Declan Rice reacts to England’s defeat against France

Aguerd, Areola progress to the World Cup semis but heartbreak for Rice

Nayef Aguerd and Alphonse Areola’s dreams of lifting the FIFA World Cup are still alive after Saturday’s quarter-final ties, but there was heartbreak for Declan Rice.

The Hammers captain played the 90 minutes as England came up just short against Areola’s France on a tense, tight night in Qatar.

A fine long range strike from Aurélien Tchouaméni gave Les Bleus a first half lead, but the Three Lions came roaring back after the interval and levelled through Harry Kane’s 54th minute penalty.

England pushed for a second, but were undone by Olivier Giroud’s header 12 minutes from the end, and a later miss from the spot by Kane.

France’s 2-1 win means Areola remains on course for a second World Cup winners’ medal, although his nation will face a stern test against Aguerd’s Morocco in Wednesday’s semi-final.

The West Ham centre-back missed out on Saturday afternoon’s 1-0 victory over Portugal as he recovers from an injury picked up in their win over Spain in the previous round.

A goal from Sevilla’s Youssef En-Nesyri proved enough to see off the much-fancied Portuguese and continue Morocco’s fairytale run.

And for both Aguerd and Areola, the chance of glory very much lives on.