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.