The World Cup showdown between France and England on Saturday night saw both nations etch their names into football’s history books, for altogether contrasting reasons.
The fourth and final quarter-final fixture at world football’s biggest international tournament was of course played to completion a short time ago.
After all of Argentina, Croatia and Morocco booked their respective places in the competition’s final-4, England and France battled for the same honour, in arguably the round’s standout fixture.
When all was said and done, it was the latter who emerged triumphant, on the back of a pulsating 90 minutes in Al Khor.
After all of Aurelien Tchouameni, Harry Kane and Olivier Giroud traded blows on the scoreline, Kane was afforded a golden opportunity to drag England level for the 2nd time, after Theo Hernandez needlessly felled Mason Mount in the French penalty area.
To the shock of Three Lions supporters across the globe, however, Tottanham’s main man went on to fluff his ensuing spot-kick, blazing a dreadful effort high above Hugo Lloris’ crossbar.
7 – This is the seventh time England have been eliminated from the quarter-final stages of the World Cup, more than any other side in the history of the competition. Heartbreak. pic.twitter.com/T8na9NtD6T
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 10, 2022
Victors France, on the other hand, clinched a piece of more desirable recent history.
This comes after Les Bleus established themselves as the first country since Brazil all the way back in 1998 to reach the World Cup’s semi-finals as reigning champions.
1 – France are the first reigning champion to reach the World Cup semi-finals since Brazil in 1998. Samba. #ENGFRA pic.twitter.com/hOxxRK50dw
— OptaJean (@OptaJean) December 10, 2022
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