England exit World Cup LIVE: Referee criticised after ‘nightmare’ as Harry Kane accepts penalty blame
‘Ref is a joke!’: England vs France referee slammed by Gary Neville
England top goalscorers: Harry Kane equals Wayne Rooney’s record after World Cup penalty
England exit World Cup – latest news LIVE
Kyle Walker dropped his head, opened his lungs and ran. This was exactly the type of run he was in the team to make, a fast-twitch surge the length of the field to recover his position, and yet he knew this was a race already lost. Kylian Mbappe hadn’t followed him back into deep French territory, and now Mbappe had the ball, and he was dribbling, and Walker had left his station unattended.
It hadn’t started this way. France kicked off and immediately switched the ball to Mbappe advancing down the wing where Walker met him with a crunch. As France settled on the ball in the opening forays, Mbappe lurked on the fringes, flitting in and out with little steps of deception as Walker stood warily a few yards inside, glancing coquettishly over his shoulder, the two of them conducting their own dance away from the rest.
Lawrence Ostlere in Doha on Kylian Mbappe being the world’s greatest decoy:
Kylian Mbappe is the world’s best decoy as Kyle Walker wins battle but loses war
The pair provided a compelling sub-plot to the World Cup quarter-final with the England defender holding his own but exiting the tournament
England exit World Cup – latest news LIVE
Gareth Southgate did not commit to staying with England beyond the World Cup following their quarter-final defeat to France and said he will need “time” to reflect on his future.
The England manager accepted his team had missed an opportunity against the defending champions, who progressed to the semi-finals after Harry Kane missed a late penalty to equalise and send the match to extra time.
Southgate’s contract runs until the end of the European Championships in 2024 and the England manager said he will take “time to reflect” on the Qatar tournament before making a decision on his future.
Southgate led England to the World Cup semi-finals in 2018 and then the final of Euro 2020 last summer but the Three Lions had been set the target of winning the World Cup this month.
Gareth Southgate refuses to commit to England future after World Cup exit
The England manager will ‘take time’ to reflect on the World Cup after Southgate said the Three Lions lost a thrilling quarter-final to defending champions France in Qatar
England exit World Cup – latest news LIVE
Harry Kane says the England players want Gareth Southgate to stay and love having him as manager, after the 2-1 quarter-final defeat to France at the World Cup.
The Tottenham Hotspur forward similarly added that he would take the second penalty again and took full responsibility for his miss – which saw England squander a second chance to equalise – saying that it came “purely down to execution”.
“I’m someone who prepares to take one or two penalties in the same game,” he added. “So I can’t blame my preparation.
“I felt as confident in the second as in the first, but it was 100% the execution. It’s my fault. Obviously it hurts now and it will hurt for a while, but it’s part of being the captain and leader of the team. You have to take responsibility and I take it today.”
More from Kane here on his penalty – and on the England manager Gareth Southgate:
‘It’s my fault’: Harry Kane discusses penalty miss after England exit World Cup
Kane missed an 84th-minute penalty, having earlier scored from the spot, as England lost 2-1 to France in the World Cup quarter-finals
England exit World Cup – latest news LIVE
England are out of the World Cup after Harry Kane missed a late penalty in a heartbreaking defeat to defending champions France.
England were offered a lifeline to cancel out Olivier Giroud’s header when Theo Hernandez barged into Mason Mount in the box but Kane, who had already beaten Hugo Lloris from the spot, blazed his effort over the bar as England’s World Cup ended in heartbreaking disappointment.
Here are how the players rated from the quarter-final.
England vs France player ratings as Harry Kane misses penalty in heartbreaking defeat
England 1-2 France: The chance to play Morocco in the World Cup semi-finals slipped through England’s grasp
England exit World Cup – latest news LIVE
Like so many times before but, really, in a totally different way. England ultimately go out of an international tournament after a missed penalty from a star, but this wasn’t a shoot-out, and it wasn’t a case of Gareth Southgate’s side getting outclassed in midfield. It wasn’t even a player of Kylian Mbappe’s class scorching them.
Instead, England were arguably the superior side in this 2-1 defeat to the French, who still remain world champions. Southgate’s team had chances that were as good. They had some of the better play.
They just didn’t have much luck, or – if you want to be harsh on the referee, which many will – some of the core decisions.
And that meant that the biggest chance of all – the opportunity to eliminate the highest class of side in a key game – wasn’t taken either. The reassurance will be that England made them look far inferior to that in a fine performance. The reality that matters most is that they again went out at the quarter-final stage.
Last night’s match report from Miguel Delaney in Doha:
England out of World Cup after defeat to France in quarter-final
England 1-2 France: Harry Kane’s missed penalty proved fatal as the Three Lions exited at the hands of the defending champions
England exit World Cup – latest news LIVE
Good morning and welcome to the Independent’s World Cup reaction live blog after England bowed out at the last-eight stage.
The Three Lions were beaten by France on Friday night, leaving Didier Deschamps’ side to progress to face Morocco in the semi-finals, with Argentina against Croatia the other fixture in the last four.
We’ve got all the news and latest reaction coming up as England head home from Qatar.
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