DOHA — France edged England 2-1 to reach the World Cup semifinals on Saturday.
A header by French forward Olivier Giroud found the hands of England’s goalie Jordan Pickford in the 11th minute.
Aurelien Tchouameni’s hit a screamer to the left bottom corner of the net that gave the lead to France in the 17th minute.
England’s Luke Shaw’s free kick from dangerous range was held by France keeper Hugo Lloris in the 21st minute.
Lloris made another critical save in a one-on-one against Harry Kane in the 22nd minute.
The Video Assistant Referee (VAR) called off a penalty for England in the 26th minute.
Kane’s excellent long-range effort was saved superbly by his Tottenham teammate Lloris in the 29th minute and the first half ended 1–0.
England’s Jude Bellingham’s hard shot was denied by Lloris and the ensuing danger from a corner kick in the 48th minute.
Kane finally beat Lloris with a penalty kick in the 54th minute and joined Wayne Rooney atop England’s list of goal-scorers with 53.
A minute later, Adrien Rabiot’s attempt was denied by Pickford.
Lloris showed safe hands against Bukayo Saka’s attempt in the 60th minute.
English defender Harry Maguire’s header missed the mark above the left crossbar in the 70th minute.
Pickford made a clinical save against Giroud’s close-range attempt in the 77th minute but a minute later, Giroud beat Pickford with a header, giving France the lead.
Kane, the English captain, missed an opportunity to level the match and become the Three Lions top scorer when he wasted a VAR penalty in the 83rd minute.
Marcus Rashford’s free kick was inches from going into the French goal in the 101st minute.
Lloris became the player with the most appearances for the French National Team with 143 matches. He passed Lilian Thuram’s 142 caps.
France will take on Morocco in the semifinal Wednesday. — Agencies