France defeated England 2-1, and Olivier Giroud’s game-winning goal helped them advance to the 2022 World Cup semifinals.
France versus England The encounter between the two nations in this tournament knockout tie was first. It’s time. Both teams entered this match aware that history was not on their side. It was less about a Year in Provence and more about guaranteeing a month in Qatar. While England was merely attempting to advance to a semi-final outside of Europe for the first time in their history, France was trying to maintain its chances of becoming the team to retain the World Cup after Brazil in 1962. It was time to see which country could produce a result on the biggest stage between two countries that were connected by the world’s longest underwater tunnel.
When the starting lineups were revealed, there were essentially no surprises because both managers stuck with the starting lineups that had relatively easily led them through the second round. It was the first time since 2019 that Didier Deschamps had not changed his starting lineup for France. The match ball, which burst or, more precisely, deflated, within the first minute of play, was the game’s first casualty. Sometimes you feel the pressure, and other times you just need more pressure.
The game’s first significant opportunity came from an Giroud header in the 11th minute, which Jordan Pickford handled well. However, six minutes later, England’s goalkeeper was defeated by a magnificent strike from Aurélien Tchouaméni, who had been set up by the speed of you know who on France’s left flank, even though England believed the move had been started by a foul on Bukayo Saka. Antoine Griezmann made the final pass to Tchouaméni, giving him a record-breaking 27 assists for France—more than any other player ever.
The first controversy of the game was caused by Harry Kane’s burst into the box midway through the first half. The England captain appeared to have been fouled on the right side of the penalty area, but both the referee and later the VAR team determined: actually, no. A few minutes later, Kane responded with a shot from outside the box that Hugo Lloris narrowly parried. They would eventually engage in a battle within Spurs that would take centre stage.
The last opportunity of the half came from Kylian Mbappé’s incredibly skied shot, which launched England into a period of territorial dominance, albeit with few cutting final passes. In actuality, the first period was evenly matched, save for the fact that France was in the lead, which historically has presented a significant challenge for England throughout their lengthy and largely unsuccessful World Cup history.
Following a scoreless first half, England came out firing in the second. Jude Bellingham had a shot from outside the box that Lloris expertly tipped over. Bukayo Saka continued to have an impact on the game from the right flank, and following the dramatic first-half non-penalty decision, there was no question when Saka was fouled in the box by Tchouaméni. Harry Kane successfully converted the penalty.
With the goal, Kane equaled Wayne Rooney as the nation’s all-time leading scorer and increased his record of four World Cup penalty goals. No one has played for their country in international football longer than England, but this was their 13th goal in a single World Cup, a record for them. Progress in some ways.
Following a shot from Rabiot that tested Pickford, Mbappe displayed his quickness to evade Kyle Walker and find Dembele, but the Barcelona attacker mishandled the ball at the crucial moment. When the match was open and both teams had chances to score a second goal in the tense last-eight match, Lloris stopped Saka and then Kane. As the second half entered its final 15 minutes, England appeared to have the better chance of winning after Maguire’s header shaved the post in the 70th minute and Hernandez narrowly cleared a Shaw cross in front of Saka.
Giroud missed the England goal with a header in the 75th minute, and Pickford denied France’s all-time leading scorer two minutes later after he volleyed in. However, the AC Milan forward was unstoppable, and in the 78th minute he expertly headed a Griezmann delivery into the goal from close range and gave lead to France.
In the subsequent period, Hernandez knocked Mason Mount to the ground inside the penalty area, and the referee pointed to the location after inspecting the video. Once more stepping up, Three Lions captain Kane sent the ball over the crossbar, which was devastating for Southgate’s team. In the 89th minute, Mount shot high and wide of the French crossbar; eight more minutes were played at the end of the 90; however, despite their best efforts, England was unable to respond, with Marcus Rashford missing a late free kick.
Aurelien Tchouameni’s first-half goal was cancelled out by Harry Kane’s early second-half penalty, bringing the two teams even. However, Giroud’s header in the 78th minute proved to be the deciding factor. Another Kane penalty presented England with a wonderful opportunity to tie the game in the 84th minute, but the Three Lions captain fired over the crossbar, and France held on to advance to the semifinals. On Wednesday, the defending champions will play Morocco in the competition’s semifinal round, while Argentina will play Croatia on Tuesday.
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