Kane Misses Penalty, and France Moves On

Late in the England-France quarterfinal match at the World Cup in Qatar on Saturday, Harry Kane had a penalty kick and a chance to tie the score. England's most prolific scorer in its history, and its captain, had come through uncountable times before, but he sent his shot well over the bar. The miss will haunt England and Kane, the New York Times reports, but he's just one of the probable targets of fans' criticism after France won, 2-1, to go back to the semifinals. Wilton Sampaio, the Brazilian referee, will be in for plenty. In the meantime, the defending champions eliminate England and advance despite being generally outplayed.

Kane scored earlier to make it 1-1 after Aurelien Tchouameni had given France the lead in the 17th minute with a powerful drive from 20 yards. Olivier Giroud, France's all-time leading scorer with 53 goals, hit in the 78th minute at Al Bayt Stadium to keep his side on course to become the first team since Brazil in 1962 to win back-to-back World Cups, per the AP. France will face Morocco in the semifinals on Wednesday. After scoring 12 goals on the way to the quarterfinals, England trailed Saturday for the first time at the World Cup. It was also the first time the English team had conceded a goal since the opening 6-2 rout of Iran. Kane's goal was his 53rd for England, tying him with Wayne Rooney.

Replays showed a foul could have been called at the start of the move that led to Tchouámeni’s goal. A few minutes later, per the Times, Kane might have won a penalty or at least been given a free kick, though neither happened. After the match, someone altered Sampaio's Wikipedia page, per the Mirror, to say the referee "is a French fan and Brazilian football referee." Kane held his head in his hands in defeat; teammates and coach Gareth Southgate tried to console him. "The pain is that we were so close," said a fan at a pub in East Sussex, per the BBC. "We were right there but then Kane missed a penalty, but you get over it and carry on." (More 2022 World Cup stories.)