Portugal faced the existential angst of dropping Cristiano Ronaldo. Morocco was buoyed by a growing wave of pride from across Africa and the Middle East. The Dutch faced great domestic opprobrium for their unusual conservatism. Even England, largely calm during his stay, reeled a bit after enduring the seemingly unbearable indignity of drawing with the United States.
France’s progress, on the other hand, had been eerily serene: two straight wins in the group stage, a loss to Tunisia that no one seemed to notice – at least in part because French television interrupted after what appeared to be a a late equaliser, neglecting to show the public that he was then sent off – then a playful win over Poland in the round of 16.
Against England, however, that composure almost proved France’s undoing. Tchouameni’s goal seemed to lull his team into a torpor. Gradually he stripped his game of urgency, of all momentum, as if expecting England to simply succumb. Defending champion, France ceded first territory and then control. He sat down, rested on his laurels, took advantage of his luck. Eventually it paid off: Tchouámeni tripped Saka, Kane sent the ensuing penalty past his opposing captain and Tottenham team-mate Hugo Lloris.
At that time, the wind seemed to be at England’s back. France’s vaunted line of attack, led by Mbappé, had been peripheral to the game; his midfield was overwhelmed; Deschamps seemed oddly reluctant to try and regain control.
This was England’s chance: not only to prove, as Southgate put it, that they could ‘take on’ an elite team, a champion team, but beat one; to claim a place not only in a third consecutive semi-final of the tournament, but to organize a meeting with Morocco, fiery and inspired but an indisputable outsider; to glimpse a path to the World Cup final, open and inviting, at his feet.
That it didn’t have to be will haunt Kane, Southgate and the rest of his players for some time. France mustered no more than a few seconds of threat – Olivier Giroud denied by Jordan Pickford, the following corner worked to Antoine Griezmann, a flashing and perilous cross, Giroud offering no second chance – to regain the lead once again. more. England, on the other hand, were not so ruthless.
There was no one, Southgate said, he would rather award a penalty to than Kane. “It’s the best,” he said. “It’s the best,” he repeated, as if to insist. Kane couldn’t deliver again though, not this time. The psychology was complex, he suggested, the pressure intense. “It was a second penalty,” Southgate said. “Against a keeper who knows you well.”
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