England player ratings vs France: Magnificent Saka, struggling Foden and solid Stones
Saka #Saka
England 1-2 France (Kane P 54′ | Tchouameni 17′, Giroud 78′)
Harry Kane’s late penalty miss ensured England’s 56 years of hurt will continue as France progressed to the semi-finals of the World Cup with a 2-1 victory.
The Three Lions looked to be within a whisker of taking the quarter-final to extra time when their captain blazed his spot-kick over the bar, having already scored once from the spot for the equaliser.
Aurelien Tchouameni had opened the scoring from 25 yards after England failed to close him down, though it looked like a foul on Bukayo Saka at the other end of the pitch.
That wasn’t the only contentious decision, with Kane denied a penalty after a foul from Dayot Upamecano that was deemed to have taken place outside the area.
When England’s first spot-kick came, it was thanks to good work from Bukayo Saka and Kane converted.
Olivier Giroud then latched onto Antoine Griezmann’s cross with a power header, moments after being denied by Jordan Pickford. As regulation time ticked down, substitute Mason Mount won yet another penalty thanks to a VAR review after being barged over by Theo Fernandez.
Yet Kane’s miss meant it was France who head to the last four, where they will play Morocco, as another golden opportunity for Gareth Southgate’s men slipped away.
Here’s how every England player rated.
Jordan Pickford: Couldn’t see Tchouameni’s strike in time but thwarted Adrien Rabiot’s long-range strike seconds after the equaliser. Not much he could do about Giroud’s winner having stopped him earlier 7
Kyle Walker: Initially held his own against Mbappe but beaten (inevitably) by his pace. Did Make a pivotal stop after Mbappe had got past Bellingham 6.5
John Stones: Great block after England had been beaten down the right – and 100 per cent passing accuracy in the first half 7.5
Harry Maguire: Solid defensively and came agonisingly close with his header. Ended up being more of a playmaker than a centre-back, spraying diagonals up the pitch but struggling to link up with the attack 6.5
Luke Shaw: Allowed Dembele to cause problems and despite having more license to roam than Walker, was dispossessed on a few occasions 6
Jordan Henderson: Didn’t make the impact he did against Senegal and struggled at times with the pace – though he did produce some deft touches to link up with Saka 6
Declan Rice: Really grew into the game as a single pivot, although he had some trouble containing Antoine Griezmann in the first half. Sliding tackle on Mbappe didn’t come off before the goal 7
Jude Bellingham: Forced Lloris into a fingertip save. Didn’t win his early battles with Tchouameni 7
Bukayo Saka: Won England’s penalty and one of their most positive influences, setting up Kane with a clever through ball and drawing fouls 8.5
Harry Kane: A miss that will likely haunt him for the rest of his career. Before that, however, he had excelled in the No 9 role and equalled Wayne Rooney’s England record with the first penalty 7
Phil Foden: Added a little pace but England struggled to get him into the game down that left-hand side 5
Subs: Mount 7, Sterling 6.5, Rashford 7, Grealish N/A