France beat England for semifinal spot as Kane misses penalty
11 Dec 2022 08:32am
Olivier Giroud (left) of France celebrates with Raphael Varane (right) after scoring the 2-1 during the FIFA World Cup 2022 quarter final soccer match between England and France at Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, Qatar, 10 December 2022 - EPA/Tolga Bozoglu
They will now face tournament sensation Morocco, who defeated Portugal 1-0 earlier, the German Press Agency, dpa reported.
The French side broke the deadlock in the 17th as Antoine Griezmann teed up for Aurelien Tchouameni fire a shot from outside the box and into the bottom corner.
But there was not much to see from France during the rest of the first half and the Englishmen returned from the break as the better team. Their pressing was rewarded with a penalty after Bukayo Saka was brought down inside the box.
Captain Kane fired a furious strike from the spot to level the game in the 54th and net his 53rd goal for England, equalling Wayne Rooney as the joint-highest scorer for the Three Lions.
Harry Maguire could have put England ahead in the 70th but narrowly missed the target. On the other side of the pitch, Giroud also missed from close range in the 77th, but didn't waste the next chance and headed into the net a cross from Griezmann just a minute later.
Kane had the chance of taking the game to extra time as England were awarded another penalty, but this time the captain sent the ball well over the crossbar.
A last-minute free-kick gave England a final beacon of hope but Marcus Rashford's effort beat the top corner of the net by a few centimetres. - BERNAMA
