France has reached the semi-finals of the World Cup. The defending champions defeated England 2:1.

Aurélien Tchouaméni gave France the lead in the 17th minute of the match. Harry Kane equalised after half-time with a penalty kick. Olivier Giroud (78th) put France back in front at a time when England were dominating the action. In the closing stages, England’s Kane missed the equaliser when he missed a second penalty.

The opponents in the semi-finals are Morocco, who became the first African team in the history of the World Cup to reach the final round. Youssef En-Nesyri scored the only and decisive goal against Portugal in the 42nd minute of the match. Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, a second-half substitute, played his 196th international match, equalling the world record set by Bader al-Mutawa of Kuwait.

Argentina and Croatia will meet in the second semi-final on Tuesday 13 December.