ENGLAND’S World Cup quarter-final against France had to be halted after a matter of moments… due to a flat ball.
Players almost immediately complained of a flat ball, causing officials to provide a new one with not even a minute played.
England centre-half Harry Maguire was the one to knock the ball out of play to request a new one.
The game resumed and the focus was back on the last eight match, with a place in the semis against Morocco awaiting the winner.
It turned out to be a thrilling game, with Aurelien Tchouameni opening the score with a stunner.
England skipper Harry Kane later levelled from the penalty spot after Bukayo Saka was brought down in the box.
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Ex-Arsenal and England striker Olivier Giroud would go on to put France back ahead, but the drama did not stop there.
Mason Mount won England a second penalty after being shoved in the box by Theo Hernandez, who escaped a red card.
But England captain Kane would blaze over the bar, leaving the Three Lions dumped out of the tournament.
Jordan Henderson told ITV: “We know how many penalties Harry has scored for us, how many goals he has contributed to even get us here.
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“He will be stronger for this in the future. He is a world-class striker and our captain, he will bounce back.”
He added: “We felt good, the performances were really good, the focus and hunger has been really good.
“But you have to give credit to France who are a good team. I still feel it was there for us to win tonight.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
