Better team eliminated – England missed out on the semi-finals of the World Cup in Qatar despite a strong performance against France. Match winner in the 2-1 (1-0) for the team on Saturday evening (December 10, 2022) was oldie Olivier Giroud, England’s tragic hero was Harry Kane.
The game was extremely exciting and completely open until the final whistle. It started with a ten-minute scan in midfield, then France had the first dangerous finish: Ousmane Dembélé crossed from the right into the back of Olivier Giroud, who still placed his header well – but Jordan Pickford was on the post. That was absolutely not the case five minutes later.
Then Dayot Upamecano, who was often criticized at Bayern, got the ball in his own penalty area against Bukayo Saka, and while the English were still claiming a foul, the French counterattacked. Via Kylian Mbappé, Dembélé and Antoine Griezmann, the ball landed at Aurélien Tchouaméni, who shot without a start from 22 meters – and Pickford was badly surprised in the far corner. In addition to the goalkeeper, Jude Bellingham, who could have blocked Tchouaméni’s shot, was partly to blame for the goal.
Lucky Upamecano and France
Letting Upamecano get through before the 1-0 was perfectly justifiable – but he was lucky in the 25th minute. Centimeters before or even on the penalty line, he cleared Harry Kane, but referee Wilton Sampaio from Brazil overlooked the foul and allowed the game to continue. At the next interruption, the VAR department then decided on the version that the scene should have taken place just outside – therefore there was neither a penalty nor a free kick.
The English then had the upper hand, perhaps out of anger at what they saw as the double disadvantage. Especially Kane turned up more and more. In his new mix position of ten and nine, he pulled dangerously from distance in the 30th minute – Hugo Lloris got the ball from the right angle.
Mbappé forgives the 2-0
France withdrew well into the break and only relied on counterattacks – but one of them almost made it 2-0. In the 39th minute, the otherwise reticent Mbappé finished the penalty spot, but aimed a floor too high.
England immediately took control of midfield again in the second half, but Lloris again prevented the equalizer when he tipped a brilliant Bellingham cracker over the bar with his fingertips in the 48th minute.
Kane and the special penalty
But England stayed put, kept up the pressure – and after 50 minutes the collective effort was rewarded. Saka dribbled through the French penalty area, Tchouaméni offered his leg as he tried to clear and Saka fell over it. A special penalty followed for Harry Kane. For one, he was just one goal short of executing to catch up with Wayne Rooney as his country’s record scorer. And in the opposing goal was the man he always hit penalties in club training at Tottenham – but he shouldered both challenges easily and slammed the ball into the left corner for Lloris to make it 1-1.
It was obviously difficult for France to switch modes again. England, on the other hand, remained consistent and had a good chance of scoring the second goal thanks to a powerful header from Harry Maguire (70′), which grazed the outside of the post, and Saka (72′) after a cross from Luke Shaw.
Giroud in the second attempt
When everything pointed to the English leadership, France struck. Pickford was initially able to fend off a shot from eight meters by Giroud (77th). But that wasn’t enough of a warning for the Brits’ central defense: A minute later, Griezmann was able to cross from the left unchallenged – and Giroud headed the ball into the net to make it 2-1.
Rejoicing at the semi-finals: France’s Olivier Giroud with Griezmann
England continued unimpressed – and got the next chance from the penalty spot. Theo Hernández elbowed substitute Mason Mount in the back with no chance of winning the ball, and Sampaio, who was totally overwhelmed at times, allowed the ball to continue. Only when the VAR team intervened did he check the scene and give the penalty kick.
Kane’s nerves fail
Of course, Captain Kane took the ball again. It could have been international goal number 54 and thus number one in the record list – but this time his nerves failed him. Trying to target the top left corner again, he hammered the ball a meter over the bar. The English drama of the penalty spot, which has happened so often in the football history of this country and most recently in 2021 in the European Championship final against Italy, found another tragic chapter.
Stunned by his missed shot: Harry Kane has just awarded the possible 2:2
The French, on the other hand, reached the semi-finals without any shine – but in this form on Wednesday at 8 p.m. (live ticker at sportschau.de) against Morocco they are by no means the clear favorite. Giroud didn’t want to exaggerate his team’s performance either: “We put up a solid fight. In life, you always have to believe in your chance up to the last second. Now, of course, we want to achieve the maximum.”