Harry Kane scores one penalty and misses another as Olivier Giroud proves the hero
The only spell of real superiority France had enjoyed was in the first quarter-hour. Their start was sharper and more confident than England’s. Ousmane Dembele had already fired a couple of dangerous crosses towards Olivier Giroud by the time Aurelien Tchouameni crashed in the opener from nearly 30 yards, the power of the shot from what was virtually a standing position taking Jordan Pickford by surprise.
The most amazing statistic tonight was that Upamecano, a chaotic presence at the heart of the French defence, finished the game with zero fouls. The credit for that is due to the Brazilian referee, Wilson Sampaio – a “let it flow” merchant whose style Premier League pundits would love. Now you could feel the game slipping away from France. Kylian Mbappé had been a marginal figure, except for one exhilarating surge down the left when he burned Kyle Walker round the outside, but Olivier Giroud could not connect with his cut-back.
Southgate made his first substitutions: Mason Mount and Raheem Sterling for Jordan Henderson and Saka – the last a surprising choice since he had arguably been England’s best attacker. Five minutes later Theo Hernandez barged Mount over as he ran for a high ball into the box. Sampaio saw nothing wrong with it – just another admirable case of men, at it – but VAR directed his attention to the pitchside monitor, where he decided that it did warrant a penalty after all.
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