tournament – made a brief, suggestive appearance. recalling England’s final penalty shootout defeat before Euro 2020. Italy last summer — and all the penalty movies from the previous seven tournaments played out that way.
2. Giroud continues to prove his worth
Giroud spent 9 years in England with weapon and Chelsea but not always appreciated. His lifespan is respectable, and at the age of 36, replace Karim Benzema after Real Madrid missed this tournament due to injury, he made a key contribution in the quarter-finals of the World Cup with a brilliant header, beating Harry Maguire to Antoine Griezmann’s left wing cross.
Giroud broke Thierry Henry’s all-time scoring record for France in his last round of 16 win PolandDeschamps later said: “He’s been going through tough times in his career. He’s been criticized often, but people are now seeing his quality.”
Some of those difficult periods were in England, but his big game spirit has come to the fore here. France led a game with beautiful moments as their experience at the later stages of the major tournaments – and as defending champions – was recounted, and Giroud was the epitome of it. of that personal power.
Much of the pre-match focus is on Kylian Mbappebattle with Kyle Walker – France’s opener came partly from the first time Walker advanced, only to cause England to lose control of the ball – but in the end, after Tchouameni’s stunning first-half strike, Griezmann and Giroud came to an end. The union has done that in the Three Lions.
3. Will Southgate continue after England falters before another elite nation?
England manager Gareth Southgate has a contract until 2024, but there has been some speculation about whether he will be motivated enough to continue after six years in charge, especially in light of the words. criticism he received in the summer when England were relegated from the Nations. League, mostly from a section of Three Lions fans. However, the team’s progress under Southgate is undeniable, coming very close to bringing England’s first major league title since 1966. France and the composition of a young, dynamic squad would have encouraged him to continue, but England ultimately failed in their attempt to beat an elite nation in the knockout stage at Wembley.
He can’t be accused of being too cautious here, sticking to a 4-3-3 that was designed to give Jude Bellingham chance to influence the game while Bukayo Saka (excellent person) and Phil Foden worked in support of Kane, trying to defeat France on an equal footing rather than restraining and counter-attacking. Southgate have overseen six of England’s 15 wins in knockout football, but their away win came first. Colombia and Switzerland In Russia, Ukraine in Rome last summer and Senegal in Qatar.
Southgate has done a lot to tackle England’s frequent defeats at tournaments, but the inability to beat a top team down the road is a glass ceiling that requires much more work to break. broken.
Player Rating (1 = worst, 10 = best)
England: jordan pickford 7, Kyle Walker 6, John Stones 6, Harry Maguire 6, Luke Shaw 6, Jordan Henderson 6, rice 7, Jude Bellingham 7, Bukayo Saka 8, Harry Kane 7, Phil Foden 7
reserve: Mount Mason 6, Marcus Rashford 6, Raheem Sterling 6, Jack Grealish 6
France: Hugo Lloris7, Jules Kounde 7, Raphael Varane 7, Dayot Upamecano 6, According to Hernandez 5, Adrien Rabiot 7, Aurelien Tchouameni 7, Ousmane Dembele 7, Antoine Griezmann 9, Kylian Mbappe 7, Olivier Giroud 8
Prep: Kingsley Coman 6
Best and worst performers
BEST: Antoine Griezmann, France. Two more assists, the second of which was a beautiful cross from the left flank that sealed the winning goal for Giroud.
WORST: According to Hernandez, France. An unfortunate penalty for rushing behind Mount – a decision that only got worse when the umpire couldn’t make it on first viewing.
Highlights and remarkable moments
Before the match, FIFA honors longtime American journalist Grant Wahlwho passed away early Saturday morning after falling ill while covering Friday’s quarter-final between Argentina and Netherlands.
FIFA honored American football writer Grant Wahl with a gift on the desk where he will work at the World Cup match between France and England.
Wahl died early Saturday morning while covering the match between Argentina and the Netherlands in Qatar.
Than: https://t.co/GylsajSLvM pic.twitter.com/uvTAOFLWSn
– GAME (@espn) December 10, 2022
The excruciating pain for captain Kane, and the Three Lions’ penalty curse continues.
HARRY KANE FORGET THE PENALTY pic.twitter.com/UwDpI8qXpQ
– FOX Football (@FOXSoccer) December 10, 2022
After the game: What players and coaches say
Henderson on Kane: “We know how many penalties Harry has scored for us, how many goals he has contributed to get us here. He will be stronger for this in the future. He is a money. world-class director and our captain, he’ll be back.”
Giroud: “You played a great game and I want to tell them we are proud to have beaten such a great team.”
Key stats (provided by ESPN Stats & Information)
– This is the eighth time England have conceded their first goal in a knockout match at the World Cup; The Three Lions won only one of those matches: the 1966 final against West Germany.
– Kane’s fourth career goal from the penalty spot in World Cups against Rob Rensenbrink, Gabriel Batistuta and Eusebio in most all-time by any male player.
Kane’s missed penalty was the first time England failed to make it in a World Cup match (excluding penalty shootouts). Previously they were 12 eat 12.
Next
England: The Three Lions return to action on March 23, when they travel to Italy for the Euro 2020 final rematch in Euro 2024 qualifying.
France: Les Bleus advance to the semi-finals where they will meet Maroc on Wednesday at 2 p.m. ET.
