Missed penalty kick kills England: France meets Morocco in the semi-finals

Many a star’s heart has already been broken at this World Cup, and after Neymar, Lewandowski, Ronaldo and Depay, England top scorer Harry Kane’s football heart has also been shattered. The captain of England crashed with his team in the quarterfinals against France (2-1), which will face Morocco on Wednesday.

After reaching the last four at the World Cup in Russia and the final at their own Wembley at the European Championship 2020 (actually 2021), Kane, the most experienced player with almost 80 caps, hoped to take his team to the top step. But to keep that dream alive in Qatar, the English had to put aside the reigning world champion. That was, they knew in advance, a monster job given the presence of big stars such as Kylian Mbappé (top scorer), Antoine Griezmann (115 international matches), Juventus all-rounder Adrian Rabiot and Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.

mortar fire

And that French team made quite an impression in the first half, also thought they were sitting on roses when Aurelien Tchouameni, the Real Madrid midfielder, took care of the 1-0 with a kind of mortar fire after fifteen minutes.

All eyes were often on the French threat Mbappé before the break, but men like Tchouameni and Griezman took advantage of that. The latter, like goalkeeper Lloris and Olivier Giroud, brings a wealth of experience and was the spider in the web for the French with a lot of passes with every attack.

But the response from the English, who had left their side unchanged after the round of 16, was typical of the football they have been bringing since the 2018 World Cup. More positive, attractive and daring. England was an example of a team that wants to operate with real wing tips. Foden and this time especially Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka caused sweat under the armpits of the world champion. And if they didn’t, Kane, as captain, took care of it himself.

VAR comes to the rescue of France

Five minutes after the opening goal, tens of thousands of Englishmen in the packed stadium were screaming for a penalty kick, when Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich) kicked Kane in the calves just inside the box and the striker went down. The VAR had to be involved because the Brazilian referee Wilton Sampaio saw nothing in it. To the surprise of Kane, who went to get a story from the arbitration at halftime, the VAR also saw no penalty.

What seemed to break up the French was the fact that they had taken the lead so early, that they started playing less adventurous early on. It became looking for the counter instead of wanting to dominate. England had the vast majority of chances, especially in the second half. Saka felt that the French defense had no grip on him, Kane (before the break) and Bellingham (after the break) forced Lloris to make sensational saves with long shots. Between the companies, Maguire, who had been pushed to the bench at Manchester United, was dangerous with free kicks and corners.

Penalty kick drama

Saka forced a penalty when he was knocked out by goalscorer Tchouameni. Kane, who else, got the job done and deservedly tied his team. In that phase, England should have persevered, but in the final phase it became clear once again how much quality there is in the French team. Girouid, the oldest player on the field, headed in from a beautiful cross by Giroud: 2-1.

But then the real bit of drama was yet to come. Shortly before the end, England got the chance to pull another 2-2 out of the fire, just like the Netherlands. Substitute Mason Mount was knocked out by Theo Hernandez and this time the VAR did bring the Brazilian referee to the screen. The ball hit the spot, but much to the disappointment of all England fans, Kane almost rammed the ball into the second ring of the stadium instead of the roof of the goal.

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