France defeated England 2-1 to advance to the World Cup semi finals despite Harry Kane's late penalty miss.

With a penalty kick in the 54th minute, Kane erased Aurelien Tchouameni's goal, but he was unable to duplicate the feat with seven minutes left, scorching high over the crossbar.

Oliver Giroud's header gave France a lead between the penalty kicks that proved to be crucial as they proceeded to a match against Morocco in the round of 16 on Wednesday. The defending champions got off to the stronger start, and Giroud should have done better than head Ousmane Dembele's cross straight at Jordan Pickford after 11 minutes.

Les Bleus took the lead from their next serious attack after England failed to heed the warning. Kylian Mbappe started the move down the left before drifting inside to feed Griezmann, and Tchouameni swept home his lay-off from 20 yards.

Hugo Lloris, who was making his 143rd appearance for his country, stopped Harry Kane from scoring after a strong response from England. However, VAR saved France by ruling that Dayot Upamecano's trip on Kane occurred outside of the penalty box.

After the break, Gareth Southgate's team continued to play aggressively, with Lloris deflecting Jude Bellingham's 20-yard drive.

After 54 minutes, a deserved equalizer was scored when Bellingham and Bukayo Saka combined and the latter was carelessly tripped by Tchouameni. Referee Wilton Sampaio correctly pointed to the spot. Kane beat Lloris in a nerve-wracking shootout by sending the ball high into the upper left-hand corner.

Adrien Rabiot was well-defended by Pickford, but England reacted with a Saka shot and a Harry Maguire header that went just outside of the goal post. With 12 minutes left, Giroud restored France's lead after coming close moments before with a shot that forced a deft save from Pickford. The Milan striker headed in a superb cross from Griezmann, who had shifted to the left edge, over Maguire's shoulder.

Five minutes later, Sampaio, after checking the VAR monitor, awarded a penalty for Theo Hernandez's foolish barge into replacement Mason Mount, but England blew the chance to tie the score once more.

If he had scored, Kane would have become England's all-time leading scorer with his 54th goal in international play. Instead, he blasted far over the top.

With the final shot of the contest, a free kick that flashed narrowly over the crossbar, substitute Marcus Rashford came close to tying the score.

IMPORTANT POINTS: Not To Be For Poor England

Despite having more shots (16-8), shots on goal (8-5) and a greater xG (2.32 to 1.19) than England, France prevailed due to their tournament acumen.

They will be optimistic about defending their title the following Sunday given the opening of the draw.

GRIEZMANN'S HEROICS MOTIVATE FRANCE

The midfielder from Atletico Madrid was the standout performer. His second assist was a beautiful cross for Giroud, and he largely controlled the game from the center of the field.

He completed 43 passes, including a team-best 38 accurate ones. A master in action.

WALKER PERFORMS HIS DUTY.

The conflict between Kyle Walker and France's Mbappe had dominated the build-up.

The Manchester City full-back dominated the fight for the most part, with Mbappe losing steam as the game wore on.

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Deye Muel

Psychologist and Blogger.

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