Congratulations, boys! The four FC Bayern players who were in the quarter-finals of the World Cup with their national teams on Saturday all progressed to the penultimate round. Dayot Upamecano, Kingsley Coman and Benjamin Pavard celebrated a 2-1 win with holders France over England, while Noussair Mazraoui's Morocco pulled off a historic 1-0 victory over former European champions Portugal.
France knock out England
The battle between Les Bleus and the Three Lions lived up to its promise. Aurélien Tchouaméni gave the French the lead in the 17th minute with a long-distance shot, after Bayern defender Upamecano had won the ball to initiate the attack. England then came into the game more and deservedly equalised through a Harry Kane penalty (54'). Olivier Giroud restored France's advantage on 78 minutes, and that proved to be the winner as Kane missed a second penalty five minutes later. Bayern winger Coman came on in the 79th minute.
Morocco first African team in semis
They'll now meet Morocco, who have already achieved a record having become the first African team in history to reach a World Cup semi-final. The Atlas Lions, without Bayern full-back Mazraoui due to illness and injury, beat Portugal 1-0 thanks to striker Youssef En-Nesyri's 42nd-minute header. Having already knocked out Spain in the quarter-finals, they pulled off another upset with a spirited defensive performance.
Topics of this article