France faced off against England at the Al Bayt Stadium earlier today as they hoped to earn a win in the quarterfinal stage of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The French players made a quick start to the game and got their noses ahead in the 17th minute courtesy of Aurelien Tchouameni’s impressive strike. Les Bleus went into the half-time break with a 1-0 lead.
Harry Kane equalised from the penalty spot in the 54th minute. However, Olivier Giroud ended up netting the winning goal in the 78th minute as France secured a narrow 2-1 win in Qatar which kept their World Cup dreams alive.
Let’s find out how each France player fared during the clash against England.
GK: Hugo Lloris – 7.5/10
The French goalie made a handful of solid saves and did enough to restrict the opposition to just one goal.
RB: Jules Kounde – 7/10
Kounde was solid when defending inside his half and made one good chance going forward.
CB: Raphael Varane – 6.5/10
He cleared the danger when required and was accurate when passing the ball out from the back.
CB: Dayot Upamecano – 6.5/10
Upamecano gave away the ball at times but was a solid presence on the defensive third of the pitch.
LB: Theo Hernandez – 6.5/10
Hernandez had to do a lot of defending. He was guilty of giving away a cheap penalty but deserves credit for creating two decent chances in the final third.
CM: Aurelien Tchouameni – 7/10
Tchouameni opened the goal-scoring with a decent strike and was a positive influence at both ends of the field.
CM: Adrien Rabiot – 7/10
He earned possession back a couple of times and was lively in the opponent’s half.
RW: Ousmane Dembele – 6.5/10
Dembele engineered two meaningful openings but didn’t do enough to register a goal.
CAM: Antoine Griezmann – 7.5/10
He linked up play well with others around him and has got a couple of assists to show for his efforts.
LW: Kylian Mbappe – 6.5/10
Mbappe had a few bright moments but was nowhere near his best.
ST: Olivier Giroud – 7.5/10
He was a constant menace in front of the England goal and scored the winning goal in the 78th minute.
Substitutes:
RW: Kingsley Coman – 6/10
Coman added some energy to Didier Deschamps’ attack.
