France, on heart and guts, moves a step closer to World Cup repeat

Harry Kane stood alone as chaos swirled around him in the center of the pitch of Al-Bayt Stadium, an arena whose design was inspired by nomadic dwellings, places of refuge in the midst of an unforgiving desert.

The England captain seemed oblivious to the French players celebrating only feet away, his teammates bowed and or lying on the ground, physically and emotionally spent.

Instead, Kane stared transfixed at a stadium scoreboard as if he looked at it long enough the final score of Saturday’s epic World Cup quarterfinal – France 2, England 1 – would somehow change. Once, then twice, Kane ran his hands over his face and rubbed his eyes and then resumed his vigil.

It was only when England manager Gareth Southgate embraced the Three Lions forward that Kane seemed to accept that he could not escape the grip of the nightmare.

Minutes earlier, Kane stood behind the penalty spot with a chance to pull England even in a match the Three Lions had dominated for long stretches. Kane had already converted a penalty kick in the 54th minute, blasting a shot past France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, the England forward’s teammate at Tottenham HotSpur, to tie the match 1-1.

Now in the 84th minute, Kane stood in front of Lloris and a chance to again tie up the most anticipated match of this World Cup, his country holding its collective breath, the whole world watching. But then in perhaps England’s only real moment of doubt, the one lapse in focus, Kane twitched mid-kick, sending the shot well over the goal.

“I think on the night we were probably the team that on the night probably created the better chances, but as we know big games come down to fine details and fine margins,” Kane said later. “And they got theirs right and we didn’t.”

At the end of two of the most dramatic days in World Cup history, 48 hours that had the planet on the edge of its seat as Brazil, the overwhelming pre-tournament favorite, and Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, arguably the most talented player of his generation home, were sent packing, France emerged from a match that most likely decided Qatar 2022’s champion as a team destined to become the first side to defend the World Cup since Pele and Brazil did so 60 years ago.

A French victory that never seemed certain until the final whistle after 100 minutes of thrilling football was a reminder that World Cups are not won on the strength of star power alone, but with a recipe of resiliency, a hot goalkeeper, unsung heroes, the execution of chances no matter how slim or rare, and an occasional gift.

England on Saturday again showed itself to be the most complete side of this World Cup. Kane and Bukayo Saka were constant threats. Were it not for the brilliance of the often-criticized Lloris, France could have easily been down 3-1 inside the first 50 minutes.

Jude Bellingham, the 19-year-old who has been perhaps the best player in the tournament, veteran Jordan Henderson and Declan Rice dominated midfield. England right back Kyle Walker for the most part took French forward Kylian Mbappé, the tournament’s leading goal scorer with five, out of the match.

But France advanced to a Wednesday semifinal with Morocco full of political and historical intrigue, Les Bleus manager Didier Deschamps said, on “heart and guts.”

It also won in no small measure because of Deschamps. As a player, Deschamps was famously dismissed by his former France teammate Eric Cantona as a “water carrier.” But for all the brilliance of Zinedine Zidane, the driving force behind France’s 1998 World Cup triumph was Deschamps, Les Bleus’ midfield general.

Now directing France from the sideline, Deschamps is two matches away from joining Italy’s Vittorio Pozza as the only men to manage two World Cup-winning teams. Deschamps has navigated his team through a series of scandals both within the French Football Federation and the team, the most bizarre courtesy of the brother of midfield superstar Paul Pogba, who claimed Pogba had enlisted a marabout, a Muslim holy man, to put a curse of Mbappé. Pogba denied the claim.

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Deschamps has integrated young stars like defensive midfielder Aurélian Tchouaméni into the side. Tchouaméni gave France a 1-0 lead Saturday with a long-range blast. And he has managed a side that has survived the pre-tournament loss to injury of five regulars, including Pogba and forward Karim Benzema, the Ballon d’Or winner. In their place, Antoine Griezmann, a bust at Barcelona, has reinvested himself as central midfielder for Les Bleus. Giroud, 36, has stepped up to score four goals in Qatar 2022, none bigger than his strike in the 77th minute that put France up 2-1.

Seven minutes later came Kane’s gift.

“We had a great camp,” Kane told reporters later, “and a great World Cup and it all came down to a small detail that I’ll take responsibility for.”