The score was 1:1 and there was less than a quarter of an hour to play when the free-standing Olivier Giroud had a chance to volley from 6 meters – and saw his solid finish defused in extremis by England goalie Jordan Pickford. But oldie Giroud didn’t give up and not a minute later saw a cross ball flying towards him. He asserted himself vigorously against defender Harry Maguire and headed in to make it 2-1 (78th).
The English, at that point superior in all but the most important statistics, were forced to react. And the chance was given to them: Théo Hernandez mowed down Jason Mount unnecessarily in the penalty area, after a VAR consultation a penalty was rightly decided. Captain Harry Kane, who had scored the goal to make it 1-1 from the penalty spot, took responsibility again – and worked the ball over the bar.
While England was reminiscing about previous penalty dramas, France was celebrating. A hitherto modest offensive performance seemed to be enough for the defending champion in the giant duel. After England’s substitute Marcus Rashford fired a free-kick just inches over the bar at the end of injury time, France’s victory was a fact.
Upamecano lucky twice
In the newly built Al-Bayt Stadium in Al-Khor, “Les Bleus” started the game slightly better and were rewarded for this: Aurélien Tchouaméni, who was actually entrusted with defensive tasks in the centre, made it 1-0 with a dry shot. Bitter for England: Bukayo Saka had previously been tackled hard on the offensive by Dayot Upamecano, the French could not have complained about a foul whistle.
Less than 10 minutes later, Upamecano was lucky again: With his somewhat awkward foot, he stumbled Kane, who was in possession of the ball, all of it probably just on the penalty line. There was no whistle again. Before and after that, the extremely conspicuous Kane also made two dangerous shots in this storm and stress phase of the English.
The English only managed to equalize in the second round, when Kane sunk the aforementioned penalty (54th) and drew level with record man Wayne Rooney with his 53rd goal in the dress of the “Three Lions”. By the way, Giroud is also at 53 national goals after this quarter-final. His goal should bring the decision in the final phase.
This is how it goes
France prevailed in the first co-duel between the two great football nations. The “Equipe Tricolore” can continue to dream of their first title defense at a World Cup since Brazil 1958/62, while England meanwhile have to return home after a good performance.
After a 3-day break, France is serious about the semi-finals: on Wednesday “Les Bleus” meet Morocco again at the Al-Bayt Stadium. The “Lions of Atlas” sensationally beat Portugal (1-0) and became the first African team to reach the semi-finals of a World Cup finals.