Women’s World Cup 2011, England Vs. France: England Penalty Kick Heartbreak Sends France To Semis

Apparently penalty kick heartbreak is not exclusive to the England men’s team. The women can do it too. A thrilling quarterfinal match between England and France still lacked a winner after 120 minutes of play, sending the contest to penalty kicks. Trailing 4-3 on kicks, England needed to convert on their final attempt to avoid defeat, but captain Faye White saw her shot clatter off of the crossbar. England were heartbroken as their tournament came to an end, but France were elated as the 1-1 draw and 4-3 triumph on kicks sent them onto the Women’s World Cup semifinals.

It took until the 59th minute to break the scoreless tie, although it wasn’t for lack of chances. Both teams played well and had chances to go in front. Pushed on by an enthusiastic, capacity crowd at Bay Arena in Leverkusen, both sides picked up their play as the match went on and the urgency of the knockout stages was evident.

The organizers of the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup have seriously lucked out with the way their quarterfinal matches fell. The two most intriguing quarterfinal matchups are the first and last games of the set, while the hosts Germany play in the middle. England and France kick off the quarterfinals on Saturday in a match that’s hard to predict, as both teams have had some serious ups and downs.

France and England are similar in talent, but both teams had their last match work out in different ways. England put in a stellar performance against a Japan team that previously looked unstoppable, while France fell to hosts Germany. Though France was able to finally expose the Germany back line as weak on set pieces, their own back line struggled against the hosts.