France will meet Morocco on Wednesday for a seat in the World Cup final. The Blues took full advantage of Harry Kane’s miss. England are already suffering penalty shock for the fifth time in a World Cup.
Croatia, Argentina, France and Morocco. Those are the 2022 World Cup semi-finals on Tuesday and Wednesday, and a re-enactment of the 2018 World Cup final can still take place. France could become the first team in sixty years to succeed themselves as world champions. In history, only Italy (1934, 1938) and Brazil (1958, 1962) have achieved this double.
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Like four years ago against Belgium, France didn’t play their best semi-final. It was one of those matches where “Les Bleus” might have advanced too soon. After a round of careful consideration, 1-0 was suddenly caught in the sling of goalkeeper Jordan Pickford. Kylian Mbappé was given space to advance once, the ball came through and Aurélien Tchouaméni reached through two intermediate stops. The 22-year-old Real Madrid midfielder, last year under the auspices of Philippe Clement at Monaco, was given the freedom to build and scored his first competitive goal for Les Bleus from outside the penalty area.
England felt cheated. In preparation for the goal, he saw a foul (double) by Dayot Upamecano on Bukayo Saka. But things got worse for the Three Lions. In the middle of the first half, the same Upamecano knocked Harry Kane on the edge of the penalty area. The referee signaled a crooked header, and Farr didn’t interfere either. Perhaps because there was no question of a “clear and obvious foul” by the referee.
Ken from the place
England took the lead in the match, but failed to beat Hugo Lloris. Luke Shaw and twice found Tottenham goalkeeper Harry Kane on their way. Frustration mounted when the referee also whistled some other minor fouls in favor of the French. But when clever winger Bukayo Saka went down inside the penalty area five minutes into the second half, the ball logically went into the box.
Harry Kane, the top scorer of the World Cup four years ago, confidently grabbed the ball. In training he faced team mate Lloris countless times. He brought England a side of elegance. It was his 53rd goal for England, equaling Wayne Rooney’s record. In the World Cup finals he has eight goals, twice less than Gary Lineker.
Sprint duel Mbappe Walker
France started to play a little bit of strength after its lead. Immediately after the break, championship scout Judd Bellingham had Hugo Lloris come to the rescue. Only after 1-1 did the chances come again. First Pickford made a save with a one-off attempt by Adrien Rabiot, then Mbappe won the much-anticipated sprint duel against Kyle Walker but couldn’t beat Olivier Giroud or Ousmane Dembele.
England dominated the game again and Harry Maguire almost gave his team the lead after Jordan Henderson’s free kick. Meanwhile, Upamecano continued to defend risks in his own fund.
With only fifteen minutes left, France pressed again. Olivier Giroud’s attempt was saved by Pickford first, then the Milan forward volleyed Antoine Griezmann’s perfect cross against the ropes. The Atletico Madrid playmaker now has 28 assists to his name, one more than legends like Zinedine Zidane and Thierry Henry.
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The biggest drama is yet to come. To an incomprehensible and rude disregard from Theo Hernandez on Mason Mount, the ball hit the point again for England. The referee didn’t react at first, but was corrected by Var.
Harry Kane won the ball in one of the most important penalties of his career. Should the top scorer have finished second in the match? Could anyone else do better with six minutes off the clock and a place in the semi-finals against Morocco at stake?
Kane chased down a lofty penalty and wrote a new chapter in a long book of penalty shocks for the proud Albion. During the last European Championship final, the English missed three penalties in the penalty shootout against Italy. At the World Cups, England have been knocked out four times on penalties: in 1990, 1998, 2006 and 2018. And national coach Gareth Southgate himself blew it for England at the 1996 European Championship. And they will have to wait until at least 2026, sixty years later. It is the only world title since 1966 that England has exorcised old ghosts.
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