England 1-2 France: Reigning world champions France reached the semi-finals of the World Cup on Saturday evening at the expense of England. Les Bleus encountered fierce opposition from The Three Lions, but Olivier Giroud and Aurélien Tchouameni came to the rescue of national coach Didier Deschamps’ team.
The first serious attempt on goal came in the name of Giroud, who tested Jordan Pickford with a header. France dominated at the start of the first half and took the lead after fifteen minutes. With a nice swipe from outside the box, Aurélien Tchouameni shot Les Bleus at 1-0. For the Real Madrid midfielder, it was his first goal in the national team (in eighteen international matches).
England bit off after falling behind and became dangerous twice through Kane. The captain of the English team met his Tottenham Hotspur teammate Hugo Lloris twice, who played his 143rd international match. The captain of the French thus releases Lilian Thuram as a record international for France.
Kane hoped in vain for a penalty kick before the break, but in the second half the Brazilian referee Wilton Sampaio still pointed to the spot after a foul by Tchouameni on Bukayo Saka. Face to face with Lloris, Kane fired the penalty flawlessly and equaled Wayne Rooney as England’s all-time top scorer: 53 goals.
In the run-up to the equalizer, Jude Bellingham was already close to a goal with a volley and after Kane’s 1-1, England remained the better team. France, with an almost invisible Kylian Mbappé, got away well several times in the second half. Harry Maguire saw a header go just wide and on a pass from Luke Shaw. Saka fired hard from close range.
France only made itself heard fifteen minutes before the end: on a pass from Ousmane Dembélé, Giroud shot at Pickford’s fists. It turned out to be a harbinger for England 1-2 France. Shortly after Pickford’s save, he had no chance with a header from the same Giroud after a measured cross from Antoine Griezmann.
England soon after the 1-2 had a huge chance to get back on the same level. Theo Hernández made an awkward shrug against Mason Mount in the penalty area. After which the ball hit the spot for England for a second time. Kane got behind the ball again, but this time shot high over. In the final ten minutes of extra time, the English still hoped to force extra time. But France held their ground and can prepare for the clash with Morocco for a place in the final.
