Gary Lineker sends emotional message to England heroes
England fans gutted after World Cup defeat to France
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Gary Lineker has sent an emotional message to England’s World Cup heroes in the aftermath of their exit from the Qatar tournament. The Three Lions were cruelly dumped out of the World Cup by France in the quarter-finals on Saturday night after Harry Kane blasted a late penalty over the crossbar.
“Heartbreaking once again, but no shame in losing to an excellent French team and congratulations to them,” Lineker wrote on Twitter. “There was so little to choose between the two sides. This fine young @England team gave their all and will only get better. Their time will come.”
England had been in scintillating form in the Middle East and reached the last eight after thumping Iran and Wales either side of a goalless draw with USA in the group stages, before overcoming Senegal in their first knockout match last weekend.
Their showdown with France had been hotly-anticipated, with many predicting the battle between Kylian Mbappe and Kyle Walker would be the defining narrative of the match. But while the England right-back held his own against one of the world’s best players, it was left to Aurelien Tchouameni and Olivier Giroud to deliver the knockout blows. The France players struck either side of a Harry Kane penalty as the Three Lions struggled to contend with Les Bleus’ potency in front of goal.
Kane had a chance to level the scores for the second time in the 84th minute when England were awarded their second penalty of the evening. But the striker was off-target with his attempt as France edged towards victory. And Gareth Southgate’s side were unable to burst the back of the France net again as Les Bleus set-up a semi-final showdown with Morocco.
The African team had booked their place in the last four earlier on Saturday when they stunned Portugal 1-0. And the winner of Wednesday’s showdown will face either Argentina or Croatia in the final after the first semi-final was confirmed on Friday night.
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England reached the World Cup semi-finals under Southgate in Russia four years ago and then agonisingly missed out on the Euro 2020 title when they were defeated by Italy after a penalty shootout in the final last summer. But the Three Lions boss insisted his team had taken a step forward in the Middle East.
“I’m so proud of what the players have done, not just tonight but through the whole tournament,” Southgate said on Saturday evening. “I think the team has taken a real step forward in all areas. Everybody can see the team has progressed through this tournament.”
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