Eng Vs Fra Quarterfinal: Defending champions France beat England 2-1 in the last quarterfinal match of FIFA World Cup 2022 being played in Qatar. They will now play Morocco — who defeated Poland 1-0 earlier in the evening to become the first African team to reach FIFA World Cup semifinals — on Thursday, December 15.
This was third time that France and England were meeting in the World Cup. England had won the first two encounters. Captain Harry Kane will remember this loss with regret as he missed a big chance to make it 2-2 after failing to convert a penalty.
Les Bleus scored the first goal in the 17th minute of the game, with Aurelien Tchouameni netting the ball for the first time in a competitive match for France.
The early lead gave France an edge as the Three Lions struggled to recover throughout. England got a free kick soon after the first goal but they failed to convert it into a goal as Luke Shaw shot the ball straight into goalie Hugo Lloris's chest.
It was only in the second half that England was able to score an equaliser. Awarded a penalty, Captain Harry Kane made no mistake and England got its first goal in the 52nd minute of the game.
England's relief was, however, temporary. French striker Olivier Giroud restored their lead at 77th minute and his header made it 2-1 for France. England got another penalty soon after, but Harry Kane blew away the chance this time by hitting the ball over the bar.
There was a lot of expectation from the match with a lot of buzz around it. It had even been called the final before the final. All eyes were on the Three Lions to see if they would be able to go past the reigning champions.