England were knocked out of FIFA World Cup 2022 after France handed them a defeat in the fourth quarter-final game Saturday.
While Harry Kane’s missed penalty, which ensured that France hold on to 2-1 scoreline, came as a shock for English football fans, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is likely to cheer for France in the semi-final after he cut a deal with French Emmanuel Macron in a Twitter exchange.
Here’s what the two leaders said:
“Dear @RishiSunak, looking forward to the game tonight. If Les Bleus win (they will!), you’ll wish us luck in the semi-final… right?” Macron tweeted ahead of the quater-final match.
The French president received a prompt reply from Sunak in which the UK PM said, “Hopefully I won’t have to 😅 But you’ve got a deal..Look forward to you getting behind the Three Lions in the next round.”
The banter was followed by a tense quarter-final match in which Aurelien Tchouameni swept France into a first-half lead only for Kane to equalise from the spot nine minutes into the second half. In the 78th minute of the match, France got their lead back as Giroud beat Harry Maguire, powering a header beyond Pickford to make the scoreline read 2-1 in his side’s favour. Griezmann’s cross was well-received by Giroud.
In the 83rd minute, France’s Theo Hernandez was booked for clattering into the substitute Mason Mount and England was awarded a penalty. Harry Kane got a chance to score an equaliser but his shot went over the bar.
At the end of stoppage time, France progressed to semis as the scoreline read 2-1 in their favour.
Kane said he will have to live with the penalty miss that condemned his team to a World Cup quarter-final exit.
“I’m not someone who thinks too much about it, I prepare the same whether I get one penalty or two penalties in a game,” Kane told the BBC about facing his Tottenham Hotspur team mate Hugo Lloris from the spot for the second time.
“I can’t fault my preparation or the detail before the game, it didn’t feel any different. I felt confident taking it but didn’t execute it the way I wanted to.
“Of course it’s something I will have to live with and take on the chin. But all we can do is be proud of each other and know that the team is in a really good place for the future.”