Half-time: Tchuameni has France 1-0 ahead against England in the quarter final

Sports

TBS Report
11 December, 2022, 01:20 am
Last modified: 11 December, 2022, 01:51 am
The defending world champions, France, started the brighter of the two teams and kept piling on pressure over an England defense that got stretched. 

45' + 2' Upamecano wins it off Kane again, and he looks to set Mbappe on the counter. He switches it out to Griezmann on the right, but England quickly get back into their shape to smother the attack.

45' Bellingham gets the better of Kounde down the left and manages to squeeze a cross in. Kane is surrounded by four blue shirts in the middle, though, and Rabiot clears his lines.

A. Griezmann

Yellow Card

 

43' Griezmann clips the back of Walker's heels to give away a free-kick. He's already gotten away with a couple of fouls here, and he's booked for this one.

41' It's good play by England down the right, and Bellingham picks out Saka in space. He clips it towards Kane at the far post and he tries to cushion it back to Foden, but Varane cuts it out.

39' France win a free-kick in midfield and Griezmann plays it short to Dembele just outside the D. He threads it through for Hernandez, who pulls it back to Mbappe, but he fires it high over the bar.

37' England are in possession again, but it's all in front of France, who are staying compact. Maguire is forced to go long for Henderson on the right, but overhits it straight out of play.

35' Saka is trying to take matters into his own hands as he cuts inside from the right again and surges towards the box. Once again, he's toppled by Upamecano, but the referee doesn't give the free-kick England are asking for.

33' It's another sloppy pass from England in their own half, and Mbappe pounces onto it. He drives down the left and has two in the middle to aim for, but Walker stands his ground.

31' Foden's corner causes some real problems in the box and France just can't clear their lines. Maguire and Bellingham are both trying to poke it towards goal, but Rabiot eventually hooks it away from danger.

29' SAVE! Kane finds himself in a pocket of space just outside the box and decides to try his luck from range. It takes a big deflection on its way to the near post, and Lloris takes no chances by tipping it wide.

28' England are back on the ball again as Maguire lifts it out to Saka on the right. He plays a clever one-two with Henderson before driving into the box, but he can't pick out Foden.

26' NO PENALTY! Kane goes to ground in the box after a clumsy challenge by Upamecano. The defender tugged him back before their legs tangled on the line, but after looking at the incident, VAR sticks with the onfield incident.

24' England are enjoying a good spell of possession here and Rice fizzes it forward for Kane. He manages to squeeze a pass through to Bellingham, but he can't get it out of his feet.

22' SAVE! Saka plays a reverse pass into Kane, and a lovely turn gets him past Upamecano. Lloris rushes off his line to smother the chance and Henderson chips it to the far post, but Bellingham can't meet it.

20' Saka is brought down just outside the box to the right of the D. Shaw steps up to take it and curls it around the wall, but it's straight at Lloris down the middle.

18' The England players aren't happy with the referee as they think there was a foul on Saka at the other end. He allowed play to carry on, and VAR didn't see anything wrong with it, much to their frustration.

A. Griezmann

Assist

 

17' Griezmann has a pocket of space on the edge of the box and he quickly gets his head up before touching it back to Tchouameni.

A. Tchouaméni

Goal

 

17' TCHOUAMENI SCORES! It's a brilliant counter-attack from France! Mbappe rides the challenge from Rice as he switches to the right, and Griezmann pulled it back to Tchouameni. He's a long way out, but he gets it out of his feet and fires through Bellingham's legs and into the bottom-left corner. 1-0 France!

15' It's a sloppy pass from Henderson on the halfway line and Rabiot drives forward on the counter before knocking it out to Mbappe. He curls in another great cross, but Dembele can't keep it in.

13' France are starting to find their rhythm here, and England can't get a touch despite their high press. They're keeping the ball well, and patiently trying to open up their opponents.

11' SAVE! Shaw sells himself and doesn't get the ball, allowing Dembele to flick it onto Griezmann behind him. He has space to curl it in and picks out Giroud, but his header is straight at Pickford.

10' Dembele finds himself in space down the left and he takes two England defenders out of the game with his cross. It's just behind Giroud, though, and Stones does well to get it away.

8' Walker meets Rabiot's long ball but nods it straight into Giroud's path. He knocks it out to Mbappe, who whips in a wonderful cross, but Maguire flicks it away under pressure from Griezmann.

6' Foden wins a free-kick on the left and Shaw swings a good cross into the box. He's looking for Maguire, who's peeled away at the far post, but Upamecano makes a good clearance ahead of him.

4' England win the ball back high upfield, and Henderson squares it into Foden inside the D. He gets it out of his feet quickly before drilling a shot towards goal, but it's well-blocked by Upamecano.

2' Tchouameni steps in front of Foden to cut out the pass and Varane does well to drag it away from Saka when he's closed down. They look to break on the counter, with Hernandez looking for Mbappe down the left, but he can't get past Walker.

1' Griezmann gets the game underway for France!

The teams are out on the pitch, the national anthems have been sung, and kick-off is just moments away!

This is the third World Cup meeting between England and France, with the Three Lions winning both of the previous two, a 2-0 victory in 1966 and 3-1 in 1982, both in the group stage.

Didier Deschamps also names an unchanged team from their win over Switzerland. Lloris becomes the country's most capped player as he makes his 143rd appearance. France have won all nine of the games that Mbappe has started at the World Cup.

Gareth Southgate names an unchanged line-up to the one that started against Senegal. Pickford earns his 50th cap, while Kane is just one goal away from equalling the nation's all-time record. Sterling is back on the bench after missing the last game due to personal reasons.

FRANCE SUBS: Matteo Guendouzi, Benjamin Pavard, Eduardo Camavinga, Ibrahima Konate, Kingsley Coman, William Saliba, Marcus Thuram, Randal Kolo Muani, Jordan Veretout, Youssouf Fofana, Axel Disasi, Steve Mandanda, Alphonse Areola.

FRANCE XI (4-2-3-1): Hugo Lloris; Jules Kounde, Raphael Varane, Dayot Upamecano, Theo Hernandez; Aurelien Tchouameni, Adrien Rabiot; Ousmane Dembele, Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe; Olivier Giroud.

ENGLAND SUBS: Eric Dier, Mason Mount, Kalvin Phillips, Callum Wilson, Jack Grealish, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Conor Gallagher, Aaron Ramsdale, Nick Pope, James Maddison, Conor Coady, Kieran Trippier, Marcus Rashford, Raheem Sterling.

ENGLAND XI (4-3-3): Jordan Pickford; Kyle Walker, John Stones, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw; Jordan Henderson, Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham; Bukayo Saka, Harry Kane, Phil Foden.

France are the first reigning champions to reach this round of the World Cup since Brazil in 2006, and they're looking to continue their title defence. They bounced back from losing their final group game loss against Tunisia with a convincing 3-1 win over Poland in the last round, thanks to a brace from Kylian Mbappe and Olivier Giroud's record-breaking goal. As for England, they're unbeaten at this tournament, keeping clean sheets in their last three outings. They made a shaky start in the round of 16 but eventually came out on top with a comfortable 3-0 victory.

Hello and welcome to live coverage of the World Cup quarter-final meeting between England and France at the Al Bayt Stadium!

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