Giroud nets match winner as France edge England 2-1 to reach semis

A Olivier Giroud goal twelve minutes from end helped France edge England 21 in a fastpaced game to set up a FIFA World Cup semifinal clash with Morocco who sensationally beat Portugal in the other quarterfinal of the dayEngland provided a wonderful fightback but missed a crucial chance to take the game into extra time as Harry Kane missed a penalty at fag end of the matchIn the end Les Bleuss ability to produce a moment of brilliance out of thin air was the difference and are the first reigning champion to reach the World Cup semifinals since Brazil in 1998England now head back home but they should do so with their heads held high having pushed the current world champions the distance in this gripping encounterIt was a largely equally matched first half but England began the second with renewed vigourEngland midfielder Jordan Henderson said they gave everything in the matchAlso Read FIFA 2022 Morocco down Portugal to become first ever African World Cup semifinalistsIts difficult to find the right words I thought we gave everything We were disappointed to go onenil down I thought our character to keep going and find an equaliser was goodWe know how many penalties he Harry Kane has scored for us How many goals he has contributed for us to get here He will be stronger for it the penalty miss in the long run He is a worldclass striker and our captainWe felt really good with our performances in the tournament The hunger was really good It unfortunately wasnt our night and we have to give credit to France as they are a good teamAurelien Tchouameni put France ahead with a blistering longrange shot in the 17th minute at Al Bayt Stadium in Qatar on Saturday England fans were left particularly aggrieved after calls for two suspected fouls against Bukayo Saka were dismissed in the seconds before the defending world champions opened the scoring and went into the halftime break leading 10But there wasnt much to see from France during the rest of the first half and the Englishmen returned from the break as the better team Their pressing was rewarded with a penalty after Saka was brought down inside the boxCaptain Kane fired a powerpacked effort from the spot to level the game in the 54th and net his 53rd goal for England equalling Wayne Rooney as the jointhighest scorer for the Three LionsHarry Maguire could have put England ahead in the 70th but narrowly missed the target On the other side of the pitch Giroud also missed from close range in the 77th but didnt waste the next chance and headed into the net a cross from Griezmann just a minute laterKane had the chance of taking the game to extratime as England were awarded another penalty but this time the captain sent the ball well over the crossbarA lastminute freekick gave England a final beacon of hope but Marcus Rashfords effort beat the top corner of the net by a few centimetreThis is the seventh time England have been eliminated from the quarterfinal stages of the World Cup more than any other side in the history of the competitionThe World Cup will now pause for a couple of days before action resumes when Argentina and Croatia face off for a spot in the final on December 13This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever