Croatia's defeat meant this could be the end of the road for Luka Modric as far as his international career is concerned.
'I feel very happy, to be able to achieve this, to finish my World Cup journey by playing my last game in a final'
With Mbappe on the left flank of France's attack, he will cross paths with right-back Hakimi, the player he took under his wing when the Moroccan joined PSG from Inter Milan in 2021.
Lloris and Kane will be back in action for Tottenham against Brentford on Dec. 26 when the Premier League swings back into action after its winter shutdown for the World Cup.
Asked to rate Croatia's success in the past four years, Dalic said the 2018 semi-final win over England was so far their biggest match.
When stars travel, they make lovely pictures on social media.
'No title can explain the impact you've had on people and what I and so many around the world feel when we watch you play. That's a gift from god.'
Coach Santos said after the Morocco loss that he does not regret leaving Ronaldo on the bench and repeatedly explained that his decisions were tactical, raising questions about whether Ronaldo's brilliant career is nearing a bitter end.
Before the World Cup, he had refused to say whether the tournament in Qatar would be his last and said he was already looking ahead to the 2024 European Championship.
It was, possibly, the biggest takeaway from France's victory. They can win when Mbappe does not shine or score, and his reaction to Giroud's goal proved Deschamps's point when he said he did not need to manage the Paris St Germain forward's ego.
Giroud, who passed Thierry Henry to become France's all-time top goalscorer earlier in the tournament, said Les Bleus had had to be at their best to beat England.
'We've had consistent performances over three tournaments. Tonight is the best we've played against a major nation since I've been in charge, but we have fallen short. In the end, the scoreline is what matters.'
After the final whistle Kane dropped to his haunches and stared at the ground before walking tearfully away to be comforted by England manager Gareth Southgate.
Asked if the result could have been different if Ronaldo had played from the beginning of the game, Portuguese fan Filipa Ramires said "it wouldn't have mattered".
Images from the Europa League semi-final first leg matches on Thursday.
Portugal's Football Federation (FPF) has denied media reports that Cristiano Ronaldo threatened to leave the national team during the World Cup after coach Fernando Santos dropped the captain for their last-16 win over Switzerland.
The battle between England right back Kyle Walker and France's top scorer Kylian Mbappe could be key to the outcome of the first encounter between the teams in the knockout phase of a major tournament.
Ronaldo being benched in Portugal's 6-1 demolition of Switzerland has caused some of his die-hard fans to reconsider the current state of affairs.
Luis Enrique was sacked as Spain's coach on Thursday after the team's elimination in the last 16 at the World Cup.
Sterling did not play a part in England's 3-0 win over Senegal in the last 16, leaving Qatar last weekend to return to his family.
Eden Hazard announced his retirement from international soccer
Portugal coach Fernando Santos took the brave call to bench Cristiano Ronaldo and was rewarded with an artful display from his side as they set up a last-eight clash with Morocco
Morocco have been willed on by some of the most impassioned fans at the tournament who arrived at the Education City stadium with their ear-splitting volume turned up high even before kickoff.
Spain fans were dejected to see their team crash out of the tournament.
Since the beginning of the World Cup, Ilham has been cheering Morocco on in Doha.
Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo has joined Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr on a 2-1/2 year contract.
Spain cannot repeat mistakes from Japan collapse, says Rodri
The World Cup pre-quarter-finals line-up.
The VAR system took several minutes to confirm the ball had not gone out before Mitoma's touch
If any England players need advice on scoring against an African team ahead of Sunday's clash, they need look no further than their manager Gareth Southgate.
IMAGES from the FIFA World Cup Group E match played between Spain and Japan on Thursday.
Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic admitted his team rode their luck against Belgium but said he was pleased with the way they controlled the match for large stretches.
"It's very difficult for us, the probability for us to proceed is lower than the other nations like in Europe, they have 13 spots. And so the probability is much, much higher."
Here is what you need to know about their route to the final
More than 700,000 Tunisians live in France, with about two thirds of them being dual nationals.
Morocco, in second place in their group but tied on 4 points with top team Croatia, play their final game of the group stage against Canada on Thursday.
'A lot has been said. We talked for an hour about good things and less good things. Now we want to win against Croatia. We now have two days to prepare. We have to be ready.'
While Canada may have been humbled, coach John Herdman remained unbowed making no apologies for his incendiary remarks - which caused a stir in Croatia.
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