France joined Argentina, Croatia, and Morocco to complete the World Cup Semi Finals rosters as they beat England at the Al Bayt Stadium on Saturday night. The first knockout match ever between the two football heavyweights saw the French prevail 2-1 thanks to Aurélien Tchouameni and Olivier Giroud goals.
Gareth Southgate’s plan to keep Kylian Mbappé at bay worked perfectly well but France have many more options on top of the PSG starlet. And so, it was up to a 36-year-old young lad named Olivier Giroud to send Les Bleus through with a salvific header after the two sides could not be separated after 80 minutes.
Aurélien Tchouameni opened the scoring for Didier Deschamps’ side with a phenomenal screamer after 17 minutes of play but Harry Kane equalized for England from the penalty spot. Kane could have drawn level again for the Three Lions after Giroud’s winner but his second spot kick crashed into the stands of the Al Bayt Stadium, sending the English fans in tears.
France will now face tournament surprise package Morocco in a high tension Semi Final that will put Les Bleus against their former colony.
For England, it’s once again time for sorrow as Southgate’s side played a better second half than their counterparts but were denied multiple times by Hugo Lloris. Ironically, the French goalkeeper had been reportedly billed as France’s “weak point” by the English press ahead of the game. Kane’s error from the penalty spot did the rest, sending the Brits home with tons of regrets.
France came into the pitch with a stellar 4-2-3-1 setup where the central striker Giroud was supported by Mbappe plus Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembélé from the flanks. However, it was solid midfielder Tchouameni to put Deschamps’ side ahead.
With 17 minutes on the clock, Tchouameni fired the ball from 25 meters afar, making it slide between Jude Bellingham’s legs to end its run into the bottom right corner of Jordan Pickford’s goal. The English goalie appeared furious at his defenders but it looked like he could have also done better.
The English, featuring their usual 4-3-3 formation where Bukayo Saka, Harry Kane, and Phil Foden formed the front line, reacted fast but found a monumental Loris on their path. The Tottenham goalie denied his club teammate Kane twice, first stopping him in a one-on-one duel and then finger-tipping his shot from outside the box over the bar.
England’s onslaught continued in the second half and Lloris had to save the day again early after the restart, defusing a Bellingham long range screamer. However, he could not do anything on 54 minutes to stop Kane’s first spot kick conversion, which came as a consequence of Tchouameni naively fouling Saka in the box. Kane sent Lloris the wrong way to make it 1-1.
France’s immediate answer was in an Adrien Rabiot shot that was parried back by Pickford, but England also had another huge chance as Harry Maguire headed the ball into Loris’ right post from a Jordan Henderson free kick.
The Three Lions seemed to be in a better shape and to have more ideas but were hit again right when they were least expecting it. Giroud made a final rehearsal of his goal-scoring exploit as he volleyed the ball on target from a Dembélé header assist, but was brilliantly denied by Pickford.
Then, just one minute later, he successfully headed home a clinical Griezmann cross from the left channel, anticipating Maguire in the process. It was the fourth goal in the tournament for the Bleus’ all-time top scorer.
Southgate played his final cards as he sent in Raheem Sterling and Mason Mount. The addition of Mount was regenerating for the Brits as the Chelsea man immediately gained the second penalty of the night for his side – courtesy of Theo Hernandez’s clumsy intervention in the box.
At that point, Harry Kane had the chance to become England’s top-scorer with 54 career goals, as well as to keep the nation’s World Cup dream alive, but he wasted it all with a hideous conversion that sent the ball crashing into the stands.
That was basically the end of it, despite Marcus Rashford tried until the end with a stoppage time free kick that sailed above the crossbar.
MATCH SCORECARD
December 10, 2022 – FIFA World Cup Quarter Finals
ENGLAND – FRANCE 1-2
SCORERS: 17′ Tchouameni (F), 54′ Kane (E, pen.), 78′ Giroud (F)
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ENGLAND (4-3-3): Pickford; Walker, Stones (97′ Grealish), Maguire, Shaw; Henderson (79′ Sterling), Rice, Bellingham; Saka (79′ Mount), Kane, Foden (80′ Rashford) (Pope, Ramsdale, Alexander-Arnold, Coady, Dier, Gallagher, Maddison, Phillips, Trippier, Wilson) Coach: Southgate |
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FRANCE (4-3-3): Lloris; Kounde, Varane, Upamecano, T. Hernandez; Tchouameni, Rabiot; Dembélé (79′ Coman), Griezmann, Mbappé; Giroud (Mandanda, Areola, Camavinga, Disasi, Fofana, Guendouzi, Kolo Muani, Konate, Pavard, Saliba, Thuram, Veretout) Coach: Deschamps |
NOTES: Yellow Cards: Maguire (E), Griezmann, Dembélé, Hernandez (F); Added Time: 1st Half 4′, 2nd Half 8′
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