England captain Harry Kane missed a last-ditch penalty kick that saw France edge England in the final quarterfinal encounter of the FIFA World Cup 2022. England who trailed by 1-2 until the 84th minute could have taken the game to extra time, but Kane’s miss saw the Three Lions crash out in the last eight while France have taken a giant step towards defending their crown. France will next face Morocco for a place in the final after they beat Portugal in their earlier encounter.
Kane misses penalty
Harry Kane blazed a late penalty over the bar as England's World Cup dreams ended with a 2-1 defeat in the quarter-finals to defending champions France. The England captain had already converted from 12 yards earlier in the game to level after Aurelien Tchouameni's thunderbolt had put France ahead and he was given a golden opportunity to equalise for a second time after Olivier Giroud's header when Theo Hernandez recklessly barged into Mason Mount.
His first penalty had taken Kane level with Wayne Rooney's England scoring record of 53 goals and meant he'd scored more penalties in normal time at World Cups than any player ever. But with six minutes to play, and the pressure huge, he smashed his second spot kick high over the bar. Kane looked devastated. There was no way back and at the final whistle, he was inconsolable.
Referee Wilton Sampaio had initially overlooked the foul on Mount before VAR advised him to check the pitchside monitor and England were frustrated throughout this enthralling contest by decisions from the officials, with a challenge on Bukayo Saka not given as a foul in the build-up to the opener and a penalty shout from Kane overlooked in the first half. But ultimately it was a penalty that caused England World Cup heartbreak again.
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What next for Gareth Southgate?
Will he continue with his contract running through to the next European Championships for one more shot at glory with this group? That is the debate for the days to come.
As for France, they go on to play Morocco in the World Cup semi-finals on Thursday at 12:30 AM, again at the Al Bayt stadium after Morocco became the first African nation to reach the final four with a 1-0 win over Portugal earlier on Saturday, which left Cristiano Ronaldo in tears.
