2022 FIFA World Cup: Peppery France send England packing to dazzle into semis

Defending champions France booked their ticket to the last-four of the 2022 World Cup, beating England 2-1 in an hot-blooded quarter-final on Saturday night.

Captain of the Three Lions, Harry Kane fired a late deciding penalty over the crossbar as England's World Cup dreams were thrown to the Qatari desert camels.


Kane had already converted his sides first spot kick from 12 yards earlier in the game to level things up after Aurelien Tchouameni's thunderbolt stunner had put France ahead and he was given a rare chance to equalise for a second time after Olivier Giroud's header when Theo Hernandez recklessly went in hard for Mason Mount with a cynical tackle.



But with six minutes to end the match, with onrushing pressure, he bundled his second spot kick high over the bar. Kane looked shattered as there was no way back and at the final whistle he was inconsolable.


Kane's first penalty had taken level with former England star Wayne Rooney's national team scoring record of 53 goals and meant that if he had scored the second spot kick, he would have been the player to score more penalties in normal time at global tournaments than any player ever. 



France started the game on a solid transition and within 17 minutes they had taken the lead through Aurelien Tchouameni as Griezmann slid a pass to him which he unleashed a bullet-like long range shot which went past Pickford and then into the bottom left corner.


However after recess, England went hunting in search of the equaliser but they would have to wait till the 54th minute, as Tchouameni went from an hero to a villian, dangerously pinning down Bukayo Saka in the box, allowing Harry Kane to smash the spot kick home as his teammate Hugo Loris was helpless in the box.

That goal brought some momentum to the England players as Maguire gasping header clipped the post at 1-1, but Olivier Giroud dashed into the box to power-in a header from close range after Griezmann's whip-in cross to set up a semi-final clash with Morocco on Wednesday, December 14, at the retractable Al-Bayt Stadium in Al Khor.

By: Pascal Nii Gogo Amoah