France qualified for the semi-finals of the World Cup without suffering. Against England, the Blues won 2–1 thanks to a goal from the stainless Olivier Giroud in the 78th minute. Harry Kane missed an equalizing penalty minutes later. France will face Morocco on Wednesday at 8:00pm RTS 2 for a place in the final.
In the end, France won! The creation of Didier Deschamps, the reigning world champion, has once again made its reality speak.
At the Al Bad Stadium, France beat England 2-1 to reach the last four. They will face Morocco in the semi-finals, which will have both a taste of derby and an unknown journey.
The result of this quarter-final match fell in the 78th minute. Olivier Giroud headed in the winning goal from Antoine Griezmann’s cross.
A missed penalty
Six minutes later, the English could have equalized for the second time through Harry Kane’s penalty. But just as he became the top scorer in the history of the “Three Lions” with 54 goals, the captain sent his shot into the skies of Doha. He was very clinical in the 54th minute to convert the first penalty of the evening, answering Aurelian Choumeni’s opener in the 17th minute.
A loyal companion for 4 years, luck has been Didier Deschamps’ steadfast partner. Harry Kane’s missed penalty could have saved France from elimination on an evening that had not mastered its lesson.
Harry Kane couldn’t believe his eyes after the missed penalty. [Paul Ellis – AFP]
Loris verve
But luckily for Didier Deschamps, Hugo Lloris was able to make up for Kylian Mbappe’s lackluster performance. The Tottenham goalkeeper became the most capped French player in history with 143 caps.
On the strength of this victory, Didier Deschamps is now the sole master of his future as France captain. The same cannot be said for Gareth Southgate. With this dismissal, the English coach will once again come under fire from critics. During the World Cup in Russia in 2018 and during last year’s Euros, his team raised a lot of confidence in the kingdom, albeit without realizing it. To wonder if the coach will forever be a spectacular failure.
ats/tzing
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