Special Report
ISLAMABAD: Defending champions France vanquished England 2-1 in the 4th quarterfinal of the FIFA World Cup 2022 to move to the semifinal at Al Bayt Football Stadium Qatar, as winners will meet Morocco in the second semifinal of the quadrennial soccer fixture of the world.
French footballers were looking for a nice touch from the start of the game and kept the ball in control. They got a couple of chances during the first 10 minutes of the game and in the 11th minute, English goalkeeper J Pickford collected the ball neatly when an accurate shot was right on target. A left-side move also created a chance but unfortunately, French forward Dembele could not connect the ball into the net. Finally, Aurelien Tchouameni thrived to earn the lead for his team in the 17th minute, when he smashed the ball from out of the box and made the scoreboard 1-0.
English lad got a free kick from the right side near the box but French goalkeeper H Lloris made that unsuccessful in the 21st minute of the first half. However, during the 25 to 30 minutes of play England were looking so aggressive and made back-to-back attempts to square the match. In the 25th minute, England captain S Kane took review for claiming a penalty kick but it was turned down after watching the reply, soon after this incident England forward Foden kicked the ball on target but the opponent’s goalkeeper was alert. England wasted another chance in the 30th minute when on a corner kick the forwards were unable to convert the ball into the net, as there were three English players in the box near the goal-line. France retained the lead 1-0 at half-time.
Finishing the first half in a one-goal deficit, England players started the second half with pace and attacked twice in a row in the 47th minute and produced the corner too but French goalkeeper H Lloris defended both attempts bravely and did not allow opponents to guide the ball in the goal. Henderson made a move from the right flank that ended in smoke. In the 53rd minute, England made the match even at 1-1 on a penalty kick. Captain Harry Kane smashed the ball accurately into the net.
Woeful English forward H Maguire could not head the ball into the net in the 70th minute, as his effort went in vain and the ball crossed the goal-line after touching the goalpost on the right side of the goalkeeper, as England wasted a golden opportunity to get the lead in the last quarterfinal of the FIFA World Cup 2022.
Olivier Giroud scored the second goal for defending champions in the 78th minute by heading the ball into the net after receiving the ball from the left side and reset the scoreboard to 2-1. Unluckily, English skipper Harry Kane kicked the penalty out in the 84th minute and could not level the score 2-2. The final score was 2-1 in the last quarterfinal of the Qatar Football World Cup.
France will clash with Morocco in the second semifinal of the mage football fixture of the world on December 15, 2022, as the first semifinal will be played on December 14, 2022, between Argentina and Croatia.
