Les Bleus to the semifinals! Cunning France knocks England out of the tournament after Harry Kane kicks penalty towards the clouds

Key moment: After a very stupid pushing error by Hernandez, Kane had a chance to make it 2-2 from the spot with a handful of minutes to go, but he kicked the eleven meters high.

Man of the Match: You can safely call Griezmann the architect of this victory. The French were struggling, but he still managed to help them with chances and painted the winning goal on Giroud’s head.

We will also remember him: Olivier Giroud again. With his 4th goal of the tournament, the 36-year-old striker dragged the French through. His 53rd for les Bleus and certainly not the least important.

The most technically perfect match we saw here at the World Cup. Two good teams that didn’t turn it into a kicking and swearing match like the day before during Argentina-Netherlands. They stood on the field with respect for each other. England decorated the most chances. Hugo Lloris had to go flat every time in his record international match (143 caps), his colleague Pickford across the street had less work.

Mbappé hardly appeared in the piece. It was in Walker’s back pocket. The first and only sprint between the two came after 56 minutes. Mbappé did win, but there was no concrete goal chance. Nevertheless, the French won with a header from Giroud that flew in via Maguire’s shoulder. Griezmann and Rabiot were the best players in France. Rabiot in particular is really in the shape of his life. Tchouaménie was a mainstay in midfield, so that Bellingham came out a little less than in the previous round against Senegal.

Strong ten minutes

The first half was very even with a strong ten minutes from the English between the 20th and 30th minutes. In that period, they decorated battle for pendulum opportunities. Shaw lit the fuse with a free kick in the hands of Lloris. Kane used his body superbly against Upamecano and came face-to-face with Lloris. Outwitting the French goalkeeper was out of the question. A few minutes later Kane did the same and now it was a penalty kick. However, the Brazilian ref did not look at the VAR screen and that is how the eleven meters remained. In the end there was another shot from the English captain, which the French captain had a lot of trouble with in the goal.

Those were the ten English minutes in the first half. They came after Tchouaménie had made it 1-0 with a shot from about 20 meters. A good and low shot but we still feel that our Thibaut Courtois could have stopped that shot. So not Pickford. Before that, Giroud had already headed into the hands of Pickford on a cross from Dembélé. The English goalkeeper saw another shot from Mbappé fly over, but before the break had less work than his colleague on the other side. Still, England was behind.

Kane scores and misses

After the break it was no different. England continued to test Lloris but this time it was rewarded. The Tottenham goalkeeper first had to work hard on a shot from Bellingham, but a first penalty from his club teammate Kane could not catch the French record international. Tchouaménie was the unlucky one. He tapped the fast Saka, the English Mbappé, and there was no escape. England kept pushing. Saka and Kane with shots and again Lloris had to go to work. Maguire headed just wide, Saka also aimed at the wrong side of the post. That’s how it went on.

France posed little threat to this. Rabiot with a shot from outside the penalty area but this time in Pickford’s reach. More and more garbage started creeping into the French game as well. Still, the French scored. Dembélé put his head back and Giroud decided from close range on Pickford. It was in the same attack that Griezmann painted the ball on Giroud’s head from which he scored with the help of Maguire.

The English still seemed to get what they deserved. Hernandez knocked Mount down in the penalty area and after intervention by the VAR, the ball hit the spot again. Specialist Kane again, but no goal this time. He shot over. Kane is screwed after this elimination that shouldn’t have happened.

ENGLAND: Pickford – Walker, Stones (98’ Grealish), Maguire, Shaw – Henderson (79’ Mount), Rice, Bellingham – Saka (79’ Sterling), Kane, Foden (Rashford 85’).

FRANCE: Lloris – Koundé, Varane, Upamecano, T. Hernandez – Tchouaméni, Rabiot – Dembélé (79′ Coman), Griezmann, Mbappé – Giroud.

goals: 0-1 Tchouaméni (Griezmann) (17′), 1-1 Kane (54′), 1-2 Giroud (Griezmann) (78′)

Penalty kicks: Kane: converted (54′), Kane: missed (84′)

Yellow cards: Griezmann (43′), Dembélé (46′), Hernandez (82′), Maguire (89′)

Referee: Wilton Sampaio (Bra)

Spectators: 68.895