England exit World Cup LIVE: Referee criticised after ‘nightmare’ as Harry Kane accepts penalty blame

Wikipedia appears to have been edited by England fans upset by decisions made by referee Wilton Sampaio in the first half of the World Cup quarter-final.

The Brazilian referee drew the ire of England supporters after significant decisions in the first half of the game against France, with a possible foul in the build up to the French opener and a possible penalty shout eventually waved away after a lengthy VAR review.

Members of the public can edit the online encyclopaedia and in changes to Mr Sampaio’s Wikipedia page which were later taken down he was described as “a Brazilian cheat”.

Another edit stated that Mr Sampaio had “lost his guide dog”.

More here on the fume towards the ref:

The FA have released a statement after England’s exit at the World Cup. CEO Mark Bullingham said:

“We would like to thank the millions of England fans who supported us so well throughout the tournament, whether here in Qatar or from back home.

“Like all England fans, we feel the pain of losing a quarter final, along with the coaches, players and support team who are hurting this morning. Gareth (Southgate) and Steve (Holland) prepared the team exceptionally well throughout the tournament. The players were committed to winning the trophy and were led very well by Harry Kane. But sport can have fine margins and on the day, against the current World Champions, it was not to be.

“This is a very exciting young English squad and, despite the intense disappointment of last night, they should be very proud of their performances in Qatar. We are incredibly proud of Gareth, the players, the coaches and the support team and appreciate all the hard work they put in.

“Our congratulations go to France and we wish them the very best of luck for the rest of the tournament.”

If there is a silver lining, it is that this hurts. It did not have to. There was a time when it would not have, in the not too distant past. England are out of a major tournament again, like they were 12 years ago, when performances had nowhere near matched the expectations; like they were eight years ago when they finished bottom of their group; like they were six years ago when arguably the most embarrassing defeat in their history cemented a sense of apathy around this team.

But this time, instead, England are out and it hurts, like it hurt last summer and a few summers before that too. And if this World Cup quarter-final defeat to France sparks any fresh criticism of the person who is mostly responsible for that change in energy and sentiment around England, if it perhaps leads Gareth Southgate to wonder whether it is all worth it in the aggregate and he considers calling time on his six years in charge, then the fact that this hurts again will be his greatest legacy.

Ask anyone what they expected from this meeting of the two best teams left at this tournament and you got the same answer: a game fought at the edges, won in the margins, and that if it came down to it, the world champions may just about edge it. That was ultimately the way the result went but it was not the pattern of the game and not how Southgate and his players will remember their performance. But then this was always going to require something different, something they have not managed in the past 56 years.

Mark Critchley on how England’s defining defeat is Southgate’s enduring legacy:

The Three Lions’ first gripe came during the first half in the build-up to the opening World Cup quarter-final goal for Les Bleus.

Bukayo Saka protested for a foul after Dayot Upamecano’s challenge, but play continued, with Aurélien Tchouaméni soon breaking the deadlock.

Sampaio did award two penalties for England, the second of which following a VAR review. The first spot kick was dispatched by Kane before a second was blazed high over the bar, proving crucial as England were eliminated.

But the defeat comes with extensive criticism for Sampaio, with Neville tweeting: “Ref is a joke!”

He continued on ITV after the game: “I thought he had an absolute nightmare, a joke of a referee. He was just a bad referee, rank bad.”

More here as commentators and onlookers alike hammer the Brazilian ref:

Kyle Walker dropped his head, opened his lungs and ran. This was exactly the type of run he was in the team to make, a fast-twitch surge the length of the field to recover his position, and yet he knew this was a race already lost. Kylian Mbappe hadn’t followed him back into deep French territory, and now Mbappe had the ball, and he was dribbling, and Walker had left his station unattended.

It hadn’t started this way. France kicked off and immediately switched the ball to Mbappe advancing down the wing where Walker met him with a crunch. As France settled on the ball in the opening forays, Mbappe lurked on the fringes, flitting in and out with little steps of deception as Walker stood warily a few yards inside, glancing coquettishly over his shoulder, the two of them conducting their own dance away from the rest.

Lawrence Ostlere in Doha on Kylian Mbappe being the world’s greatest decoy:

Southgate’s contract runs until the end of the European Championships in 2024 and the England manager said he will take “time to reflect” on the Qatar tournament before making a decision on his future.

Southgate led England to the World Cup semi-finals in 2018 and then the final of Euro 2020 last summer but the Three Lions had been set the target of winning the World Cup this month.

The Tottenham Hotspur forward similarly added that he would take the second penalty again and took full responsibility for his miss – which saw England squander a second chance to equalise – saying that it came “purely down to execution”.

“I’m someone who prepares to take one or two penalties in the same game,” he added. “So I can’t blame my preparation.

“I felt as confident in the second as in the first, but it was 100% the execution. It’s my fault. Obviously it hurts now and it will hurt for a while, but it’s part of being the captain and leader of the team. You have to take responsibility and I take it today.”

More from Kane here on his penalty – and on the England manager Gareth Southgate:

England are out of the World Cup after Harry Kane missed a late penalty in a heartbreaking defeat to defending champions France.

England were offered a lifeline to cancel out Olivier Giroud’s header when Theo Hernandez barged into Mason Mount in the box but Kane, who had already beaten Hugo Lloris from the spot, blazed his effort over the bar as England’s World Cup ended in heartbreaking disappointment.

Here are how the players rated from the quarter-final.

Like so many times before but, really, in a totally different way. England ultimately go out of an international tournament after a missed penalty from a star, but this wasn’t a shoot-out, and it wasn’t a case of Gareth Southgate’s side getting outclassed in midfield. It wasn’t even a player of Kylian Mbappe’s class scorching them.

Instead, England were arguably the superior side in this 2-1 defeat to the French, who still remain world champions. Southgate’s team had chances that were as good. They had some of the better play.

They just didn’t have much luck, or – if you want to be harsh on the referee, which many will – some of the core decisions.

And that meant that the biggest chance of all – the opportunity to eliminate the highest class of side in a key game – wasn’t taken either. The reassurance will be that England made them look far inferior to that in a fine performance. The reality that matters most is that they again went out at the quarter-final stage.

Last night’s match report from Miguel Delaney in Doha:

Good morning and welcome to the Independent’s World Cup reaction live blog after England bowed out at the last-eight stage.

The Three Lions were beaten by France on Friday night, leaving Didier Deschamps’ side to progress to face Morocco in the semi-finals, with Argentina against Croatia the other fixture in the last four.

We’ve got all the news and latest reaction coming up as England head home from Qatar.