France beat England 2-1 to set up a semi-final clash against Morocco as they target win reach the final win a back-to-back title.
England had a good game at the Al Bayt Stadium keeping Kylian Mbappe in check, but France proved too lethal in Olivier Giroud who scored the winning goal in the 78th minute after England had fought back to level at 1-1 after Aurelien Tchouomeni had put the Blues ahead in the first half.
England captain had scored from the spot after Bukayo Saka was bundled down in the box by Tchouomeni. But Kane was reduced to tears late in the game after blew the ball over the bar, England need the goal to probably draw the match into extra time. Harry Kane had a chance to even the score late in the match but he sent a penalty attempt over the bar and France held on to their lead to be in line for the first team to win a back to back World Cup since Brazil achieved the feat in 1962. Mbappe let out a wild laughter after Kane shot over the bar
France will next face Morocco in the semifinals on Wednesday. The Moroccans became the first African team to reach the semifinals at the World Cup by beating Portugal 1-0.
Meanwhile Jordan Henderson said Kane will bounce back from the heartbreak of missing a late penalty.
“We know how many penalties Harry has scored for us, he scored the first one, how many goals he’s contributed to even get us here,” Henderson told ITV.
“He’ll be stronger for it in the long run I’m sure.
“He’s a world class striker, our captain and we wouldn’t be here without him.”
The defeat extends England’s drought without a major tournament victory which stretches back to 1966.
“We felt really good, performances were really good. The focus and hunger was there,” added the Liverpool midfielder.
“Unfortunately it wasn’t our night. Give credit to France, who are a good team. I still felt it was there for us to win tonight.”