Bleus in the semifinal, Kane misses a penalty - Corriere.it

Bleus in the semifinal, Kane misses a penalty - Corriere.it


from Paolo Tomaselli, sent to Al Khor

France the fourth semi-finalist of the Qatar 2022 World Cup: the world champions beat England 2-1 and face Morocco for Wednesday

Thank you boys, that will be for next time. The English, who have been waiting for a world final since 1966, find a way to interrupt a dream that has perhaps never been so credible, again due to a missed penalty, this time before the 90th minute. Without visible traces of grandeur, France goes to the semifinals, dragged by Olivier Giroud out of the quicksand of a match that England deserved at least to take to extra time: the shot from eleven meters, granted due to a folly by Theo Hernandez who pushes Mount, was kicked into the pigeon loft by captain Kane and condemned the Southgate team to update the catalog of regrets, now as long as the works of Shakespeare.

England has grown a lot since the semi-final slipped away with Croatia four years ago and also compared to the European final lost to Italy on penalties: in the tent-shaped stadium, France is forced to protect the camp like a provincial, closed to defending an almost immediate advantage to try to light the fuse to Mbapp, which actually only triggers once.

Credit to Southgate, who prepares the game well, forcing the French to defend on the left, Theo's side, thus isolating Kylian, the main danger. The reaction plan of the ruthless strategist Deschamps, abandoned only to react to the English draw, worked because Giroud headed Griezmann's cross to bring Les Bleus forward: the coach's proverbial luck, combined with atavistic English bad luck, did the rest. Now for the French there is Morocco and it will be better to manage the Mbapp-dependence with less contempt of danger.

Because the reigning world champions, chasing a consecutive encore since 1962 with Brazil, are the ones who need fewer shots to score, thanks to the quality and variety of their forwards. This made France the main favorites to win the final early on, but the abundance makes you take some things for granted. Compared to the team that descended to victory four years ago, this less solid version, because the absence of Kant in the middle of the field impossible to fill.

In its place there is Tchouameni, owner in Real Madrid at 22 years old. When the old sample Stopyra told Aurelien's father that one day he would end up in the national team, the parent replied suddenly: Yes I am the queen of England!. Eight years after Tchouameni here, who makes and unmakes the match against His Majesty's subjects: first with a magnificent right-footed shot from outside the area – a specialty rarely seen in this tournament – ​​mocking Pickford. Then, when the English have now slammed Lloris and his teammates several times, Saka shoots down into the area, causing the first penalty, which Kane does not miss.

England have youth and poise and above all they have the ability to leave their mark with their full-backs who center and their midfielders who insert. Curiously, the English press had identified Lloris as the weak point of the opponents, but the Tottenham goalkeeper celebrates the all-time attendance record (143) with some decisive saves (on Bellingham the most complicated). The eternal Giroud, together with Griezmann's all-out dance, for the real novelty compared to the Russian campaign, where he was a fundamental follower but did not score a single goal: now already at 4, one less than Mbapp. The difference - when Kane hunched over the penalty spot in the final, undecided whether to shoot in the same corner as before or switch - in the center forward and in his winning instinct. And huge.

December 10, 2022 (change December 10, 2022 | 23:04)



Source link