Izuchukwu Okosi
France beat England 2-1 in the second quarterfinals match on Saturday evening to retain their hopes of becoming the first team that would defend their World Cup title in 60 years.
Aurelien Tchoumeni and Olivier Giroud were the French scorers while Harry Kane scored one and missed another penalty for the Three Lions.
Giroud was close to getting Le Bleus ahead in the 11th minute when he stooped low to head Ousmane Dembele’s cross.
Real Madrid midfielder Tchouameni however put the champions ahead in the 17th minute when he received the ball thanks to Antoine Griezmann 25 yards away from goal and let fly a great shot that flew under the feet of Jude Bellingham to the bottom left corner.
Saka played a reverse pass into Kane, and a lovely turn got him past Dayot Upamecano.
Hugo Lloris in goal for France rushed off his line to smother the chance and Henderson chips it to the far post, but Bellingham could not reach it.
Kane went to the ground in the box after a clumsy challenge by Upamecano, the VAR however did award a, penalty to the Tottenham Hotspur star man.
Manchester United target during the transfer window Adrien Rabiot was presented with an opportunity to double the lead but his shot was gathered by Jordan Pickford.
England have never won a World Cup match in which they’ve been losing at half-time (drawn two, lost six), while France have won 24 of their 25 World Cup games when leading at the break (drawn one).
Saka won a penalty for England after he was clipped insdoe the French penalty box by France’s goal scorer Tchouameni in the 52nd minute.
Harry Kane stepped up and dispatched the ball straight down the goal as his teammate and France first choice keeper Hugo Lloris failed to save it.
Harry Maguire thought he had headed England into the lead when his header from a free kick went agonizingly wide.
Giroud’s close shot was saved by Pickford but there was no stopping him few seconds in the 78th minute when his header at the near post deflected off Maguire.
Theo Hernandez flattened Mason Mount to the ground but there was no penalty given initially until the VAR review awarded England a penalty.
The kick was taken by Kane who failed to restore parity by missing from 12 yards as he skied his effort wide.
France held on to win the game and ensure they will play Morocco in Wednesday’s second semifinal match.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
