Oliver Giroud scored a late winner to help produce one of the narrow World Cup results of the weekend action. Following Olivier Giroud’s header, Theo Hernandez needlessly collided with Mason Mount, giving the England captain a wonderful chance to tie the score once more. Earlier in the match, the skipper had previously tied the score from 12 yards out after Aurelien Tchouameni’s thunderbolt had given France the lead. Kane became the player with the most penalties scored in regular time at World Cups after converting his first penalty, which tied Wayne Rooney’s record of 53 goals for England.
There was a thrilling climax to this historic first-ever knockout game between these two sides. After a protracted build-up, England started to show signs of unease, and it became clear that they were terrified of France’s Kylian Mbappe when he had a chance to stretch before the game’s opening kickoff. Declan Rice made a desperate attempt to block the ball, but England immediately withdrew to their own area, giving Antoine Griezmann space to roll over and Tchouameni room to smash an incredible shot into the bottom corner. With Mbappe missing when a free-kick was brought into the box, France posed a constant danger. Kane led England’s response and battled Tottenham teammate Lloris both up close and from a distance.
Kane ultimately hammered the penalty home after having to wait to duplicate Rooney’s achievement. It was his fourth World Cup penalty goal, a noteworthy accomplishment in his career, but it would be surpassed by another penalty. Giroud earlier in the competition set his own record for the most goals in a tournament, and after heading wide and seeing Pickford parry a drive, he beat Maguire to Griezmann’s cross to give France the lead once more. It was a humiliating loss for England, and the French rejoiced enthusiastically. Nevertheless, improbably, Hernandez’s clumsy foul offered England a chance to keep their World Cup a few minutes later.
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