France Defeats England 2-1 as Giroud Scores but Harry Kane Misses the Opportunity

France Defeats England 2-1 as Giroud Scores but Harry Kane Misses the Opportunity

Olivier Giroud for France and Harry Kane for England were the two record scorers whom everyone had eyes on. Harry missed a penalty while Olivier made the winning shot, taking France to a 2-1 lead over England in the quarter-final match of the FIFA World Cup 2022.

France advanced in their journey towards the second FIFA title in a row after defeating England 2-1 at Al Bayt Stadium. Now, France will play against Morocco in the semi-final match on Sunday. Morocco became the first African and Arab-speaking country to make its place in the top 4.

So, it’s going to be defending champions versus first-timers in a FIFA World Cup semi-final.

Giroud, a record goal scorer for France, took his team to the victory path when 12 minutes were left from the regulation time. Before that, Kane converted a spot kick into a goal in the 54^th minute, levelling the score. England’s performance in the second half was superb after France took ended the first half with a 1-0 lead. Aurelien Tchouameni showcased a stunning strike in the 17^th minute to give the defending champions the upper hand.

With his only goal in the match, Kane equalled the all-time 53-goal record of Wayne Rooney. He did get a second chance to level the score again in the 84^th minute but failed to convert the penalty kick. After that missed, England couldn’t find another chance to save the game and take it to the extra time.

Another victory and France will become the first team to be a back-to-back finalist after Brazil did it in 2002. And winning the title will make France the third one to retain the trophy followed by Brazil (1962) and Italy (1938).

However, it wasn’t that easy for France and the team had to work hard. The old sporting rivals were meeting for the first time in a knockout match, making this quarter-final extraordinary.

For England, this year’s defeat is 7^th in 10 quarter-final matches of the FIFA World Cup.