Football won’t be coming home in 2022 for England as France defeated the Three Lions 2-1 on Saturday in the World Cup quarterfinals.
England will be regretting not taking advantage of a so-so French performance. The biggest moment came in the 84th minute when Harry Kane failed epically on a penalty kick by blasting the ball over the bar to the 10th row.
England was trailing 2-1 with only minutes left in the game when Theo Hernández gifted a penalty by needlessly taking out Mason Mount in the box. A VAR review gave England the penalty and Kane — who had already scored from the spot in the game — couldn’t convert.
Harry Kane Penalty Miss vs. France
HARRY KANE MISSES THE PENALTY pic.twitter.com/UwDpI8qXpQ
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) December 10, 2022
Another look at Harry Kane's missed penalty pic.twitter.com/84Nvg27JcL
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) December 10, 2022
Mbappé after that missed penalty pic.twitter.com/xhZGs56sdd
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) December 10, 2022
Fans in England react to Harry Kane's penalty miss pic.twitter.com/s05ye2m5NZ
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) December 10, 2022
Live scenes of Harry Kane’s penalty pic.twitter.com/5aO4y7hWq5
— Footy Humour (@FootyHumour) December 10, 2022
It doesn’t get much worse than that. Of all the penalty kicks taken in the 2022 tournament so far — shootouts included — Kane is the first player to hit a penalty over the bar.
England wouldn’t find a breakthrough after Kane’s miss and crash out of the tournament.
The game was plenty entertaining and saw its first goal in the 17th minute courtesy of a screamer from Aurélien Tchouaméni that hit roughly 65 mph.
Tchouaméni with a STRIKE
FRANCE TAKES THE LEAD pic.twitter.com/mXfgPWifES— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) December 10, 2022
England equalized in the 54th minute via the penalty spot. Kane was able to convert his first attempt with a goal that ties him and Wayne Rooney for the most goals ever scored by an men's English player.
HARRY KANE TIES IT FOR ENGLAND pic.twitter.com/db775dnklP
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) December 10, 2022
After the equalizer it looked like Gareth Southgate’s side were going to find a winner. Kylian Mbappé had been completely shut down and the French looked out of ideas. Both goalkeepers were recording remarkable saves as the minutes counted down.
Olivier Giroud would get the game-winner when his headed effort in the 78th minute took a favorable deflection off Harry Maguire into the English goal.
GIROUD PUTS FRANCE BACK ON TOP pic.twitter.com/KRBFrFkgPS
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) December 10, 2022
Giroud failed to score a single goal at the 2018 World Cup and was expected to play a backup role to Karim Benzema in Qatar. Instead Giroud has found new life with the 36-year-old’s 2022 World Cup goal tally at four.
The victory sees France become the first defending champions to reach the semifinals since Brazil in 1998.
France will face Cinderella story Morocco in the semifinals on Wednesday at 2 p.m. ET.
